Security Engineer total compensation: base vs bonus vs equity
Base pay is only part of the story. A Security Engineer's total compensation runs about $257K (range $244Kโ$271K) once bonus, equity, and benefits are included โ base is roughly 61% of that.
Where the money comes from
Total (mid): $257K. Equity and bonus vary widely by employer and performance โ treat these as planning ranges, not a guaranteed offer.
Common questions
What is a Security Engineer's total compensation?
A Security Engineer's total comp is roughly $257K at the mid estimate (range $244Kโ$271K): base $157K plus a 8โ25% bonus, ~25% equity, and ~22% benefits.
How much of Security Engineer pay is base vs bonus and equity?
Base is about 61% of total comp for a Security Engineer. The rest comes from bonus ($26K mid), equity/RSUs (~$39K/yr annualised), and benefits (~$35K).
Do Security Engineers get stock or RSUs?
Typically yes in this field โ around 25% of base in annualised equity, though it varies widely by employer (startups skew higher and riskier; large public firms pay liquid RSUs).
Bonus/equity/benefits modelled from category norms (Levels.fyi, Robert Half, employer benefit-cost data); estimates, not an offer.