Hiring guide · Engineering
How to hire a
security engineer.
Security engineers run application and infrastructure security. The right hire depends on whether you need product-security or infrastructure-security focus.
Comp range$160k-$300k base.
Timeline10-16 weeks.
When to hire
Hire in-house
You have compliance requirements (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.) or sensitive data.
When to outsource
Outsource to a studio
You're pre-Series A and don't have compliance pressure. Use third-party scanners and pentesters.
Evaluation · 02
Signs of strong candidates.
Strong signals
- Has shipped security programs at scale
- Compliance experience (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.)
- Strong code review chops
- Threat modeling experience
- Active in security community
Red flags
- ✗Vendor-pitching only
- ✗No code review experience
- ✗No compliance work
- ✗Theoretical only
- ✗Hostile to engineering
Interview · 03
Questions to ask.
- Q1
Walk me through a vulnerability you found and fixed.
- Q2
How do you threat-model a new feature?
- Q3
How do you handle a serious incident?
- Q4
How do you balance security and shipping speed?
- Q5
How do you build security culture in engineering?
Considering a studio?
We bridge
to your hire.
We help with hiring screens. If you're not ready to hire a security engineer yet, brief us — we can fill the gap and help you hire later.
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