Check Point Software

Cybersecurity Tel Aviv (HQ) + Yokneam~3,000 in Israel · ~6,000 globally

Check Point is the best-known cybersecurity brand out of Israel — ~3,000 staff in Tel Aviv and Yokneam, ~6,000 globally. Their student / Talented Graduates Program admits engineers year-round, but the home assignment is the single biggest bottleneck: Glassdoor data puts the filter rate north of 60% on the C/C++ algorithmic exercise. Plan for it like you'd plan for a final exam.

Check Point Software — open positions Score my CV against Check Point Software

ATS

In-house

Hebrew

helpful

Citizenship

not required

Last verified

2026-05-02

Programs

Year-round Student R&D Positions

Part-time R&D roles open year-round across security, networking, cloud, and threat-research teams. Common stacks: C, C++, Linux internals, Python for tooling, sometimes Go for newer cloud teams.

Eligibility: Active CS / EE student with ≥1.5 years remaining. Strong C/C++ fundamentals, Linux comfort, and at least one networking or security course preferred.
Schedule: Rolling applications · 2–3 days/week typical · paid · Tel Aviv or Yokneam.

Apply on Check Point Software careers

Talented Graduates Program (TGP)

Cohort-based new-graduate program. ~6 months of structured rotations across security R&D teams before permanent placement. Cohorts are announced ~10 weeks before kickoff; applications close ~6 weeks ahead.

Eligibility: BSc / MSc graduates in CS or EE within the last 12 months. Some industry exposure — internship, student-employee role, open-source contribution — preferred.
Schedule: Cohorts twice yearly · full-time on-site · paid · 6 months structured + permanent placement.

TGP fills fast. The 'apply when announced' window is 4 weeks max; if you miss it, you wait 6 months for the next cohort.

Apply on Check Point Software careers

Who they hire

Check Point's filter favors candidates who are comfortable below the abstraction layer. CS students with operating-systems internals coursework, anyone who's written non-trivial C/C++, and students who've touched networking labs (sockets, packet capture, kernel modules) move fast. The company also hires from EE for embedded / firmware roles and from MSc-level researchers for the Threat Research group. Hebrew helps day-to-day for the Tel Aviv / Yokneam office life but isn't gating; English is the engineering working language. Self-taught candidates with security CTF experience or open-source security tools on GitHub punch above their academic weight.

The process

Stage 1: CV screen via the in-house portal at careers.checkpoint.com. 5–10 day turnaround. Stage 2: take-home assignment — algorithmic + low-level, C or C++, ~8–12 hours of focused work. This is the bottleneck. Glassdoor reviews put the filter rate above 60%. Stage 3: technical phone screen with the assignment author (45 min). Stage 4: on-site panel — usually 3 rounds, mix of system design, OS / networking deep-dive, and a culture fit. Stage 5: HR + offer. Total time CV → offer: 4–6 weeks if you're moving briskly through the assignment, longer if you push it. TGP cohort applicants compress timelines to ~3 weeks because all candidates are reviewed simultaneously.

Check Point Software CV — what to include

Treat C/C++ as the language signal that matters. Listing it once at the bottom of a 'languages' line is a hard miss; show concrete usage — a project, a course, a contribution.
OS internals on the CV matters more than algorithm course grades. 'Operating Systems' alone is generic; 'Wrote a userspace process scheduler in C' is specific.
Yokneam vs Tel Aviv matters more than candidates think. Yokneam skews hardware/firmware/embedded; Tel Aviv is software/cloud/threat-research. Map your CV stack to the right campus.
If you have CCSA, CCSE, or CCSM certifications — list them prominently. Self-paid CCSA (~$300) signals commitment and gets noticed even though it's not required.
GitHub link with security tooling, CTF write-ups, or any networking project beats a generic CS portfolio. Check Point's filter rewards niche fit.
Don't over-rotate to 'I love security' language. The interview team wants evidence (one CTF, one CVE write-up, one packet-analysis side project) not enthusiasm.

Common mistakes that get you filtered

Submitting the home assignment in Python or Java when the role brief says C/C++. The grader checks language fit; off-language submissions get flagged automatically.
Treating the home assignment as a casual exercise. Glassdoor reviews are clear: candidates who spent <4 hours fail at >70% rate. Spend the time.
Cover letter focused on Check Point's product story instead of your own technical fit. The reviewers know the company; they need to know YOUR specifics.
Listing every CS course as a bullet. Trim to 5–6 most-relevant; reviewers skim and a wall of coursework hides the projects they're looking for.
Applying to Tel Aviv when your stack maps to Yokneam (or vice versa). The recruiter routes you to the wrong site and either it stalls or you get re-routed and lose 1–2 weeks.

Insights that aren't on the company's careers page

Check Point's home assignment is the single biggest bottleneck — Glassdoor data puts the filter rate above 60% for engineering roles. The assignment is C/C++ algorithmic with a low-level twist; budget 8–12 hours of focused work.
The CCSA / CCSE / CCSM certifications are NOT required to apply, but listing a self-paid CCSA (~$300) on the CV is a high-signal differentiator. Recruiters notice it.
Tel Aviv vs Yokneam matters more than candidates assume — Yokneam is hardware/firmware-heavy; Tel Aviv is software/cloud. CVs whose stack maps to one campus's work move materially faster than generic ones.
Linux internals + C/C++ + a small networking project is the unstated minimum bar for R&D roles. Pure web-dev portfolios get filtered even if the JD looks generic.
Talented Graduates Program (TGP) cohorts run twice yearly. They're announced ~10 weeks before kickoff and applications close ~6 weeks before. Apply in the first 2 weeks of the announcement window — TGP fills.
Threat Research group is a separate hiring track that prefers MSc / PhD candidates with CVE write-ups or published security research. Most candidates miss this exists; volume there is much lower than mainstream R&D.

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Sources

https://www.checkpoint.com/careers/programs/ · official · 2026-05-02
https://careers.checkpoint.com/index.php?m=cpcareers&a=programs · official · 2026-05-02
https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/Check-Point-Software-Technologies-Interview-Questions-E2899.htm · review · 2026-05-02
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Check-Point-Software-Technologies-Reviews-E2899.htm · review · 2026-05-02
https://il.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies · third-party · 2026-05-02