Senior Security Engineer

💰 $148K–$199K salary range

Median: $177K  ·  Based on 286 public job postings  ·  Updated July 1, 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: $177K median ($148K–$199K typical range)
• San Francisco: $194K median, $161K–$207K range (+10% vs. national)
• New York: $197K median, $175K–$218K range (+11% vs. national)
• Boston: $158K median, $150K–$183K range (-10% vs. national)
• Seattle: $158K median, $153K–$194K range (-10% vs. national)
• Remote: $190K median, $150K–$225K range (+7% vs. national)
• Los Angeles: $157K median, $136K–$184K range (-11% vs. national)
• Denver: $178K median, $177K–$198K range (+0% vs. national)
• Chicago: $140K median, $121K–$156K range (-21% vs. national)

Highest paying companies

San Francisco

• Crusoe: $188K median

New York

• Datadog: $214K median
• Justworkslabs: $197K median

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

What's typically included

• Health insurance: 71% of postings
• Equity (RSU/options): 72% of postings
• Flexible PTO: 57% of postings
• Parental leave: 19% of postings
• Learning/education budget: 19% of postings
• Visa sponsorship: 1% of postings

Typical experience required: 6–7 years.

Security salaries by seniority

• Security Engineer: $150K
• Security Engineering Manager: $167K
• Senior Security Engineer: $177K
• Security Lead: $180K
• Staff Security Engineer: $218K
• Head of Security / CISO: $227K

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.

Common questions

What is the average Senior Security Engineer salary at an AI startup?
The median pay is $177K, with a typical range of $148K–$199K, based on 286 public job postings collected in 2025–2026.

How does Senior Security Engineer pay compare in San Francisco vs. remote?
San Francisco roles pay a median of $194K, while fully-remote roles pay $190K.

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 286 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 July 1, 2026.

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