Security Engineer Salary in London 2026: Complete Guide

# Security Engineer Salary in London 2026: Complete Guide

London is Europe's largest cybersecurity job market, home to major financial institutions, global technology firms, government contractors, and a thriving cluster of homegrown security companies. The city's concentration of high-value targets — from FTSE 100 banks to critical national infrastructure operators — creates sustained demand for security engineers across every specialism. This guide covers what the market actually pays in 2026, which employers lead on compensation, how specialisms affect your earnings, and how London compares to other European tech cities.

Security Engineer Salary Ranges in London 2026

The median security engineer salary in London is approximately £82,000–£90,000 per year for mid-level engineers with 3–6 years of experience. Here is the full breakdown by seniority:

Junior security engineers entering the market from university, bootcamps, or adjacent roles (IT support, networking, sysadmin) typically land in the £55K–£65K range at smaller companies and £60K–£70K at established financial institutions or government contractors. Strong certifications at entry level — particularly CompTIA Security+, CEH, or early OSCP progress — can push starting offers toward the top of the junior range.

Mid-level engineers with 3–6 years of hands-on experience in a defined specialism (application security testing, SIEM tuning, cloud security architecture) command £75K–£95K at most London employers. Engineers in this bracket who hold active SC clearance regularly see offers 10–15% above this range.

Senior security engineers with 7+ years of experience, deep specialism expertise, and demonstrable ownership of security programmes or red team operations earn £95K–£130K at the majority of London employers. In financial services and defence, senior roles with DV clearance or niche offensive security expertise routinely exceed £130K in base salary before bonus.

Staff and principal security engineers — those driving security strategy across organisations, owning architecture decisions, or leading purple team operations — earn £125K–£160K+ in base salary, often supplemented by 15–30% annual bonuses at financial institutions.

Top London Security Employers in 2026

London's security engineering market divides into four main employer categories, each with distinct compensation structures:

Financial Services (Highest Base + Bonus)

HSBC and Barclays are among London's largest employers of security engineers, with dedicated teams across application security, threat intelligence, red team operations, and cloud security. Both banks pay at the top of the market for senior and staff engineers — base salaries of £110K–£145K are common at senior levels, supplemented by 20–35% annual performance bonuses. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan operate the most competitive security engineering compensation in the city. Staff-level security engineers at these firms can earn total compensation of £200K–£300K+ when equity and discretionary bonuses are included, though the bar for these roles is extremely high and often requires prior top-tier financial services or consultancy experience.

Defence and Government (Clearance Premium)

BAE Systems is the largest defence employer of cleared security engineers in the UK. Roles requiring SC or DV clearance at BAE typically pay £90K–£140K for senior positions, with the clearance premium baked into base salary. The trade-off is less flexibility than commercial roles — many positions are site-based in non-London locations. BT (British Telecom) runs one of the UK's largest managed security service operations and employs significant numbers of security engineers at its London offices. BT pays competitively for SOC-adjacent roles (£55K–£90K depending on seniority) with strong pension benefits. NCC Group and Deloitte Cyber are the leading security consultancies in London. Consultant-track security engineers at NCC Group earn £55K–£85K at junior-mid levels, with senior consultants and managers reaching £90K–£120K. Deloitte's cyber practice pays similarly but adds access to large financial services clients and Big Four benefits.

Homegrown Security Companies (Equity + Market Rate)

Darktrace (Cambridge-founded, London-listed) is the UK's most high-profile AI security company. Security engineer salaries at Darktrace are competitive — £70K–£110K for mid to senior levels — and include meaningful equity participation as a public company. Sophos (now private equity-backed) employs threat researchers and security engineers across its London and Oxford offices. Compensation is market-competitive with a strong product engineering culture. Paladin Cloud and similar Series A–B cloud security startups offer base salaries 10–20% below established names but compensate with equity that could be significant at exit.

Advisory and Professional Services

KPMG and Deloitte run large cyber advisory practices in London. Senior managers and directors at these firms earn £95K–£140K, with path to partner-track compensation above £180K. The trade-off is consulting lifestyle — client-facing, project-based, significant travel.

Security Specialism Salary Premiums

Not all security engineering roles pay the same. Specialism has a measurable impact on London compensation in 2026:

AppSec (Application Security): +15–25% vs generalist at the same level. Demand from fintech, banking, and SaaS companies is intense. SAST/DAST expertise, secure code review, and threat modelling experience command significant premiums. CloudSec (Cloud Security): +15–20% premium. AWS, Azure, and GCP security architecture experience is in high demand as London's financial sector accelerates cloud migration. Engineers who hold AWS Security Specialty or Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer certifications are particularly sought after. Red Team / Offensive Security: +10–20% premium at senior levels. OSCP-certified offensive security engineers working at financial institutions or specialist consultancies earn at the top of the senior range. In-house red team roles at banks (Goldman, HSBC) are among the highest-paid security positions in London. InfoSec (Generalist / Blue Team): Market rate, but strong at financial services due to scale. SOC analysts and SIEM engineers typically earn at the lower-mid end of the range; detection engineering and threat intelligence roles command higher premiums. GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance): Solid demand, slightly below technical specialism premiums. Senior GRC specialists at FTSE 100 firms earn £85K–£120K. ISO 27001 lead implementer, CISM, and CRISC certifications add measurable value.

