HackWithHeart

About – Rahil Parikh

I’m Rahil Parikh, and I lead Security Engineering, Architecture and Operations at Zinnia. Since joining Policygenius in 2021 and continuing through their acquisition in 2023, I’ve been focused on protecting information assets without slowing down the business – a tricky balance, but one I’ve been fine-tuning for over a decade.

Most of my career has been a mix of startups and established companies, often as one of the first hires in information security. I’ve built programs at places like The New York Times, Frame.io (now part of Adobe), and Jet.com (now part of Walmart). Those early roles taught me the value of adaptability – whether that meant setting information security strategies, building relationships across teams, or just rolling up my sleeves to get things done. Furthermore, primitive years of career were focused on offensive security at GDS Security (now part of Aon), which gave me a solid understanding of how systems break. That perspective has shaped how I approach protecting them today.

My journey into tech started early – back in the days of MS-DOS, and ‘Hello World’ in Pascal while trying not to crash the family computer. I hold a Master’s in Information Assurance from Northeastern University and a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from Gujarat University. But much of what I know has come from jumping into the deep end and figuring things out along the way.

Personally, I am a hobby coder, Gujarati volunteer teacher, camera gear addict, sporadic traveler, space nerd, food enthusiast, Facebook and TikTok abandoner, curious learner, father and husband.

If you ever want to talk information security, reminisce about early days of technology, or troubleshoot an ancient assembly code, I’m always up for the conversation.

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