Security Engineer Salary New York 2026: Finance, Tech & Gov

New York is one of the world's most competitive and highest-paying markets for security engineers. The combination of Wall Street's deep pockets, a massive FAANG and startup tech ecosystem, and the constant threat surface of financial infrastructure creates sustained demand for cybersecurity talent — and bidding wars that push total compensation well above most other US cities.

Whether you're a security engineer considering a move to NYC, weighing a finance offer against a tech offer, or negotiating your next package, this guide gives you exact salary figures by level, which employers pay the most, which specializations command a premium, and how New York compares to San Francisco, Seattle, and remote.

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New York Security Engineer Salary Ranges by Level (2026)

Junior (0–2 years): Entry-level security roles in NYC are accessible at consultancies, mid-size finance firms, and tech companies building out security programs. Candidates with a CS degree, Python fundamentals, and Security+ or CySA+ certification are competitive. Government contractors and defense firms also hire at this level, typically at the lower end of the range. Mid-level (2–5 years): The most active hiring band. Engineers here own security tooling, lead incident response, and contribute to architecture decisions. Finance firms value mid-level engineers with compliance knowledge; tech companies want engineers who can integrate security into CI/CD pipelines. At this level, total comp at Goldman Sachs or Google can reach $180K–$200K. Senior (5–8 years): Senior security engineers in NYC are in high demand across every sector. At this level, you're expected to lead security initiatives, define architecture, mentor juniors, and interface with leadership. Base salaries of $145K–$200K are standard; total comp with bonus and equity ranges from $175K at traditional finance shops to $260K+ at FAANG and quant funds. Principal / Staff (8+ years): Strategic and cross-functional roles. Principal security engineers at top employers define security roadmaps, evaluate acquisition targets' security posture, and set standards across engineering organizations. Total comp at this level regularly exceeds $300K at Goldman Sachs, Two Sigma, Meta, and Google.

The Dual Market: Wall Street vs Tech

New York's security market splits into two distinct tracks, each with a different comp philosophy.

Wall Street and Finance

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bloomberg, and Two Sigma are among the world's most sophisticated operators of complex, high-value infrastructure — and they know it. Security engineers at these firms protect systems handling trillions of dollars in daily transactions, making cybersecurity a boardroom-level concern.

Comp structure: Finance is cash-heavy. Bonuses of 30–50% of base are common at senior levels. A senior security engineer at Goldman Sachs might earn $175K base with a $60K–$90K annual cash bonus, making total cash compensation $235K–$265K. RSU grants exist but are typically smaller than at tech companies. What they want: Deep compliance knowledge (SOX, PCI-DSS, GDPR), experience with financial messaging protocols, strong incident response credentials, and — increasingly — cloud security skills as banks migrate workloads to AWS and GCP.

Tech (FAANG and Startups)

Google, Meta, Amazon (AWS), Stripe, MongoDB, and Datadog all have significant New York presences. These employers pay in RSUs, making total compensation highly variable with company performance but potentially very lucrative over multi-year vesting periods.

Comp structure: Tech is equity-heavy. A senior security engineer at Meta might earn $165K base with a $20K bonus and $120K in annual RSU vesting — total comp $305K in a strong year. The base looks lower than Goldman Sachs, but equity upside changes the math dramatically. What they want: AppSec engineering, threat modeling, security tool development, cloud-native security, and the ability to work directly with product engineering teams rather than operating as a separate compliance function.

Specialization Premiums in NYC

Cloud security is the fastest-growing premium. As Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citi accelerate cloud migration, demand for engineers who understand AWS Security Hub, GCP Security Command Center, and Azure Defender has surged. Engineers with hands-on AWS Security Specialty certification and real cloud incident response experience command the largest premiums. AppSec is highly valued at tech companies. Engineers who can embed in product teams, conduct code reviews, run DAST/SAST tooling, and perform threat modeling are differentiated. Stripe, MongoDB, and Datadog actively recruit AppSec specialists at senior compensation. Fintech compliance is unique to New York's finance-heavy market. SOX compliance requires rigorous controls around financial reporting systems; PCI-DSS governs payment infrastructure at every major bank and fintech; GDPR applies to any firm with European customers. Specialists who can navigate all three add significant value at banks, payment processors, and financial data providers.

Certification Impact on NYC Security Salaries

CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) is the most universally valued credential in NYC's security market. Finance firms frequently list it as required or strongly preferred for senior roles. It signals broad security architecture knowledge and maturity. OSCP is the credential of choice for penetration testing and red team roles. Finance firms with offensive security teams and defense contractors working on government contracts specifically recruit OSCP holders. The hands-on nature of the exam is respected. AWS Security Specialty is increasingly a differentiator as cloud adoption accelerates across both finance and tech. It's particularly valued at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan (which has a major AWS partnership), and all the major tech employers.

NYC vs Other Cities: Security Engineer Salary Comparison

San Francisco leads on total comp, driven by FAANG RSU grants at scale. But NYC's finance sector makes it uniquely competitive on cash compensation — a senior security engineer at Goldman or JPMorgan often takes home more cash annually than an equivalent engineer at a Seattle tech firm. For London and Berlin comparisons, see the Security Engineer Salary London 2026 and Security Engineer Salary Berlin 2026 guides.

NYC Salary Transparency Law: Your Advantage

Since November 2022, NYC employers with four or more employees must include salary ranges in all job postings. This law fundamentally changed negotiation dynamics for security engineers. You can now verify that a posted range of $155K–$200K represents the actual budget — and anchor your negotiation at the top of the range rather than guessing.

Use this data strategically: if a role posts $155K–$200K and you have 7 years of experience with CISSP and AWS Security Specialty, open negotiations at $195K–$200K with evidence, not $170K. The posting has already told you the employer can pay $200K.

See salary benchmarks across all NYC tech roles →

NYC Tax Impact: What You Actually Keep

New York City's combined tax burden is among the highest of any US city, which materially affects take-home pay for security engineers earning $150K–$250K:

New York State income tax: Top marginal rate of 6.85% on income above $215,400

NYC city income tax: Up to 3.876% on top of state taxes

Federal income tax: 32–37% marginal rate at senior security engineer salaries

Total effective marginal rate: ~43–47% for senior engineers

A senior security engineer earning $185,000 base in NYC keeps roughly $95,000–$100,000 after federal, state, and city taxes. In Seattle (no state tax), the same $185,000 base yields approximately $110,000–$115,000 take-home. The $10,000–$15,000 annual difference is meaningful — but NYC's finance bonus culture and density of high-paying employers often more than offset it for senior engineers targeting the $200K–$300K+ total comp tier.

Negotiating Your NYC Security Engineer Salary

Use the NYC salary transparency law actively — check the posted range before applying and before the first call. This is the employer's stated budget ceiling.

Finance and tech have different negotiation levers. At a bank, the bonus is negotiable beyond what's stated as typical — "signing bonus to offset unvested equity" is a standard ask. At a tech company, the RSU grant amount and vesting schedule are often more negotiable than the base, particularly for candidates with competing offers.

Security engineers with cloud-specific credentials and hands-on incident response experience are in the strongest position. A candidate who can demonstrate hands-on AWS Security Hub experience, real-world IR leadership, and CISSP or OSCP depth has genuine leverage in NYC's market — use it.

New York's security engineering market in 2026 rewards specialists who combine deep technical credentials with either finance-domain knowledge (compliance, protocols) or cloud-native engineering skills (AppSec, infrastructure security). For engineers at the intersection of both, the compensation ceiling is very high indeed.