HR The Next Leap
Oligo: “Top-tier talent can be selective, while others face a more competitive market”
Maya Green, Chief HR Officer at Oligo, discusses the current labor market dynamics in Startup Nation, and how the team has inspired resilience and retention despite ongoing security challenges and the AI revolution, as part of CTech’s HR: The Next Leap series.
Since March of this year, the job market has tilted into an employer's market. According to Maya Green, Chief HR Officer at runtime cybersecurity firm Oligo, “candidates still have leverage, but it is concentrated now.” She maintains that “top-tier talent can be selective, while others face a more competitive market.”
From active and looming war threats, to AI rapidly and constantly redefining what it means to be productive, running a company in Startup Nation brings with it its own category of challenges and rewards. HR: The Next Leap takes a glimpse into the heart of Startup Nation via the HR professionals shaping its culture. We survey the executives whose jobs are more demanding and more vital than ever, as they heed the future-proofing of their workforce, while simultaneously ensuring business continuity and employee wellbeing during relentlessly unprecedented times.
Reflecting on her experience amid the ongoing security challenges Startup Nation has faced, Green recalls that “we’ve had interviews interrupted by sirens, which naturally impacts the natural flow of the hiring process, but it created a unique bonding experience, as we had candidates join us in the shelter.” She adds that “they felt like they were already a part of Oligo.”
You can read the entire interview below.
Company Name: Oligy Security
Sector: Technology, Cybersecurity
Founders: Nadav Czerninski, Gal Elbaz, and Avshalom Hilu
Year of Founding: 2013
Investment stage: Series B
Total investment to date: $80M
Investors: Greenfield Partners, Red Dot Capital Partners, Strait Capital, Ballistic Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and TLV Partners
Current number of employees: 85
Website: https://www.oligo.security/
Social Media: LinkedIn
As of March 2026, the market officially shifted into an 'employer's market'. How have your screening criteria changed, and do candidates - including senior-level ones - still hold any leverage in negotiating salaries and terms?
We’re still targeting and attracting high-value industry candidates that have cyber-specific domain expertise. Our criteria has always been high standard, optimizing around demonstrated impact, problem-solving ability, and culture fit. For senior roles specifically, we focus primarily on what someone has actually built and delivered in previous positions.
Candidates still have leverage, but it is concentrated now. Top-tier talent can be selective, while others face a more competitive market.
Ultimately for us, it’s about mutual fit. The best candidates and the ones that we hire at Oligo are still choosing roles based on team, mission, and the ability to contribute in a meaningful way.
How have/are you managing operational continuity and recruitment while the economy navigates the emergency state triggered by the conflict with Iran? With the threat of escalation looming at any moment, how are you and have you been handling everything from interviews interrupted by sirens to managing teams thinned by massive, ongoing reserve duty?
It’s definitely thrown unique challenges into the mix, but our team and candidates have shown incredible resilience. We’ve had interviews interrupted by sirens, which naturally impacts the natural flow of the hiring process, but it created a unique bonding experience, as we had candidates join us in the shelter. They felt like they were already a part of Oligo.
Despite the circumstances, we’ve been able to keep things moving and continue hiring, including successfully welcoming several new employees to the team during this period. It’s a direct reflection of both the resilience of the team and the motivation of the talent we’re engaging with to help build something impactful.
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Beyond the role of empowering employees, which roles has AI eliminated over the past year, what percentage of your workforce was reskilled to avoid being phased out, and how has this impacted entry-level hiring?
AI has not eliminated any roles here. It’s really just changed how work gets done.
Our team leverages AI to augment productivity in areas that are repetitive and tedious. Instead of phasing people out, we’ve placed a strategic focus on upskilling. A meaningful portion of the team has adapted their workflows to incorporate AI tools in order to uplevel the work they do and maximize impact.
Overall, AI is reshaping roles and pushing both companies and employees to evolve more quickly. For the high-value individuals we hire, it has been a force multiplier and then some.
Against the backdrop of the unstable security and political climate, are you seeing an increase in relocation requests or 'quiet quitting' by top-tier talent moving abroad, and what is the most proactive step you are taking to retain them in Israel?
This is not something we have experienced on our end.
Our focus on attracting and retaining talent remains the same. The most effective lever for retention is building a place where people feel they’re doing high-impact work, advancing their careers, and building something meaningful with a strong team. Creating that type of culture of course includes maintaining stability in uncertain times, being flexible where needed, and keeping teams connected and supported.
Ultimately, top talent stays where they feel they’re growing, valued, and part of something important, and that’s where we’re investing.
In an era where stability has replaced flashy perks, how are you addressing the deep mental burnout of employees torn between the professional and security fronts, and what is the most critical benefit you offer today in place of the bonuses that have vanished?
In addition to great perks, we provide deep empathy and flexibility. We recognize that people are balancing real pressures between work, family, and the broader situation, so we take a highly individualized approach to support. That means giving employees the space to contribute in a way that matches their current capacity, without compromising trust or expectations.
At the same time, we believe stability also comes from a sense of future and shared success. One of the most meaningful benefits we offer today is the opportunity to be part of that through our equity program. It reinforces that even in uncertain times, employees are not just getting through the present, they’re building toward something long-term together.
