Senior security architect vs senior security analyst

The differences between senior security architects and senior security analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior security architect and a senior security analyst. Additionally, a senior security architect has an average salary of $129,456, which is higher than the $103,571 average annual salary of a senior security analyst.

The top three skills for a senior security architect include cloud security, cloud and risk assessments. The most important skills for a senior security analyst are NIST, incident response, and cloud security.

Senior security architect vs senior security analyst overview

	Senior Security Architect	Senior Security Analyst
Yearly salary	$129,456	$103,571
Hourly rate	$62.24	$49.79
Growth rate	32%	32%
Number of jobs	123,555	61,108
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	6	6

What does a senior security architect do?

Senior security architects deal with developing solutions to accomplish goals and providing ideas about structure, growth, and solutions. Their job revolves around a quick moving environment, constant communication, and working with partners to identify business opportunities. Having this position requires leadership and mentoring skills to help junior team members succeed in this field. They should have technical skills to design and develop solutions to improve an already existing technology. Also, they will be responsible for developing, planning, and executing security systems and strategies.

What does a senior security analyst do?

A senior security analyst is a digital professional who creates and implements firewalls and software systems to protect data and prevent attacks on private data. Senior security analysts aim to identify weaknesses in a network's security system and prevent breaches from occurring. Within larger organizations, senior security analysts are required to work with professionals who specialize in networking, information technology (IT), and computer system. They must also design security protocols and systems to better protect their customers and user data.

Senior security architect vs senior security analyst salary

Senior security architects and senior security analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Security Architect	Senior Security Analyst
Average salary	$129,456	$103,571
Salary range	Between $96,000 And $173,000	Between $79,000 And $135,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	California
Best paying company	Apple	Coinbase
Best paying industry	Professional	Government

Differences between senior security architect and senior security analyst education

There are a few differences between a senior security architect and a senior security analyst in terms of educational background:

	Senior Security Architect	Senior Security Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Computer Science	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Senior security architect vs senior security analyst demographics

Here are the differences between senior security architects' and senior security analysts' demographics:

	Senior Security Architect	Senior Security Analyst
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 94.3% Female, 5.7%	Male, 76.5% Female, 23.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between senior security architect and senior security analyst duties and responsibilities

Senior security architect example responsibilities.

Achieve full compliance for industry specification standards (UL, NEMA, NIST).
Manage logistics of moving necessary equipment for test across country to newly designed/built NSA certify test facility.
Provide governance and direction for proper use of data.
Implement logging, Nessus, write policies and develop encryption from framework for PCI/SOX compliance.
Ensure encryption solutions are in compliance with company policies, regulatory directives, and best practices.
Develop enterprise security policy, standards, controls and guidelines base on PCI, SOX, HIPPA, and NIST standards.

Senior security analyst example responsibilities.

Supervise and manage information security assets associate with DISA STIGS and HBSS.
Utilize Unix utilities and management packages to analyze and manage traffic flow in the corporate backbone.
Manage GLBA security awareness and training program and annual information security awareness activities.
Introduce dashboards to identify preemptive attacks on corporate perimeter using intrusion detection and web application firewall technologies.
Evaluate DoD security tools; determine compatibility issues with existing network configuration/infrastructure, and present conclusions to management.
Contribute in defining time tables and SIEM project plans.

Senior security architect vs senior security analyst skills

Common senior security architect skills

Cloud Security, 8%
Cloud, 8%
Risk Assessments, 5%
Encryption, 5%
Firewall, 5%
Windows, 4%

Common senior security analyst skills

NIST, 7%
Incident Response, 5%
Cloud Security, 4%
Encryption, 4%
Firewall, 4%
Switches, 4%

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Senior Security Architect vs Senior Security Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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