Tanium has been named a Best Workplace in the Bay Area by Great Place to Work.
The latest honor marks the ninth year in a row Tanium offices have been recognized and affirms something employees experience every day: a culture built on genuine teamwork, thoughtful leadership and an environment designed to make people feel like they actually belong.
That culture doesn’t happen by accident. It’s shaped by the way teams are built, the way office spaces are designed to invite collaboration and, most importantly, the people who show up and invest in each other.
To give readers a real look at what that experience is like, we sat down with Kaylin Martin, a solutions engineer who works at the intersection of sales and technology guiding customers through the evaluation process, demoing the platform and delivering proof of value. She has been with Tanium for five years, starting as an intern and growing into a full-time role she almost didn’t apply for.
First, let Kaylin show you what makes the Emeryville office work:
<h2>Where the workday starts on the water </h2>
Q. What does a typical day in the Emeryville office look like for you?
Martin: I live in San Francisco, so I start my day crossing the Bay Bridge into the office. One of the first things I love about our building is the free, gated parking garage. It’s super convenient and secure. From there, I head straight up to the 16th floor for our espresso machines before settling in at my desk. I usually try to get in around 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. The East Bay mornings are just beautiful, so much sunshine. So, getting in early is something I genuinely look forward to.
Q. Can you describe the office itself?
Martin: We have two floors, 15 and 16. The 15th floor is the hustle-and-bustle floor where you’ll find desks from legal, internal IT, software engineering, marketing, executive engagement, finance, accounting and more. Pretty much every department is represented, and we have executives who come in and spend the day there as well. Floor 16 is where we host lunches and big meetings in our larger conference rooms. Since I’m in the sales org, that’s also where a lot of sales meetings and team members spend their time.
<h2>Conversations you can’t schedule</h2>
Q. How does being together in the office shape how your team collaborates?
Martin: It’s been a game-changer. I actually started at Tanium as a remote employee but even then I felt really connected to my peers. When I started coming into the office more regularly, it just amplified everything. It’s so much easier to learn and absorb things from others when you’re in person. My favorite part is getting to talk not just with my immediate team, but with people across the company I might not otherwise cross paths with. Everything just feels more organic. Those little moments turn into real collaboration. If anything, being in the office has made my experience at Tanium even better.
Q. Do you have a mentor in the office, or someone who has influenced your career growth?
Martin: Two people come to mind right away. The first is Trista Scott, AVP of global escalations. When I moved to the Emeryville office, I sat directly behind her. She’s a Tanium legend and has been here since the early days. Having a female colleague who’s so accomplished in leadership, and genuinely just a force to be around, has been incredible, especially as a young woman in a technical career.
The second is Mark Liu, senior director of solution engineering and my mentor on the solutions engineering team. I almost didn’t apply for this role because it was posted as a senior position and I didn’t think I’d qualify. Mark reached out, told me he believed in me based on our previous interactions and encouraged me to go for it. Not only did he push me toward this opportunity, but now he’s the person actively making me better at it every day. Being able to tap him on the shoulder with a quick question makes such a difference.
Both of them have directly shaped my career and I’m really fortunate to work alongside them in person.
<h2>The snacks are just the beginning</h2>
Q. What are some of your favorite perks of the Bay Area office?
Martin: The coffee machine has to be first, besides the people, of course. We have an espresso machine and we even hold latte competitions. Mike Yeung, our workplace coordinator, taught me how to make lattes, which is honestly one of the most valuable skills I’ve picked up. The location itself is incredible. We’re right on the water in the East Bay, which is typically 10 to 15 degrees warmer and sunnier than San Francisco. Being able to step outside and take a walk at any point in the day is such a great reset.
And the snacks—I will go to bat for the Emeryville office snacks against anyone. I’ve been to our offices in Kraków, Poland, Bellevue, Washington, and Addison, Texas, and I genuinely think we have the best snack game. We’re talking fresh fruit every day, yogurt, berries, the works. The vendor even started bringing extra bananas because we were going through them so fast.
Q. Beyond the perks, it sounds like there’s real effort behind keeping the office culture alive. What does that look like day to day?
Martin: Beyond the day-to-day operations, Mike gives every new person a full tour of both floors and makes sure everyone feels welcome right away. He organizes at least one fun activity per month, always tied to the season or something on the calendar. In May, we did a bouquet-making session for Mother’s Day. In April, we planted our own potted plants to take home. In October, we do pumpkin carving. He also brings in surprise treats roughly every other week like desserts, sweet things, a lot of boba, which feels very ‘Bay Area.’
And every month he puts out a preview covering upcoming office events, holidays and things happening around San Francisco and Oakland so colleagues can experience what the area has to offer together. He really goes above and beyond to make sure we’re not just taken care of and having a great time together.
<h2>Core values lived daily </h2>
Q. How do you see Tanium’s core values show up in the office day to day?
Martin: Being in person really makes you rally around the core values in a tangible way.
For ‘Win as a Team,’ I’ll be heading into a customer meeting with my colleagues and we’ll literally look each other in the eye before we walk in and feel the split-second confidence of ‘We’re ready, let’s go.’ That in-person camaraderie genuinely gets you more energized and confident.
'Be Unstoppable’ ties into that same energy. When you’ve built real bonds with the people you work alongside every day, you start to feel like a team that actually wants to win together.
And ‘Do the Right Thing’ is easier to live out when you can have those candid, sometimes vulnerable conversations with the people around you. I think the Emeryville office does a great job of giving us space to not just practice the core values, but celebrate them.
Q. If you were talking to someone considering joining Tanium, what would you want them to know?
For anyone looking to join Tanium, the people are the reason. Don't take it for granted.
Martin: The first thing I’d tell them is: when you join Tanium, you are truly joining a team. A lot of companies say that, but Tanium actually puts action behind it. If you’re a collaborator at heart, this is 100% the place for you.
The second thing, and what I think is honestly the best part about Tanium, is the people. We don’t take hiring for granted. I’ve worked across pre-sales, post-sales and technical roles, and across every one of them, the people around me have been exceptional. Not just good to work with, but people who genuinely make you better. I’m still early in my career—three and a half years full-time, five if you count my internship—and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without the mentors and colleagues I’ve had here.
For anyone looking to join Tanium: the people are the reason. Don’t take it for granted.
<h2>Great workplaces are not defaults </h2>
They’re built through consistent decisions: who you hire, how you design physical spaces, what you invest in for the people who work there and whether leadership actually lives the values it puts on the wall.
In Emeryville, those decisions show up in the mentors who advocate for people before they’ve even applied for a job, the workplace coordinator who makes every month feel like it was planned with care and the teammates who look each other in the eye before a big meeting and say: we’re ready.
That’s the award-winning experience. And it’s happening every day.