WTOP teamed up with Energage on the 2026 Top Workplaces awards. The Top Workplaces designation is based entirely on employee feedback collected through a confidential survey. Energage evaluates responses to 26 questions covering leadership, direction, compensation, benefits, workplace culture and purpose, allowing employees to share honest assessments anonymously.
Out of 342 employers recognized this year, one stands out — a two‑year‑old company that’s already earned Top Workplace honors twice.
NR Labs, the Tysons, Virginia-based cybersecurity firm Brian Gay and Ryan Tappis built from the ground up, didn’t begin in a boardroom. The co‑founders’ partnership began a decade ago in a “cramped 8‑by-8 office” in Bethesda, Maryland.
Gay said seeing how Tappis handled the workload, the mission and the pressure made an impression.
“Nothing tells the true colors about someone until you see them deliver and work hard,” he said.
Tappis joked that the two were “married, whether we wanted to be or not,” after spending five days a week in that small office.
The partnership stuck. Gay eventually joined Tappis at another firm, and when the time came to build something new, their director core followed them.
“We’re trying to assemble a team of rock stars that are really all in on the cyber mission,” Tappis said.
NR Labs handles everything from security operations centers to risk management and offensive penetration testing, but both leaders said the real work begins with people.
“We sell people, we do not sell a product,” Tappis said. “Our people need to be happy and motivated and challenged.”
Gay said the company’s approach is to remove the roadblocks that slow employees down.
“We don’t try to wrap it around meetings, bureaucracy, overhead,” he said. “They can just focus on the core work ahead of them.”
Both leaders said the culture is rooted in listening, not perks.
“It’s not ping-pong and kombucha tap,” Tappis said. “It’s caring about them as people. Know who their family is, know what makes them tick.”
NR Labs also embraces what they call an “opt‑in culture,” where employees choose how much they want to stretch beyond their day‑to‑day roles.
“Here are the stretch things you do if you want to achieve higher bonuses, higher compensation,” Gay said. “But it’s on you to make that decision.”
When NR Labs learned it had made the Top Workplaces list again, Tappis said the recognition meant even more because it came directly from employees.
“It’s incredibly honoring, humbling,” he said. “This is tangible evidence that it’s working.”
On its website, NR Labs describes itself as a people‑driven business, focused on hiring and empowering talented individuals. Making the Top Workplaces list two years in a row, in the same amount of time they’ve been in business, suggests their employees agree.
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