How to hire a security system engineer

Security system engineer hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring security system engineers in the United States:

There are a total of 12,070 security system engineers in the US, and there are currently 97,083 job openings in this field.
The median cost to hire a security system engineer is $1,633.
Small businesses spend $1,105 per security system engineer on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
Melbourne, FL, has the highest demand for security system engineers, with 11 job openings.

How to hire a security system engineer, step by step

To hire a security system engineer, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a security system engineer:

Here's a step-by-step security system engineer hiring guide:

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

What does a security system engineer do?

The primary job of a security system engineer is to design computer systems that can prevent disruptions, such as cyberattacks and natural disasters. You will engineer, implement, and monitor security measures to protect computer networks, systems, and information. In addition, you will identify and define the requirements for system security and design computer security architecture. Other duties that you will perform include preparing and documenting standard operating protocols and procedures, configuring and troubleshooting security infrastructure, and developing security tools to help minimize computer security vulnerabilities.

Learn more about the specifics of what a security system engineer does

Post a security system engineer job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

First, determine the employments status of the security system engineer you need to hire. Certain security system engineer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

Determine employee vs contractor status

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

Hiring the perfect security system engineer also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

The following list breaks down different types of security system engineers and their corresponding salaries.

Type of Security System Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
Security System Engineer	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.	$36-67
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
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

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Architecture
- NIST
- DOD
- RMF
- Linux
- Security Engineering
- Azure
- Unix
- Intrusion Detection
- IDS
- Amazon Web Services
- Incident Response
- TCP/IP
- Cloud Security
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Manage 3rd party approval requests for new account creation, remote access, and site-to-site VPN connections.
- Implement a manage endpoint encryption solution utilizing TrendMicro MobileArmor to secure university workstations against sensitive data loss.
- Perform security hardening and security testing, including applying NIST 800-53 controls.
- Assist customer in development and completion of security documentation as specified by DIAPCAP and NIST.
- Implement and enforce security configuration, policies and operations standards on Microsoft and UNIX systems.
- Support troubleshooting application issues relate to network security (SIEM, firewalls, network data collection and storage).
More security system engineer duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in your security system engineer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A security system engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

For example, the average salary for a security system engineer in South Dakota may be lower than in California, and an entry-level security system engineer usually earns less than a senior-level security system engineer. Additionally, a security system engineer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

Average security system engineer salary

$103,018yearly

$49.53 hourly rate

Entry-level security system engineer salary

$75,000 yearly salary

Updated December 14, 2025

Average security system engineer salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$133,942	$64
2	Texas	$103,211	$50
3	Massachusetts	$102,077	$49
4	Maryland	$97,373	$47
5	Michigan	$96,141	$46
6	Georgia	$95,935	$46
7	Virginia	$95,719	$46
8	Washington	$95,143	$46
9	Arizona	$94,219	$45
10	Indiana	$91,533	$44
11	Colorado	$89,311	$43
12	Missouri	$88,524	$43
13	District of Columbia	$88,274	$42
14	New York	$86,262	$41
15	Kansas	$85,753	$41
16	Alabama	$83,962	$40
17	Florida	$83,351	$40
18	Ohio	$83,251	$40
19	Oklahoma	$82,253	$40
20	Illinois	$81,175	$39

Average security system engineer salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Credit Karma	$173,069	$83.21
2	Meta	$161,761	$77.77	404
3	Safeway	$156,489	$75.24
4	Apple	$152,258	$73.20	109
5	NVIDIA	$143,007	$68.75	8
6	DocuSign	$139,555	$67.09	3
7	Bloomberg	$137,204	$65.96	2
8	Avid	$135,274	$65.04	21
9	Amazon	$134,962	$64.89	308
10	Palo Alto Networks	$132,330	$63.62	24
11	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$127,470	$61.28
12	Bankers Trust Company	$126,602	$60.87
13	Roblox	$124,959	$60.08	5
14	Salesforce	$122,534	$58.91	9
15	City National Bank	$118,119	$56.79
16	CyberCoders	$114,590	$55.09	1
17	Experian Data Quality	$113,735	$54.68
18	Citrix	$112,410	$54.04
19	Autodesk	$112,232	$53.96	2
20	Randstad North America, Inc.	$111,181	$53.45	6

Writing a security system engineer job description
A security system engineer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a security system engineer job description:
Security system engineer job description example
Must have a minimum of five (5) years recent experience in the direct performance of a major program, project, or activity relating to systems or network exploitation, Penetration Testing, Security Engineering, Exploit Development, or related fields.

Desired Experience:

Prior experience working as part of a security team is highly desirable. Relevant computer, networking and security certifications are also highly desirable. Ideal candidate would have significant experience working as a penetration tester or functioning in a Red Team or CNO/CNE environment.
Strong exploitation background, including prior work in hardware engineering, construction, testing, or installation
Relevant experience working with Windows, Linux, OSX, Android, and iOS, especially related to exploitation or systems security.
Experience with cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or other wireless technologies
Prior experience in networking, to include network engineering, network architectures, traffic analysis or troubleshooting
Theoretical or working knowledge of security exploit techniques
Development skills, including Java Script, Python, PHP, or C
Security Certifications, such as OSCP, OSCE, OSWE, OSWP, OSEE, CISSP, GSEC, GCIA, GCIH, GWAPT, GPEN, GAWN, GXPN

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Post your job

To find the right security system engineer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with security system engineers they would recommend.
Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit security system engineers who meet your education requirements.
Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

Post your job online:

Post your security system engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit security system engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
Post a job on free websites.

Interview candidates

To successfully recruit security system engineers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

Sometimes, it's not enough to interview security system engineer candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

TestDome
CodeSignal
Testlify
BarRaiser
Coderbyte

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

Send a job offer and onboard your new security system engineer

Once you have selected a candidate for the security system engineer 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new security system engineer. 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.

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.)

How much does it cost to hire a security system engineer?

Recruiting security system engineers involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

The median annual salary for security system engineers is $103,018 in the US. However, the cost of security system engineer hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring a security system engineer for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $36 and $67 an hour.

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Hiring security system engineers FAQs

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Updated December 14, 2025

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How to hire a security system engineer