Meet Shrivu Shankar, Staff Machine Learning Engineer
Four years ago, Shrivu Shankar was still in college when he started as an intern at Abnormal. Today, he leads machine learning architecture for a platform that protects millions of people from cyberattacks. The progression feels fast, but at Abnormal, that's what happens when you step up to solve problems that matter.
August 18, 2025
Building From Day One
Shrivu joined because he saw something rare: the chance to build AI-native systems from scratch. "We're not retrofitting legacy tools. We've built from the ground up to detect anomalies in human behavior," he explains. While other companies were adding AI features to existing products, Abnormal was designing everything around machine learning from the beginning.
"There's probably no other company right now really integrating AI this much and taking the bet on it being a fairly transformational technology versus just a useful thing."
That environment shaped how Shrivu thinks about his work. "Someone asks what AI tools you have access to and where you use AI? The answer for Abnormal is: you have basically all the AI tools and we're using AI for everything."
The Reality of Scale
The technical challenges keep Shrivu engaged. "One of the biggest problems is scale. How do you process tens of thousands of signals per email and still respond in real time?" That question drives his daily work across infrastructure and model architecture. The platform has to stay fast, precise, and ready for whatever threat comes next.
Recently, Shrivu realized something that surprised him. "In the last three to four weeks, I haven't written a single line of code, but I've definitely shipped quite a few PRs." The transition from hands-on coding to technical leadership happened naturally as he took on bigger challenges and helped other engineers solve complex problems.
"It's kind of a sweet spot where we both can move very quickly and you can have a lot of multi-hat ownership, but you also have so much impact when you're shipping things."
Working With People Who Push You
For Shrivu, the team makes the difference. "A lot of people have joined Abnormal and come in already really strong, or they've actually grown quite a bit at the company. You just get to work with a lot of really cool people." The combination of high expectations and collaborative support creates an environment where people stretch beyond what they thought possible.
The work moves fast, but the stakes keep everyone focused. "What we do genuinely protects people and companies. There's a shared sense of responsibility." Every model improvement, every signal processed, every system optimization has real impact on the security of organizations worldwide.
Where Innovation Happens
Abnormal treats AI exploration as part of the job, not a side project. "We treat AI as a shared advantage, not a specialized skill. Everyone is encouraged to tinker, test, and scale what works." That culture of experimentation lets engineers like Shrivu push boundaries and try approaches that wouldn't be possible at more traditional companies.
The result is a platform that evolves as fast as the threats it fights. For Shrivu, that combination of technical challenge, meaningful impact, and collaborative growth makes every day different.
