Security engineers have become one of the most sought-after professionals in the technology labour market. As cyber threats grow in frequency and sophistication, and as regulatory requirements around data protection multiply, organisations across every sector need people who can design, build, and maintain secure systems. This demand has pushed security engineering compensation above the median for most software development roles and created a talent market where supply consistently lags behind demand.

For HR teams and compensation leaders, this article provides a data-backed overview of the security engineer talent market in Europe, current salary benchmarks drawn from the TalentUp Salary Intelligence Platform, and practical guidance on how to benchmark and compete for this scarce skill set.

The Security Engineer Talent Market in Europe

The demand for security engineers across Europe has accelerated sharply over the past five years, driven by three parallel forces. First, the volume and impact of cybersecurity incidents has increased dramatically, raising the business priority of security investment. Second, EU regulatory requirements including GDPR, the NIS2 Directive, DORA (for financial services), and the forthcoming Cyber Resilience Act have created compliance obligations that require dedicated security expertise. Third, the acceleration of cloud adoption has expanded the attack surface that organisations need to protect, increasing demand for engineers who can work across cloud-native security architectures.

The result is a supply-demand imbalance that shows no signs of resolving in the near term. Estimates from EU cybersecurity agencies consistently show that demand for cybersecurity professionals outpaces the pipeline of qualified candidates by a significant margin. This imbalance gives security engineers significant leverage in compensation negotiations and makes benchmarking essential for employers who want to attract and retain talent in this area.

Security Engineer Salary Benchmarks in Europe

According to TalentUp 2026 salary data, Security Engineers in Berlin earn a median of €64,963 per year. In Amsterdam, the median is €59,557, and in London the median reaches €69,022 (expressed in EUR equivalent). These figures represent median compensation for the role and span a range of experience levels. Senior and specialist security engineers, particularly those with expertise in cloud security, penetration testing, or security architecture, typically earn 30 to 50 percent above these medians.

Several factors make security engineer compensation particularly sensitive to specialisation. A generalist security engineer who can manage firewalls, monitor security events, and respond to incidents will earn at or near the market median. A cloud security architect with demonstrated experience securing production environments in AWS, Azure, or GCP will earn well above it. A penetration tester or red team specialist with certifications such as OSCP or CREST will similarly command a premium. Employers who benchmark security engineering as a single homogeneous role will consistently underbid for the specific specialisations they actually need.

It is also worth noting that security roles frequently compete across industry verticals. A security engineer at a mid-sized software company may receive a poaching approach from a financial institution or a government contractor operating at much higher pay scales. Retaining security talent over time requires active monitoring of what competitors, including cross-industry competitors, are paying.

How to Benchmark Security Engineer Salaries

Effective salary benchmarking for security engineering roles requires several specific considerations that differ from general software engineering benchmarking.

First, define the role precisely before benchmarking it. “Security engineer” encompasses roles ranging from SOC analysts and incident responders to security architects and application security engineers. Each sub-role has its own supply-demand dynamics and compensation range. Matching your job description to the most specific available benchmark will produce more accurate results than using a broad “security” category.

Second, benchmark by certification and specialisation, not just title. Security engineers with specific certifications such as CISSP, CEH, OSCP, or cloud security certifications (AWS Security Specialty, Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer) typically command premiums of 10 to 25 percent above the uncertified median for their role. If your target hire is expected to hold these certifications, the benchmark for their role needs to reflect that.

Third, refresh benchmarks frequently. Security engineering is one of the fastest-moving compensation areas in the technology sector. Annual survey data is often significantly out of date by the time it is used. Using a real-time salary intelligence platform allows HR teams to query current market rates at the point of opening a role, rather than relying on data collected months earlier.

For context on how to structure this benchmarking work within a broader compensation framework, see our guide on auditing salary bands and our piece on why real-time pay benchmarking is replacing the annual review cycle.

Competing for Security Engineering Talent

Given the supply shortage, competing for security engineering talent is not solely a salary question. Several additional factors significantly affect a candidate’s decision to join or stay with an organisation.

Meaningful work and technical challenge are consistently cited by security professionals as primary drivers of job satisfaction. Engineers who are asked to maintain routine configurations without engaging with interesting security problems will be more susceptible to approaches from organisations offering more complex or impactful work. Showcasing the technical challenge and security maturity of your environment during the recruitment process is often as persuasive as salary.

Professional development is also a strong retention lever. The security field evolves rapidly, and engineers who feel they are not keeping up with new attack vectors, tools, and frameworks become anxious about their market value. Organisations that invest in training budgets, certification sponsorship, and conference attendance create a stronger retention environment.

Flexibility and remote working options allow organisations to access security talent across a wider geographic pool. A company in a city with limited local security talent can hire strong candidates located elsewhere if remote or hybrid arrangements are available, reducing the constraint of local supply.

The EU Pay Transparency Directive adds another dimension to security engineering recruitment. As employers are required to publish salary ranges in job postings, candidates in this field will have better information about the market before applying. Organisations that publish competitive, transparent ranges are more likely to attract qualified applicants; those that publish vague or below-market ranges will increasingly find that security engineers, who are sophisticated evaluators of opportunities, do not apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average salary for a Security Engineer in Europe?

According to TalentUp 2026 data, median Security Engineer salaries range from approximately €59,557 in Amsterdam to €64,963 in Berlin and €69,022 in London. These are medians across experience levels. Senior security engineers and specialists in areas such as cloud security, penetration testing, or security architecture earn substantially above these medians, often 30 to 50 percent higher.

Why are security engineer salaries higher than general software engineering roles?

Security engineers command a premium over general software engineers primarily because demand significantly outstrips supply. The specialist knowledge required, the regulatory exposure organisations face if security is breached, and the limited number of qualified professionals in certain sub-specialisations all support above-market compensation. The EU’s expanding cybersecurity regulatory framework is further increasing demand without a corresponding increase in supply.

Which security engineering specialisations command the highest salaries?

Cloud security architects, penetration testers and red team specialists, and security architects with enterprise-level experience typically earn the highest salaries within the security engineering field. Professionals with industry-recognised certifications such as CISSP, OSCP, or cloud provider security certifications also earn premiums above the uncertified median for their role level.

How often should HR benchmark security engineering salaries?

Security engineering is one of the fastest-moving compensation areas in tech, meaning annual benchmarks are frequently out of date before they are used. HR teams actively hiring in this space should review market data quarterly at minimum, using real-time salary intelligence platforms rather than annual surveys. Benchmarks should be refreshed each time a new role is opened.

How does the Pay Transparency Directive affect security engineering hiring?

The EU Pay Transparency Directive requires employers to publish salary ranges in job postings. For security engineering roles, where candidates are well-informed about the market and have significant leverage, publishing below-market or vague ranges effectively filters out strong candidates who have options elsewhere. Transparency in this market is not just a compliance requirement but a competitive tool: publishing accurate, above-market ranges signals that the organisation understands what security talent is worth.

What non-salary factors are most important for retaining security engineers?

Beyond salary, security engineers consistently value technical challenge, investment in professional development, certification sponsorship, flexibility in working arrangements, and the quality and security maturity of the environment they work in. Organisations that score highly on these factors can sometimes attract and retain security talent at slightly below-market salaries, though the gap should be modest given how informed and mobile this talent pool is.

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