Hiring a security engineer in Seattle? Across 147 live security engineer postings in Seattle, the market pays a $203K median salary (typically $173K–$222K). 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 in Seattle means competing with the companies below.
What employers actually screen for, aggregated across 147 active security engineer postings in Seattle:
| Percentile | Base salary |
|---|---|
| 25th | $173K |
| Median | $203K |
| 75th | $222K |
Based on 98 security engineer postings in Seattle that disclose pay. Base only — equity is typically on top.
Seattle pays about 17% above the US median for this role ($173K).
The companies with the most live security engineer openings in Seattle, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 10 | — | Python, Go, Java |
| Anthropic | 10 | $363K | Python, Go, Rust |
| CoreWeave | 9 | $204K | Python, Go, Kubernetes |
| Amazon | 9 | $178K | AWS, Salesforce, Python |
| SpaceX | 8 | $200K | Python, Go, Rust |
| 6 | — | — | |
| Okta | 4 | $204K | Python, Go, Java |
| JPMorganChase | 4 | — | — |
| Robinhood | 4 | $212K | Python, AWS, Go |
| Stripe | 3 | — | Ruby, CI/CD, AWS |
Where the security engineer demand sits across funding stages, across the 56 companies with the most live openings in Seattle:
| Stage | Companies hiring | Open roles | Median pay (disclosed) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 2 | 7 | — | Google, Kirkland, WA |
| Series B | 5 | 11 | — | JPMorganChase, Chase, Instagram |
| Series C | 1 | 1 | — | Nscale |
| Series D+ | 18 | 43 | $203K | Anthropic, SpaceX, Stripe |
| Public | 20 | 62 | $204K | Apple, CoreWeave, Amazon |
A further 10 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 in Seattle command in 2026?Across 147 live postings in Seattle, a $203K median salary (typically $173K–$222K) — 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 (Python, Go, AWS, Azure, Kubernetes, CI/CD, GCP, Java), 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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