Security Engineer Salary in Berlin 2026: €52K–€145K Complete Guide

Security engineering is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in German tech. Berlin — home to over 4,000 tech companies, major federal agencies, and a dense cluster of fintech and e-commerce scale-ups — has become one of the most active hiring markets for cybersecurity talent in Europe.

This guide covers what security engineers actually earn in Berlin in 2026: salary bands by seniority and specialism, the employers shaping the market, how Berlin compares to Munich and London, and the German-specific factors (clearance, certifications, benefits) that affect your real take-home.

For live salary data by percentile, see the Berlin security engineer salary calculator.

Berlin Security Engineer Salary Ranges 2026

Salaries vary significantly by seniority, specialism, and employer type. Here are the current market ranges:

Bonus and equity: Scale-ups like Zalando, N26, and Delivery Hero add 10–20% annual bonus and stock options. At corporate employers (Deutsche Telekom, SAP), expect profit-sharing of 5–12% with lower equity upside. Specialist consultancies (HiSolutions, SySS) offer no equity but strong day-rate equivalents and certification funding. Total compensation at the top: Senior and staff engineers at well-funded Berlin scale-ups realistically reach €130K–€160K total comp once RSUs and performance bonuses are included.

Salary by Specialism

Not all security roles pay alike. Berlin's employer mix drives clear specialism premiums:

Application Security (AppSec) — €70K–€125K (mid to senior) AppSec engineers embedded in product teams at Zalando, Delivery Hero, and N26 are among the highest-paid security hires in Berlin. Threat modelling, SAST/DAST pipeline integration, and secure-by-design coaching are in constant demand as these companies ship at scale. OWASP knowledge and developer-facing communication skills are key differentiators. Cloud Security (CloudSec) — €75K–€130K (mid to senior) Cloud-native security is the fastest-growing specialism. Companies migrating workloads to AWS, GCP, and Azure need engineers who can design zero-trust architectures, manage IAM at scale, and implement runtime security (Falco, Wiz, Prisma Cloud). AWS Security Specialty or Google Professional Cloud Security certifications add meaningful leverage in salary negotiations. Red Team / Penetration Testing — €65K–€120K (mid to senior) Berlin's offensive security market is anchored by specialist consultancies: SySS GmbH and IT-Seal are recognized regionally; HiSolutions serves a mix of corporate and government clients. Internal red team roles at large banks (Deutsche Bank's Berlin offices) and Bundeswehr digital units are rarer but well-compensated. OSCP is effectively a minimum requirement; OSED and OSEP certifications command premium rates. GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) — €60K–€105K (mid to senior) GRC demand is driven by NIS2 Directive implementation, ISO 27001 audits, and DORA compliance across Berlin's fintech ecosystem. BSI IT-Grundschutz Praktiker certification is specifically valued for public-sector and critical-infrastructure contracts. GRC roles typically sit 10–15% below hands-on technical roles at equivalent seniority, but senior GRC directors at large enterprises can exceed €110K. Security Operations (SOC / Detection Engineering) — €58K–€100K (mid to senior) SOC analyst and detection engineering roles are the entry point for many Berlin security careers. G-Data CyberDefense, Deutsche Telekom's DTAG-CERT, and managed security service providers (MSSPs) are the main employers. SIEM tooling (Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel) and MITRE ATT&CK framework fluency are expected at mid level.

Top Berlin Security Employers

Zalando — The largest employer of security engineers in Berlin's commercial sector. AppSec and CloudSec roles dominate, with strong pay (€95K–€130K senior), meaningful equity, and a security-in-engineering culture. Interview process is rigorous; technical depth is expected. Deutsche Telekom — DTAG-CERT is one of Germany's most active internal security operations centers. Offers breadth of work (telecom, cloud, enterprise), good work-life balance, and strong trade-union-backed benefits (Tarifvertrag). Pay is market-rate but below scale-up top-of-band. SAP — Enterprise security at scale. SAP's Berlin offices hire for cloud security, identity and access management, and product security. Compensation is solid (€80K–€120K senior), with SAP's global equity program providing meaningful upside for staff-level hires. BSI (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik) — Germany's federal cybersecurity agency is headquartered in Bonn but has a Berlin presence. BSI roles pay below commercial market (€55K–€85K for senior engineers) but offer Verbeamtung (civil-servant status), outstanding job security, and direct policy impact. Ü2/Ü3 Sicherheitsüberprüfung is required. Bundeswehr (Cyber and Information Domain Service) — Germany's military cyber command is actively hiring civilians and soldiers for defensive and offensive security roles. Pay follows TVöD or BAT scale (€50K–€95K), well below commercial. Offsetting factors: job security, mission-driven work, training budget, and Beamtenstatus pathways. N26 — Berlin's largest neobank. Security team covers AppSec, CloudSec, fraud engineering, and regulatory compliance. Senior engineers earn €95K–€125K with meaningful equity at a regulated fintech scale. BaFin-driven compliance requirements make GRC and AppSec roles strategically important. Delivery Hero — Fast-growing e-commerce group with a Berlin security team spanning incident response, AppSec, and cloud. Competitive pay (€85K–€120K senior), international team, strong benefits. G-Data CyberDefense — One of Germany's oldest cybersecurity vendors (Bochum HQ, Berlin presence). Threat intelligence, malware analysis, and EDR engineering roles. Slightly below Berlin scale-up rates but respected employer for deep technical work. HiSolutions AG — Berlin-based IT security consultancy specializing in penetration testing, ISMS, and security audits for corporate and public-sector clients. Red team and GRC-heavy; good for broad client exposure and certification support. SySS GmbH — German penetration testing specialist. Competitive rates for offensive security talent, OSCP/OSED expected, client-facing work across financial services, healthcare, and public sector. IT-Seal — Berlin-based security awareness company (acquired by Hornetsecurity). Smaller but values security education engineering and phishing simulation roles.

