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Tier 2Ranked #4 of 12 on The Security Engineer List

Amazon Security Engineer jobs

125+ open US security reqs — the most on this list — and a Security Engineer II base that tops $202K before RSUs.

$240k–$334k
total comp (est.)
79/100
Index score
Seattle · Arlington · Austin · NYC · Dallas
Locations
Hiring
As of October 10, 2026

The Security Engineer II role

Security engineers at Amazon do application security reviews, threat modeling, penetration testing, vulnerability management, detection and incident response across AWS and the consumer businesses (Stores, Devices, Ads, Leo satellites). Cloud and AppSec dominate, and AI security reqs are growing. Hiring is large and decentralized — each security org posts its own reqs — and loops test Leadership Principles alongside technical depth.

Amazon has a dedicated ‘Systems Security Engineering’ job family with a ladder from Security Engineer I through II, III, Senior and Principal; named security orgs in current reqs include AWS Security (Proactive Security, GuardDuty, Vulnerability Management, Security Hub, incident response), Amazon Stores Security (AppSec), Devices & Services Security, Leo Security, Ads Security and US Amazon Dedicated Cloud Security.

Worth knowing: On April 7, 2026 AWS CISO Amy Herzog announced general availability of AWS Security Agent for autonomous penetration testing, and the AWS security pipeline now carries multiple AI and AGI security reqs.

Amazon security engineer salary

$159k–$202k
Base salary
$240k–$334k
Total comp (est., with equity)

Base: posted range on ‘Security Engineer II, Amazon GuardDuty’ (posted Sep 11, 2026) is $159,300–$202,400 for Seattle (NYC top $212,800), the same range as the virtual Compliance Penetration Testing req; other posted Seattle bands are Security Engineer I $136,000–$184,000 and III/Senior $178,400–$226,700. All-in: levels.fyi Amazon ‘Security Engineer’ L5, US, 25th–75th percentile (n=22, median $264k), Oct 2026; mapping Security Engineer II to L5 is the usual convention and is not stated on the posting.

See how Amazon compares in the full security engineer salary guide →

Interviewing at Amazon?

The full Amazon security engineer interview process — stages, sample questions, and candidate experiences — lives in our dedicated interview guide.

Read the Amazon Security interview guide →

How Amazon scores

Compensation
7
Program maturity
9
Career capital
7
Momentum
9

Index score: 79/100. How we rank →

Amazon security engineer: common questions

Amazon’s posted base band is $159k–$202k. Estimated total compensation including equity is $240k–$334k. Base: posted range on ‘Security Engineer II, Amazon GuardDuty’ (posted Sep 11, 2026) is $159,300–$202,400 for Seattle (NYC top $212,800), the same range as the virtual Compliance Penetration Testing req; other posted Seattle bands are Security Engineer I $136,000–$184,000 and III/Senior $178,400–$226,700. All-in: levels.fyi Amazon ‘Security Engineer’ L5, US, 25th–75th percentile (n=22, median $264k), Oct 2026; mapping Security Engineer II to L5 is the usual convention and is not stated on the posting.
As of October 10, 2026: A ‘security engineer’ search of US reqs on amazon.jobs returns 196 hits on Oct 10, 2026, about 125 of them in the Systems Security Engineering job family — AppSec, AWS Proactive Security, GuardDuty, Vulnerability Management, incident response, compliance penetration testing, AI/AGI security, Leo satellite security and Ads Security; biggest sites are Seattle (41), Arlington VA (16), Austin (15) and New York (12); newest posted Oct 9, 2026. Check the live careers page for current reqs.
Not typically. Security Engineer I: bachelor’s plus 2+ years of non-internship web-protocol, attack and remediation experience. Security Engineer II: bachelor’s in CS or STEM or 2+ years in IT security, knowledge of networking protocols and common vulnerabilities; AppSec II reqs add 3+ years of programming and 2+ years of security code review. Some Leo and Amazon Dedicated Cloud reqs require US citizenship or clearances.
Mostly not. Mostly in office 5 days a week (corporate policy since January 2025), with a handful of reqs listed as ‘US, Virtual’ or virtual within Washington or Texas (6 of 196 hits).

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