Life Here
What it's actually like to be a Swigger.
From the first day in the office to the latest all-hands — this is a window into life at PortSwigger, unfiltered.
How we got here
Milestones along the way.
- 2002Daf builds the first Burp tools as a side project, automating his own pentesting work
- 2003First public release — anonymously, under the hacking handle "PortSwigger"
- 2008PortSwigger Ltd incorporated; Daf is the sole employee, building the product and answering every support email himself
- 2012Paul joins as first employee — a team of two
- 2013First office opens in Knutsford; company principles written as a unit test and put on the wall
- 2014Culture work formally begins — retros, values in hiring, deliberate investment in the kind of employer PortSwigger wants to be
- 2019Web Security Academy launches, free to all; Queen's Award for Enterprise
- 2021New HQ opens at Booths Park — designed from the start for 400+ Swiggers
- 2022Bring your parent to work day — a window into Swigger life that went beyond the office
- 2024First outside investment: $112M, after 16 years bootstrapped and profitable
- 2025London and Atlanta offices open — PortSwigger goes global
- 2026177 Swiggers across three offices — and the same six principles on the wall
Swigger life
The amazing things our Swiggers get up to.
From workplace events, to all-hands presentations, weekly socials to conferences - life at PortSwigger is full. Here's a small window into it.
Company-wide All-Hands
Summer BBQ, Knutsford
Burp Ambassadors launch
Swigmas Quizzes
Burp on Tour
Atlanta Kickoff
What we build
See what your future teammates work on.
PortSwigger builds the tools that security professionals around the world rely on. Here's a quick look.
Where we work
PortSwigger Workplace.
We have three fantastic office locations, each offering a unique working environment.
See our current vacancies page for more information on which opportunities we have open in each location.
Wellbeing
Mens sana in corpore sano.
It's great to be smart, solving interesting problems, and creating cool things. But all this ultimately depends on being in good mental and physical health.
Across all our locations, we actively promote a healthy lifestyle through our culture, ways of working, and office environments. Our workspaces are designed to support well-being, with sitting/standing desks available — some SwiggersWhat everyone at PortSwigger calls themselves. If you work here, you're a Swigger. even choose to walk at their desks using treadmills. We provide nutritious food and snack options and encourage fitness and exercise in various ways.
We take mental health seriously. We don't work sweatshop hours. We avoid stress. We actively look out for the mental wellbeing of our people and provide appropriate intervention and support when necessary.
How we work
Workday flexibility.
Core working hours are 9am to 5pm. There is flexibility to shift your day earlier or later, starting any time between 8am and 9.30am.
We work hard and intensely during the working day, and then we go home. We don't expect anyone to run unsustainably. But we are customer-first, and urgency is real — if a customer is blocked on a critical issue, or something important needs shipping, we see it through — and then we recover.
Why our Swiggers love coming to work
Hear directly from our SwiggersWhat everyone at PortSwigger calls themselves. If you work here, you're a Swigger. to learn about what they get up to, and why they love coming to work every day.
How we work
Better together.
Why we work together in the office
Our culture is our most important superpower — and our biggest differentiator as an organisation. A key part of that culture is being better together. We work in person because we've found it creates the conditions for our people to do their best work — faster, sharper, and more connected to what they're building.
It sharpens your craft.
When you can spin your chair and show a colleague what you're wrestling with, problems that would take days to resolve in a thread get resolved in minutes. The kind of spontaneous exchange, a whiteboard sketch, a 'have you considered' moment — all compound over time into serious growth. SwiggersWhat everyone at PortSwigger calls themselves. If you work here, you're a Swigger. consistently tell us they've learned more in six months here than they did in two years elsewhere.
It builds trust.
Trust isn't built in chat threads. The depth of relationship you build in person changes how the team moves — decisions are faster, feedback unlocks progress, and the work is more enjoyable.
It protects your energy.
Having a place to arrive at, and a place to leave, gives your energy a shape. When you're here, you're fully in it. When you leave, you can properly switch off.
How we invest in being better together
In support of our Better Together approach to work, we invest in:
People and culture
- Work-life balance is highly encouraged.
- Flexible hours accommodate commuting and personal circumstances.
- Trust is the default here — not something you earn over time.
- A strong sense of community and belonging.
- Work is supposed to be enjoyable. Shared laughter and time together is a genuine part of how we operate — not a nice-to-have.
Workplace and amenities
- Beautiful, open-plan office space to support collaboration.
- Breakout space to allow you to come together with fellow Swiggers to socialize and build connections.
- Free drinks and snacks available in all offices.
- Company funded socials and opportunities to come together over a meal (either in our offices or outside depending upon location).
High performing teams
- Strong team relationships.
- Sense of belonging.
- Understanding, openness, and trust.
- High bandwidth communication, face to face wherever possible.
We do have flexibility for occasional remote working when life happens and it's genuinely not possible to get into the office. However, we treat this as an exception rather than the default. We trust Swiggers to use their judgement and make the right call. If you're ever unsure, please speak to your Team Leader.
The handbook
Everything to know about Swigger life.
Working hours, leave, social events, how we handle feedback — all in one place.
Staff
Handbook
Joining us
Ready to find your place here?
PortSwigger is growing fast — across three offices, across continents, with one of the most distinctive cultures in the industry still intact. The work is the best it's ever been. The team is the strongest it's ever been.
And we're only getting started.