What's it really like to be a new designer at Okta? In this article, I'm sharing a personal look inside my first few months on the Okta design team. You'll get a sense of our collaborative culture, the surprisingly thoughtful onboarding process, and the engaging projects we're tackling. It’s a glimpse into why this is such a unique and rewarding place for designers who want to make a real impact on the future of security.
A Warm Welcome to San Francisco's Tech Scene
I’ve spent most of my career working in medical devices and have always been drawn to highly complex spaces. So when I was approached to apply for a role at Okta, I jumped at the opportunity to apply my skills to some new challenges in cybersecurity.
My first week started with a trip to Okta’s headquarters in San Francisco, a city buzzing with tech workers attending an AI summit. AI was everywhere, on every billboard and in every Waymo driving along the city streets. My first day in the office was dedicated to setting up my laptop, and I was amazed by how smooth the process was. We use Okta products ourselves, so once Okta FastPass was set up, I could easily download all the applications I needed and sign in without a hitch.
During our onboarding, we learned about Okta’s values, such as “Always secure. Always on.” and “Love our customers.” This got me thinking about the inherent challenge for a design team: creating the best possible user experience while also ensuring the highest level of security, even when those two requirements often conflict.
Our onboarding cohort also got to have a tour of the office. We discovered amazing facilities, meeting rooms that paid tribute to famous San Francisco landmarks, craft beers on tap, and even a hidden speakeasy!
I was also fortunate enough to have a whiteboard session with our Senior Vice President of Design. I got to learn all about Okta’s products, the organization, highlights from Okta’s history, and, most importantly, all the best tips on where to eat in San Francisco.
After work, I enjoyed some time off, walking through Salesforce Park, a rooftop garden with plants from all over the world, and taking the ferry to Alcatraz Island. I was amazed to learn that it’s not just a former prison but a bird sanctuary, too!
Onboarding, By Design
My onboarding was thoughtfully planned and executed, which was a refreshing change. At other companies, I’ve felt like I was thrown into the deep end, meeting customers on my first day. In contrast, Okta gave me a few weeks to complete my training, explore the products, and meet the team before diving into project work. This grace period allowed me to get my bearings and feel prepared.
So many thoughtful touches made my onboarding a positive experience. On my first day, I was greeted with a welcome card. I was also sent eco-friendly and genuinely useful Okta swag. The company provided a 30-60-90 day plan and a personal "blueprint" document to help others understand my working style and preferences. It was clear that design thinking had been used to craft the entire onboarding experience and that the process had been refined over time.
A Culture of Collaboration and Impact
Stepping into the design team felt energizing and motivating. The impact of what we do is clear: there's a huge opportunity to make a difference by guiding our customers to make security-enhancing decisions in the easiest way possible. I also noticed the team's incredible diversity, with strong female representation in leadership—a welcome and unexpected sight in an industry like IT security.
One of the most reassuring aspects was having an onboarding buddy. Entering the world of security is like learning a foreign language, full of acronyms and specific terminology. In meetings it’s typical to hear sentences such as:
“As an AD Admin for our org, I used an OIN app with SWA and JIT provisioning to provide SSO, MFA, and LCM for users in the UD, but I'll need to use the AIW for our custom SAML app because it's not in the OIN.”
My buddy was there to reassure me it takes time for it all to make sense and thankfully, there’s an acronym guide to help you translate everything.
Everyone I met, from engineers to product managers, were incredibly busy but still took the time to explain things and share resources with me. The team is very forthcoming and supportive, creating an environment where it's okay to ask questions and learn.
Finding My Direction and Looking Ahead
After a few months, I feel like I have a clear direction. I'm still learning the language, of course, but I'm already working on some highly strategic projects, like how we are securing AI across our product suite. This is a big challenge that requires designers to help influence and advocate for user experience in an environment where security is the most critical factor. Our products are complex, and we're in an incredibly dynamic environment where cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated.
Okta is deeply invested in design and is growing the team globally. It's an exciting time to be here, tackling these unique challenges. The opportunity to help shape the future of our products—which are not only leaders in their space but are actively redefining the security landscape—is truly unique. This is more than just a job; it’s a chance to be at the forefront of a dynamic and evolving industry. And the good news is that we’re hiring.