Sicherheitsüberprüfung: Security Clearance in Germany

Many Berlin roles — particularly at Bundeswehr, BSI, critical-infrastructure operators, and defence contractors — require a formal Sicherheitsüberprüfung (SÜ):

Ü1 (einfache SÜ): Basic check, ~3 months, broad eligibility including EU citizens

Ü2 (erweiterte SÜ): Extended check (financial, foreign contacts), 3–6 months, typically requires German citizenship

Ü3 (erweiterte SÜ mit Sicherheitsermittlungen): Full investigation including interviews with family and neighbours, 6–12 months, German citizenship required

Roles requiring Ü2/Ü3 carry a 10–20% salary premium over comparable unclearned commercial roles — partly to compensate for the citizenship requirement and partly because the cleared talent pool is smaller.

Berlin vs Munich vs London

Berlin runs 10–15% below Munich in nominal terms, but cost-of-living-adjusted purchasing power is comparable or better given Berlin's lower rent. London leads on gross pay but the advantage shrinks significantly after UK income tax (40% higher-rate bracket) and London rents. For a senior engineer weighing Berlin versus London, the lifestyle and quality-of-life case for Berlin is strong.

For the Munich picture, see Tech Salaries in Germany 2026. For remote security roles, see Security Engineer Salary Remote 2026.

German Employment Benefits

German security engineer packages come with statutory and employer-provided benefits that add meaningful value beyond base salary:

Sozialversicherung (social insurance): Employer pays ~20% of gross salary into health, pension, unemployment, and long-term care insurance. Combined employee + employer contribution means total employment cost is roughly 140% of your gross — this is a real benefit compared to contractor arrangements. Betriebliche Altersvorsorge (company pension): Employer-sponsored pension top-up, often matching €50–€200/month. Tax-advantaged in Germany — contributions are deducted pre-tax up to €7,248/year (2026 limit). Urlaubsgeld (holiday bonus): Many Tarifvertrag-covered employers (Deutsche Telekom, public sector) pay an additional monthly salary as a holiday bonus in June/July. Startups typically replace this with more flexible PTO policies (25–30 days standard). ÖPNV-Zuschuss (public transport subsidy): Berlin's public transport (BVG) monthly ticket subsidized by most employers, €50–€86/month. Weiterbildungsbudget (training budget): Security roles attract training budgets of €2,000–€5,000/year for certifications (OSCP, CISSP, AWS Security), conferences (IT-SA, Black Hat), and lab environments.

Negotiation Strategy for Berlin Security Roles

Benchmark with Berlin-specific data. National German averages pull low due to non-tech employers. Use Berlin-specific security engineer salary data and reference Levels.fyi and LinkedIn Salary Insights filtered to Berlin. Certifications are hard leverage. OSCP, CISSP, and AWS Security Specialty certifications shift conversations from "what do you expect?" to market-rate justification. Name the certification and cite salary data showing the premium. Clearance eligibility is rare and valuable. If you hold German citizenship and are willing to obtain Ü2 clearance, say so explicitly in negotiations with public-sector or critical-infrastructure employers. It narrows their talent pool significantly. German salary negotiation norms: Unlike US markets, first-offer countering is less universal in Germany but entirely expected and respected at tech companies. A 10–15% counter with market data is standard. Equity is negotiable at startups; at corporates, push harder on base and the pension contribution match.

Related Salary Guides

Security Engineer Salary Remote 2026 — global remote security compensation

Tech Salaries in Germany 2026 — full German market overview

Live salary data: Berlin security engineer — current percentile benchmarks

Berlin's security engineering market is maturing fast: the combination of a large startup ecosystem, growing federal agency presence, and NIS2-driven corporate demand is creating sustained hiring pressure across all seniority levels and specialisms. If you have the depth — especially in CloudSec, AppSec, or offensive security — 2026 is an excellent time to benchmark and negotiate.