Senior Security Engineer

💰 $145K–$201K salary range

Median: $175K  ·  Based on 292 public job postings  ·  Updated August 30, 2026

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Securing the rapid innovation at high-growth companies demands specialized expertise. Professionals in this field are vital in integrating robust security practices directly into AI model development, data pipelines, and infrastructure. They mitigate unique risks such as model poisoning, data exfiltration, and adversarial attacks, ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of cutting-edge AI systems. This senior security role commands a salary range of $175K–$235K, with a median compensation of $212K based on an analysis of 94 recent job postings. Professionals who achieve top pay demonstrate advanced proficiency in MLSecOps, threat modeling specific to AI/ML systems, and deep expertise in cloud-native security postures. Strong communication and the ability to embed security early in the development lifecycle are also highly valued for these critical positions.

📊 Salary breakdown

Senior Security Engineer salary by location

• All locations: $175K median ($145K–$201K typical range)
• San Francisco: $198K median, $168K–$218K range (+13% vs. national)
• New York: $190K median, $171K–$205K range (+8% vs. national)
• Boston: $158K median, $147K–$178K range (-9% vs. national)
• Seattle: $172K median, $158K–$191K range (-2% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $152K median, $129K–$157K range (-13% vs. national)
• Denver: $177K median, $175K–$203K range (+1% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Faire: $207K median
• Crusoe: $188K median
• Gong Io: $161K median

New York

• Oscar Health: $190K median

Based on companies with 3+ active postings. Median of publicly advertised salary range.

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 66% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 85% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 52% of postings
• Parental leave: 35% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 19% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 4% of postings

Typical experience required: 7–7 years.

Security salaries by seniority

• Security Engineer: $150K
• Security Engineering Manager: $160K
• Hardware Engineer: $175K
• Senior Security Engineer: $175K
• Security Lead: $180K
• Staff Security Engineer: $216K
• Head of Security / CISO: $252K

What does a Senior Security Engineer do?

Senior Security Engineers are security engineers and analysts who protect infrastructure, data, and applications. This benchmark reflects Senior-level base compensation at high-growth and AI-native companies.

Government wage data

For corroboration, U.S. Department of Labor certified wage filings (FY2026) show a median of $163K for Senior Security Engineer roles, ranging $135K–$200K, across 98 filings. This is reported separately from — never blended with — the job-posting median above.

Common questions

What is the average Senior Security Engineer salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $175K, with a typical range of $145K–$201K, based on 292 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

Where does this salary data come from?
It is aggregated from public job postings on company career pages — no private placement or client data. We require a minimum of 15 postings per role.

Methodology

Figures are the midpoint of each posting's advertised USD salary range, aggregated from 292 public job postings (2025–2026). The range shown is the 25th–75th percentile; the median is the 50th percentile. Equity is separate and not included; where a posting's range reflects on-target earnings (OTE) for commission roles, that is included in the midpoint. Roles require at least 15 postings to be published. Last refreshed August 30, 2026.

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