Hiring a security engineer for remote roles? Across 367 live security engineer postings for remote roles, the market pays a $182K median salary (typically $145K–$211K). Recruiting from Scratch is the contingency technical recruiting firm for these hires — a 29-day average time to hire, 300+ placements, and a 2M+ candidate network.
A security engineer protects the product and infrastructure through threat modeling, secure architecture, detection, and response. Hiring one for remote roles means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 367 active security engineer postings for remote roles:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $145K |
| Median | $182K |
| 75th | $211K |
Based on 212 security engineer postings for remote roles that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
Remote roles pay about 5% above the US median for this role ($173K).
Across the 257 security engineer postings for remote roles that spell out responsibilities:
The companies with the most live security engineer openings for remote roles, with what each pays and screens for (medians shown only where at least 3 postings disclose pay):
| Company | Open security engineer roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Top skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstart | 8 | $227K | Kubernetes, CI/CD, AWS |
| Gemini | 8 | $204K | Python, Go, Scala |
| Mozilla | 8 | $117K | Python, TypeScript, React |
| ClickHouse | 7 | — | Kubernetes, Python, Go |
| Guidepoint Security | 7 | — | Azure, Python, CI/CD |
| Twilio | 6 | — | AWS, GCP, Python |
| GitLab | 5 | — | — |
| Chainguard | 5 | — | Python, Go, AWS |
| Wizinc | 5 | — | Python, Go, AWS |
| PandaDoc | 4 | — | AWS, GCP, Azure |
Where the security engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 150 companies with the most live openings for remote roles:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 4 | 7 | — | Charliehealth, AspenView Technology Partners, LiteLLM |
| Series A | 4 | 8 | $164K | Cogent Security, Prolific, Resend |
| Series B | 14 | 26 | $145K | CertiK, Wrike, Bonterra |
| Series C | 5 | 9 | — | PandaDoc, Valon Technologies, Voltus |
| Series D+ | 42 | 77 | $203K | ClickHouse, Chainguard, 6sense |
| Public | 35 | 73 | $180K | Upstart, Gemini, Twilio |
A further 46 of those companies have no funding stage on file and are not shown above.
Recruiting from Scratch is a contingency technical recruiting firm — no retainer and no upfront cost, so you pay only when you make a hire. The process: align on the role and must-haves → a curated shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified security engineers (not resume volume) → a 29-day average time to hire versus the 49-day industry average → a 90-day replacement guarantee. Backed by 300+ placements, a 2M+ candidate network, and named hires at companies like Decagon and Mercor.
A security engineer protects the product and infrastructure through threat modeling, secure architecture, detection, and response.
What salary does a security engineer for remote roles command in 2026?Across 367 live postings for remote roles, a $182K median salary (typically $145K–$211K) — base only; equity is typically on top. Most postings expect 5+ years of experience.
What should you look for when hiring a security engineer?Depth in the skills these postings require (AWS, Python, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Go, Terraform), plus application- and infrastructure-security depth, threat-modeling skill, and a builder's mindset. Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 genuinely qualified candidates, not resume volume.
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