What is a Security Engineer?

Security Engineers protect software systems at every layer — from application security (AppSec) and cloud infrastructure to threat detection and incident response. As AI systems move to production and attack surfaces expand, security engineering has become one of the most in-demand and fastest-growing engineering disciplines. This board aggregates open Security and AppSec engineering roles daily from public ATS feeds, linked to the original posting.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Security Engineer?

A Security Engineer designs, builds, and operates defenses for software systems — covering application security (code review, vulnerability assessment), cloud security (IAM, network controls, CSPM), and detection and response (SIEM, threat hunting). The role spans preventative engineering and reactive incident work.

AppSec vs. Cloud Security vs. Security Engineer — what's the difference?

Application Security (AppSec) engineers focus on the software development lifecycle — finding and fixing vulnerabilities in code and APIs. Cloud Security engineers focus on infrastructure controls in AWS/GCP/Azure. Security Engineers often span both, plus detection engineering and incident response.

What skills do Security Engineers need?

Strong software engineering fundamentals plus security-specific knowledge: OWASP Top 10, threat modeling, cloud IAM, network security, cryptography, and tooling (Burp Suite, Semgrep, Falco, etc.). Programming in Python or Go is common. Certifications (OSCP, AWS Security Specialty) are a plus but rarely a hard requirement at strong engineering shops.

Compensation

In the US, Security Engineer roles typically fall in the range of $165,000–$244,896 in base salary, with a median of $203,500 based on 633 roles with published salary data (42% coverage). See the Security Engineer salary page for full data.

Top companies hiring Security Engineers right now

709 companies have open Security Engineer postings tracked by latchhire. Top employers by open headcount: