Manifold

Why applying the normal way doesn't work

There's an ATS, but at Manifold, referrals get priority. Your cold application competes with sourced candidates and internal recommendations.

Who to contact at Manifold

Who decides

the hiring manager

Best channel

LinkedIn or direct email

What to show them

Manifold's core value proposition is understanding what AI agents actually do at the endpoint at runtime. That's a security research problem as much as an engineering one: you need to know what "normal" agent behaviour looks like, what compromise or manipulation looks like, and how to build detection logic that is specific enough to be useful and broad enough to catch novel attack patterns. The founders have this knowledge from their LLM Guard experience, but they need people who can extend it. Core skills: Endpoint security engineering, EDR internals, Python, agent behaviour analysis, LLM security (prompt injection, jailbreaks, supply chain attacks on models), MCP protocol understanding, detection rule writing, MITRE ATT&CK familiarity, low-level system monitoring (eBPF a strong plus) Proof of work: Write a one-page threat model for a coding agent (e.g., Cursor or Claude Code) operating on a developer's laptop with access to a production codebase and CI/CD pipeline. Identify the top three attack vectors, how could an attacker use that agent to do damage? For each one, describe what the detection signal would look like at the endpoint level and whether existing EDR tools would catch it. This proof of work demonstrates you understand both the attack surface and the detection gap that Manifold exists to fill.

A cold email that works at Manifold

What Manifold screens for

Manifold's funding announcement landed this morning. There are no job listings anywhere: no careers page, no Wellfound, no LinkedIn jobs. The company is literally hours old as a public entity. The press release described the funding as being used "to fuel the development of Manifold's agentic AI Detection and Response platform", that means engineering, research, and product hires are imminent. The founders previously built Laiyer AI together, whose LLM Guard product became the most widely adopted open-source LLM firewall in existence, and which was acquired by Protect AI (subsequently acquired by Palo Alto Networks). That exit track record means they've been through a hiring cycle before, they know what they need, and they're not going to spend $8M slowly. Costanoa Ventures is the firm behind Tines, Kustomer, and Credo AI, all companies that build infrastructure for trust, automation, and governance in enterprise tech. Their investment thesis here is enterprise security infrastructure for the AI agent era, and at this stage they push portfolio companies hard toward building the product, getting logos, and establishing technical credibility in the community. That means engineering velocity is the priority. Cherry Ventures has a strong track record in European deeptech infrastructure, and their participation alongside Costanoa signals confidence in the technical depth of the founding team. The specific involvement of Joe Sullivan and Vijay Bolina as angels will open enterprise security buyer doors, but it also signals that the product will need customer success and enterprise GTM support before long.

Customize your CV for the Manifold role. Matching the job description language helps clear ATS filters.

Mistakes that kill Manifold applications

• ✕

  A recycled CV gets rejected fast at Manifold ( people). They notice.

• ✕

  Don't open with what you want. Open with what Manifold is dealing with right now — The timing of this raise is not accidental, and what you'd do about it.

• ✕

  Most AI applications get ghosted. A day-five follow-up can double your response rate.

We don't yet have verified candidate reports for Manifold. What follows is the typical process for a -person AI company, so treat it as a model, not confirmed detail.

Interview stages

1. 1

   Recruiter Screen

   Phone or video · 30 min

   What it testsBasic qualification and logistics
   Usually run byRecruiter or HR
2. 2

   Hiring Manager Interview

   Video call · 45 min

   What it testsRole fit and experience deep-dive
   Usually run byHiring manager
3. 3

   Technical/Functional Round

   Video call · 60 min

   What it testsSkills assessment and problem-solving
   Usually run byTeam members
4. 4

   Final Round

   In-person or video · 60 min

   What it testsCulture fit and cross-functional alignment
   Usually run bySenior leadership