KnowBe4Security Engineer

Updated Jun 11, 2026

KnowBe4 Security Engineer interview questions & guide 2026

Every question KnowBe4 interviewers actually ask, the frameworks that win the room, and the language hiring managers respond to.

Question bank

1. What is a Security Engineer at KnowBe4?

At KnowBe4, a Security Engineer—often specialized as a Cybersecurity Threat Researcher—plays a pivotal role in securing the human element of organizations worldwide. As the world's largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, the core mission of KnowBe4 relies on having the most accurate, up-to-date threat intelligence. In this role, you are not just defending internal systems; you are analyzing the global threat landscape to understand how malicious actors exploit human psychology.

Your work directly impacts millions of users by turning real-world threat vectors into actionable intelligence and realistic simulation templates. You will analyze emerging phishing campaigns, dissect social engineering tactics, and study malware delivery mechanisms. By keeping your finger on the pulse of modern cyber threats, you enable KnowBe4 to train employees globally to make smarter security decisions every single day.

This position demands a unique blend of deep technical curiosity, analytical rigor, and communication skills. You will collaborate closely with product teams, content creators, and senior leadership, including the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). It is an exciting, fast-paced environment where your research directly influences product development and helps organizations build a resilient human firewall.

2. Common Interview Questions

To help you prepare effectively, we have categorized representative questions based on actual candidate experiences at KnowBe4. While your specific conversation may adapt to your unique background, you should expect a balanced mix of technical fundamentals, threat analysis scenarios, and behavioral alignment.

Threat Analysis & Security Fundamentals

These questions assess your foundational knowledge of security concepts, email infrastructure, and how modern threat actors operate.

How do SPF, DKIM, and DMARC work together to prevent email spoofing?
Can you explain the difference between spear phishing, whaling, and business email compromise (BEC)?

Walk me through the steps you would take to analyze a suspicious email header.
How do threat actors typically bypass secure email gateways (SEGs)?
What are some common indicators of compromise (IOCs) you look for when analyzing a malicious document?

Behavioral & Cultural Alignment

KnowBe4 highly values a collaborative, high-energy, and transparent culture. These questions evaluate how you work within a team and handle the fast-paced nature of threat research.

Why do you want to work at KnowBe4, and how does our mission align with your career goals?
Tell me about a time you had to explain a highly complex security threat to a non-technical audience.
How do you stay updated with the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape?
Describe a situation where you had a disagreement with a team member on a technical approach and how you resolved it.
Can you share an experience where you had to manage multiple high-priority tasks under tight deadlines?

Scenario-Based Problem Solving

These scenarios test your analytical thinking and how you approach ambiguous, real-world security challenges.

If you notice a sudden spike in a novel phishing technique targeting a specific industry, how would you prioritize and document your findings?
Imagine you are tasked with creating a simulation template based on a newly discovered zero-day exploit. How do you balance realism with safety?
How would you approach identifying the attribution of a sophisticated, targeted phishing campaign?

To excel in your interviews, you should focus your preparation on the primary domains that the hiring team evaluates.

Threat Research & Email Security

This area is the core of the Cybersecurity Threat Researcher and Security Engineer roles. You must show that you understand how malicious actors leverage email infrastructure to deliver payloads and bypass defenses.

Be ready to go over:

Email Authentication – Deep understanding of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations, alignment, and common bypasses.
Phishing Vectors – Analysis of credential harvesting, malicious attachments (such as macros and PDFs), and advanced social engineering tactics.
Header Analysis – How to trace an email's path, identify spoofed senders, and locate malicious relay servers.
Advanced concepts (less common) – Multi-factor authentication (MFA) bypass techniques, such as Adversary-in-the-Middle (AitM) phishing frameworks, and novel QR code phishing (quishing) detection methods.

Example questions or scenarios:

"Walk me through how you would analyze an email header to determine if the sender's domain was spoofed despite passing SPF checks."
"How do attackers exploit open redirects in legitimate websites to conduct phishing campaigns?"

Incident Analysis & Problem Solving

Interviewers want to see your analytical methodology when faced with active threats or ambiguous security data. They value structured thinking and systematic troubleshooting.

Be ready to go over:

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) – Extracting and utilizing IPs, domains, hashes, and registry keys to build threat profiles.
Threat Intelligence Frameworks – Utilizing frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK to categorize and map threat actor behaviors.
Triage and Prioritization – How you determine which threats require immediate research and action versus those that are lower risk.

Example questions or scenarios:

"You discover a new threat actor targeting financial institutions with a highly customized payload. What are your immediate next steps to research and document this threat?"
"How do you decide if a newly reported phishing campaign warrants the creation of an urgent simulation template for our customers?"

Interview Guides

KnowBe4 Security Engineer interview questions & guide 2026

1. What is a Security Engineer at KnowBe4?

2. Common Interview Questions

Threat Analysis & Security Fundamentals

Behavioral & Cultural Alignment

Scenario-Based Problem Solving

The questions most likely to come up

See how a strong candidate would approach this

Prioritizing Across Competing Client Projects

3. Getting Ready for Your Interviews

4. Interview Process Overview

The interview process, end to end

5. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Threat Research & Email Security

Incident Analysis & Problem Solving

Tip

Collaborative Communication

What they actually test for

6. Key Responsibilities

7. Role Requirements & Qualifications

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Note

9. Other General Tips

Tip

10. Summary & Next Steps

What this role pays

Other roles at KnowBe4