Engineering & IT · Washington, DC

Security Engineer jobs in Washington, DC

Security engineers protect systems and data by finding vulnerabilities, building defenses, and responding to incidents. The work spans application security, infrastructure hardening, and threat detection.

1,948
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$48–$126/hr
Typical pay range
$166k
Median, full-time
2
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01

Open security engineer roles

7 shown of 1,948 · sorted by freshness

SEIM Engineer, Security Engineer III

Deloitte LLP · Washington DC
$119k - $218.3k

Deloitte's Cyber Defense and Resilience offering is seeking a SIEM Engineer to support security monitoring, detection engineering, and incident analysis across complex enterprise environments. This role will focus on bui…

Posted 5d ago
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Security Engineer

Check Point Software Technologies · Washington DC · Full-time
$168k - $198k

from increasingly sophisticated cyber and AI-driven threats, securing their AI transformation. Our prevention-first approach safeguards... ...What you bring to the table ~5+ years of engineering and pre-sales experience…

Posted 1w ago
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Cortex XSIAM Security Engineer

CELESTIAL INNOVATIONS GROUP LLC · Washington DC

Paid time off ~ Vision insurance Position Summary Celestial Innovations Group (CIG) is seeking a skilled Cortex XSIAM Security Engineer to deploy, configure, and operationalize Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSIAM for federal…

Posted 1mo ago
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02

What security engineers earn in Washington

Hourly first — that's how the offer arrives

ExperienceHourlyAnnual, full-time
Entry level $48–$66 $100k–$138k
Mid level $66–$93 $138k–$194k
Senior $90–$126 $188k–$262k

Adjusted for the Washington market from national ranges.

03

What employers ask for

The skills these listings keep naming

Threat modelingOWASP and web app securityNetwork and cloud securityIncident responseScripting (Python, Bash)SIEM and detection toolingIdentity and access managementVulnerability managementExplaining risk to non-experts
04

Interview questions worth rehearsing

With the thing the interviewer is actually listening for

Walk me through how you would threat model a new feature.

Use a structure — assets, entry points, attacker goals — and show that you rank risks rather than listing everything. STRIDE is a fine scaffold if you actually apply it.

You find a critical vulnerability in production. What are your next steps?

Verify, assess exposure, contain, and coordinate disclosure and fix — with communication throughout. Panic-free process is the whole answer.

Explain a recent vulnerability class or breach and what you took from it.

Staying current is part of the job. Pick something real, explain the root cause simply, and connect it to a defense you would build.

How do you get developers to fix security issues they see as low priority?

Show empathy for delivery pressure: translate risk into business impact, make fixes easy, and build guardrails so the secure path is the default.

How would you secure a cloud environment from scratch?

Cover identity first, then network segmentation, logging, encryption, and automated policy checks. Saying 'IAM is where most cloud breaches start' shows you know the terrain.

What is the difference between authentication and authorization, and where do systems commonly get it wrong?

Define both crisply, then give a real failure mode like broken object-level authorization. The follow-through example is what distinguishes the answer.

Tell me about a security control you built or improved.

Describe the risk it addressed and evidence it worked — findings reduced, detection time improved. Controls without measurement are just hopes.

05

Resume tips that move the needle

For security engineers specifically — generic advice costs you here

01

Lead with concrete defensive wins: vulnerabilities remediated, detection coverage added, incident response times improved.

02

List relevant certifications (Security+, OSCP, CISSP) prominently; this field still screens on them.

03

Name the domains you cover — appsec, cloud security, detection — since 'security' alone is too broad to place you.

04

Mention responsible disclosures, CTF results, or published research if you have them; they are strong credibility signals.

05

Show you can work with engineers, not just audit them — secure code reviews, training, or paved-road tooling you built.

06

Where this role goes

Typical progression

01 Security Analyst
02 Security Engineer
03 Senior Security Engineer
04 Security Architect
05 CISO
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