Since she joined Andesite in 2024, Rachel Wishner has been a key member of our Product team. She started out developing AI SOC features, and has since transitioned to focus on our AI and data science platform. Rachel brings a unique perspective to her role, combining product development expertise in data and AI systems with experience across the federal government, from the Department of Homeland Security to Treasury, and technology startups. Throughout, she keeps a relentless focus on understanding and solving for customer needs. She is also a large-scale abstract artist, which adds another dimension to her work and our team.
Tell Us a Little About Your Background, How Did You End Up in Cybersecurity?
My journey has been interesting. I have a master’s degree in art history from George Washington University and an undergrad degree from George Mason. In December 2008, I had been interning at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery for two years in anticipation of getting a full-time offer. Then the economy crashed. Not only could they not offer me a job; they were letting people go who had been there for a long time.
Around that time, I was offered a position as an executive assistant in the Office of International Affairs. Working for various government contractors, I began to learn about data and systems, became an OSINT analyst for the Office of Bombing Prevention, and later a business analyst at DHS Technical Resource for Incident Prevention (TRIPwire). From there, I was hired as the primary project manager overseeing the systems that contain the nation’s BSA data at the Department of the Treasury. That really helped me understand, at its core, how data moves through systems and what the outcomes need to be.
Eventually, I ended up supporting Deloitte on a business process transformation effort for the Farm Loan Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). I was invited to be the business analyst supporting the product manager for a new product we were developing, and discovered that I really like building things. The product side of the work was really interesting to me. From there, I was recruited by a software company in San Francisco where I oversaw the building and maintenance of data systems. So, my role at Andesite really brings together my government experience, my understanding of deep, complex, data-related systems, and my product expertise.
How Have You Built Your Knowledge Around the AI Side of Your Work?
The common thread throughout my career is that I’m curious to a fault. I always want to dig in, to understand how things work. AI has always felt like magic from the outside. It was a black box, with not a lot of transparency. I was naturally drawn to it out of a desire to understand what’s going on under the hood.
What Attracted You to Andesite?
I had really strong intuition about Andesite. Startup life isn’t for everyone, but I like having access and exposure to people who are several levels above me. I want to talk to the folks who are really good at what they do. Andesite lets me leverage my mission-focused skills. I liked what I did at DHS, working for an agency that supports the federal government. I live in DC, I worked at the Smithsonian, I was a swim coach at Fort Myer. I care deeply about our country, and I am mission-driven. At Andesite, we have people who have worked in the federal government for their whole careers and served in the military, and then there’s the startup side of it. It’s a meshing of two worlds in a way I didn’t know was possible. As soon as I realized that was an option, I was excited and knew I had to get involved.
Why Do You Think Andesite is Uniquely Positioned to Successfully Apply AI in Cybersecurity?
As a company, we’re very grounded and mission-driven. Because so many of us have served in the military and government agencies, we’re focused on coming to the table with something that matters. People here care deeply about what we’re doing and no one is willing to sacrifice the integrity of the product for the pursuit of profit. We don’t have the ego that usually comes with being part of a tech startup. Helping SOC analysts feel less stressed is a very real and tangible desire. We have a unique drive to succeed that means even if we have speed bumps, people won’t quit on that mission. It runs much deeper than just building a product.
How Would You Characterize Your Approach to Product Development at Andesite?
It’s different from what I’ve done in the past because there’s a real focus on the humanity of our product. Instead of saying, “This is a sector in which we can make a lot of money, so we have to produce X features because there are buyers for that,” it’s more about sitting with analysts and understanding what makes their work hard. We really listen to that and strive to figure out how we can make a difference. There’s an empathy at Andesite that’s truly unique. At some companies, product managers are mostly pumping out features, divorced from the human side of things. Not here.
What Are You Most Excited About When it Comes to Cybersecurity and AI?
This is an incredibly exciting time to work in AI. You don’t get a lot of frontiers like this in your career. This is a revolutionary concept, similar to the dot-com moment thirty years ago. Everyone has questions, and some people think it’s scary. However you feel about AI, it’s the zeitgeist of this moment. I find it really exciting at this time to be building a meaningful product that can leverage the thing everyone is talking about. There aren’t many moments in your career when you’re in this position. Not only that, it’s something that I care about. Being mission-driven makes this a very fulfilling moment from a product perspective.
As Both an Artist and an AI Product Manager, What Do You Think About the Tension Around AI in the Public Conversation?
Maybe because AI was included in science fiction for so long, there’s a disconnect between people’s conception of what it can do versus the reality of being embedded in a team managing it every day.
I wonder if it was the same as when the internet became ubiquitous, although that didn’t happen as quickly. I think right now, people are overwhelmed at the possibilities. On the other hand, remember when everyone said the Kindle would replace books? This year, Barnes & Noble is opening more stores than it has in years, so that clearly didn’t happen. What we need to do is get through this moment of chaos and come out the other side. Then people will start to see the true benefits of grounded, useful AI. Right now, it’s the Wild West. Personally, I’m very calm about what the future looks like. Maybe the idea that in art all things are cyclical gives me some additional perspective that lends to that calmness.
What Are the Commonalities Between Your Work at Andesite and the Arts?
One of the things that gets lost when you’re working in product is that people have to be excited about what you’re working on. They have to feel something when they’re using your product, which is the same with art. Sometimes when I’m working on a piece, I get that feeling of excitement, like I know people will respond to this. The same thing happens in product. Sometimes I build a feature that makes me think, ‘Oh this is exciting, people are going to think this is cool,’ or I realize that it’s really going to relieve a pain point they’ve been suffering from. It’s that same drive, knowing other people are going to look at this and think it’s great. I always want to make something that evokes that feeling.
What Kind of Art Do You Make? What’s Your Medium?
I started out doing a lot of figural work then transitioned to abstract, where there’s not a lot of rules. My first series was driven by my passion for science fiction: taking things girls weren’t into and making them feminine, which resonates in tech, too. It’s an expression of being able to be both. I later switched to expressive, non-figural art. I work at a large scale, lots of six-foot tall pieces that are very physically engaging. I like the physical expression. You can see my work at my website.