SC and DV Clearance Premium

UK security clearances are a significant salary lever in London's market. The government and defence supply chain — which includes contractors working on Home Office, GCHQ, NCSC, and MoD projects — consistently pays clearance premiums:

SC (Security Check): 10–20% premium on base salary for roles requiring active SC clearance. The vetting process typically takes 3–6 months. Most commercial finance and tech employers do not require SC, but government contractors and critical infrastructure operators do.

DV (Developed Vetting): 20–35% premium for the highest-sensitivity roles. DV clearance takes 9–18 months to obtain and is reserved for roles with access to top secret information. Very few London employers offer DV-required roles, but those that do (GCHQ supply chain, intelligence community contractors) pay substantially above market.

Post-Brexit, the UK's clearance framework is fully independent of EU security frameworks. Engineers moving from EU countries who need UK clearance start the process from scratch, which has tightened the cleared talent pool and increased premiums.

London vs Berlin vs Amsterdam vs Remote: European Security Salary Comparison

London pays the highest nominal security engineering salaries in Europe, driven by the financial services sector's security budgets. Amsterdam's cybersecurity market is growing rapidly — driven by ASML, Booking.com, Philips, and a cluster of security-focused startups — and pays within 15–20% of London in sterling equivalent. Berlin lags in base salary but benefits from lower income tax and cost of living.

Fully remote roles based in the UK typically pay 10–20% less than equivalent London roles, though this gap is narrowing as companies compete nationally for cleared talent. Remote security engineers with active SC clearance often earn close to London rates regardless of location.

UK Tax and NIC Context

UK security engineers face the following deductions on gross salary in 2026:

Income tax: 20% basic rate (up to £50,270), 40% higher rate (£50,271–£125,140), 45% additional rate above £125,140. The personal allowance (£12,570) is fully withdrawn above £125,140.

National Insurance Contributions (Employee): 8% on earnings between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above £50,270.

Employer NIC: 13.8% above £9,100 — relevant when comparing London to Berlin where employer social contributions are split differently.

A mid-level security engineer earning £85,000 in London takes home approximately £57,500–£59,000 after income tax and NIC, before pension contributions. A senior engineer at £120,000 takes home approximately £76,500–£78,000. Financial services employers frequently offer salary sacrifice pension contributions which can substantially reduce taxable income.

Negotiation Tips for London Security Engineers

1. Get a competing offer. London's security market is competitive enough that most employers will move on salary if you present a genuine competing offer. Even a written offer letter from a competitor is a strong anchor. 2. Leverage your clearance status. If you hold active SC or DV clearance, make this explicit early in negotiations. The cost and time to clear a replacement engineer is real budget to a security-conscious employer — use it. 3. Specialise and certify. OSCP for offensive roles, AWS Security Specialty for cloud security, CISSP for senior generalist or leadership roles. Each certification provides a concrete negotiation anchor — reference the premium they command in the market. 4. Target financial services. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, HSBC, and Barclays have the largest security budgets in London. If you have the profile to get through their screening, the compensation is materially higher than most other sectors. 5. Negotiate total package. London financial services employers often have flexibility on bonus percentage, pension contribution (some match up to 15–20%), sign-on bonus, and remote working arrangements even if base salary is fixed at a band. Make sure you are negotiating the full package, not just base. 6. Reference post-Brexit talent scarcity. The UK's departure from the EU has reduced the supply of EU-national security engineers who can work freely in London. For employers who previously hired freely from Europe, the talent pool is tighter — particularly for cleared roles. This dynamic works in candidates' favour.

Related Salary Guides

Security engineer salary guide (remote 2026) — global remote security compensation

Data engineer salary in London 2026 — adjacent data infrastructure roles

Tech salaries in London 2026 — broader London tech market overview

Live salary data: security engineer in London — current percentile data

London's security engineering market in 2026 is one of the strongest in the world for candidate compensation. The combination of concentrated financial services demand, government contractor clearance premiums, and a post-Brexit talent squeeze means that experienced, specialised security engineers can command salaries that rival or exceed comparable roles in most global technology hubs. Knowing the market rate — and how your specialism and clearance status affect it — is the foundation of a successful negotiation.