How to hire a data security analyst

How to hire a data security analyst, step by step

Here's a step-by-step data security analyst hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a data security analyst job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new data security analyst
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a data security analyst do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a data security analyst, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a data security analyst to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a data security analyst that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of data security analyst salaries for various roles:

   Type of Data Security Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Data Security Analyst	Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems. Their responsibilities are continually expanding as the number of cyberattacks increases.	$30-57
   Information Assurance Engineer	Information assurance engineers are responsible for protecting an organization's data. They act as a team of security specialists that use their skill in securely operating and keeping data to protect the organization's most essential asset... Show more	$32-56
   Information Systems Security Officer	An information systems security officer's role is to perform preventive measures to protect a company's data and systems from hackers or cyber-attacks. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the existing security measures to identify any vulnerabilities or inconsistencies, recommending and implementing changes to improve security systems, and developing new strategies and programs for data protection... Show more	$32-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Security
   • Incident Response
   • Access Management
   • Encryption
   • SQL
   • Security Procedures
   • Risk Assessments
   • Security Systems
   • Data Analysis
   • Firewall
   • Technical Support
   • Mainframe
   • Security Issues
   • Data Loss Prevention

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide support for manage IP security services customers in a 24x7 UNIX operations center.
   • Manage quality control team of senior auditors, budgets, HIPAA compliance reports to CMS, monthly audit tracking/reporting.
   • Provide architecture and design guidance in network segmentation and isolation of PCI data and equipment in order to achieve PCI compliance.
   • Manage centralized and decentralize correlation servers for intrusion detection and log monitoring.
   • Log analysis & managing the accuracy of DLP identification to lowering/avoiding false positives and negatives.
   • Conduct system testing and implementation of the mainframe encryption.

   More data security analyst duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your data security analyst job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A data security analyst can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, data security analysts' average salary in hawaii is 31% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level data security analysts 48% less than senior-level data security analysts.
   • Certifications. A data security analyst with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a data security analyst's salary.

   Average data security analyst salary

   $87,446yearly

   $42.04 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level data security analyst salary

   $63,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average data security analyst salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$109,272	$53
   2	Oregon	$93,053	$45
   3	Washington	$92,028	$44
   4	New York	$89,007	$43
   5	Maryland	$88,267	$42
   6	Massachusetts	$87,948	$42
   7	Nevada	$86,163	$41
   8	Virginia	$85,074	$41
   9	Georgia	$84,810	$41
   10	Utah	$82,535	$40
   11	Illinois	$82,347	$40
   12	Texas	$82,129	$39
   13	Michigan	$81,839	$39
   14	North Carolina	$81,692	$39
   15	Minnesota	$79,415	$38
   16	District of Columbia	$79,389	$38
   17	Colorado	$77,028	$37
   18	Iowa	$76,046	$37
   19	Indiana	$75,845	$36
   20	Nebraska	$75,205	$36

   Average data security analyst salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$139,669	$67.15	1,141
   2	Bloomberg	$124,747	$59.97	51
   3	ByteDance	$123,917	$59.58	22
   4	Über	$122,353	$58.82	25
   5	Citi	$109,655	$52.72	29
   6	Splunk	$97,009	$46.64
   7	Royal Bank of Canada	$97,006	$46.64	3
   8	Caleres	$96,528	$46.41
   9	Northern Trust	$95,009	$45.68	18
   10	Randstad North America, Inc.	$91,275	$43.88	23
   11	Roche Holding AG	$90,689	$43.60	5
   12	DXC Technology	$90,056	$43.30	3
   13	Vivint Smart Home	$89,001	$42.79	3
   14	Union Pacific	$88,475	$42.54
   15	Gartner	$87,864	$42.24	4
   16	General Dynamics	$87,028	$41.84	145
   17	Kemper	$86,479	$41.58
   18	CoStar Group	$85,826	$41.26	10
   19	Jacobs Enterprises	$85,807	$41.25	220
   20	Univ. Of Texas Cancer Ctr.	$85,591	$41.15	18

4. Writing a data security analyst job description

   A good data security analyst job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a data security analyst job description:

   Data security analyst job description example

   Work Schedule: 8am-5:00pm; M-F

   Technology Top Skills:

   Robert Half is looking for a Cyber and Information Security Analyst in Salinas, California. The Cyber and Information Security Analyst will be leading and implementing various aspects of Cybersecurity, Infrastructure and Application Security for critical enterprise products. To thrive in this role, you should be a natural problem solver and have a strong sense of ownership. Apply for this position today if you think you are a self-confident, motivated person with a strong work ethic and excellent communication skills who enjoys a fast-paced, team-driven environment. Submit your application for this exciting opportunity!

   Essential Duties:

   -Monitor, review, analyze and document security alerts and reports generated from various

   platforms and applications

   
   

   -Identify threat risks from the reported phishing, malware and virus-related alerts

   
   

   -Build automation for detecting, preventing and responding to security events

   
   

   -Perform vulnerability scans; review and track identified vulnerabilities until remediated

   
   

   Establish and coordinate remediation and mitigation activities for identified security risks

   
   

   -Incorporate Security check processes into existing and new enterprise systems

   
   

   -Conduct regular quarterly, semi-annual, and annual application user access reviews to ensure

   Company’s regulatory compliance (FFIEC, GLBA, SOX)

   
   

   -Research, analyze, recommend, design and implement network-based, host-based or cloudbased Information Security solutions

   
   

   -Design, implement and maintain Security controls that support NIST, FFIEC, SOC2, PCI DSS,

   GLBA, SOX frameworks

   
   

   -Assist with gathering documentation to support internal and external audits

   
   

   -Act as a Cybersecurity and Information Security SME (Subject Matter Expert) to various

   internal teams on emerging threats

   Top Requirements

   -Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Science, Engineering, or related field, or suitable

   combination of education, experience and training

   
   

   -5+ years of experience in Information Security, Risk and Compliance management, preferably

   in highly regulated industry

   
   

   -Good understanding of the following compliance/security frameworks: NIST, FFIEC, SOC2, PCI

   DSS, GLBA and SOX

   
   

   -Medium-to-advanced knowledge of subjects such as infrastructure (network, servers, storage)

   security design and architecture, endpoint protection, SSO, MDM, BYOD, DLP, IAM,

   vulnerability management, penetration testing, intrusion detection, risk management, and

   forensics

   
   

   -Familiar with cloud Security architecture in Microsoft Azure and Office 365

   
   

   -Working knowledge of Information Security tools (vulnerability management, Nessus, Rapid7,

   OpenSSL, NMAP, PAM, SIEM, pen testing, network packet analysis, forensics, etc.) and basic

   Scripting

   Certifications: CISSP, CISA, CISM, GCIA or other SANS GIAC certifications (either currently active or will be completed within 6-12 months).

   
   

   **For immediate consideration please apply here and connect with Nadia Jimenez on LinkedIn

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find data security analysts for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find data security analyst candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting data security analysts requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a data security analyst applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new data security analyst

   Once you have selected a candidate for the data security analyst position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new data security analyst. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a data security analyst?