Cybersecurity Engineer
Cybersecurity engineers develop and oversee information security procedures and policies, and build, maintain, and upgrade security technology such as firewalls. They design security controls that find vulnerabilities and protect digital files and infrastructure, and they respond to security breaches, viruses, and intrusions.
Related job titles
- Security engineer
- Information security engineer
- Information systems security engineer
- Systems security engineer
- Infrastructure security engineer
What They Do
12 tasks- Collaborate on cybersecurity designs that meet specific operational needs, such as access controls, networked operations, and high integrity and availability requirements.
- Develop or install software such as firewalls and data encryption programs to protect sensitive information.
- Implement system security measures that provide confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication, and non-repudiation.
- Identify security system weaknesses with penetration tests, and scan networks with vulnerability assessment tools.
- Coordinate monitoring of networks or systems for security breaches or intrusions.
- Develop or implement software tools that help detect, prevent, and analyze security threats.
- Develop response and recovery strategies for security breaches, and investigate breaches to identify vulnerabilities and evaluate the damage.
- Assess the effectiveness of security controls and correct security deficiencies found during security testing.
- Recommend information security enhancements to management.
- Design hardware, operating systems, and software applications to meet requirements, and write detailed design documentation for component and interface specifications.
- Assess whether access controls follow the principles of least privilege and need-to-know.
- Train staff on information security standards, policies, and best practices, and oversee their use.
Knowledge and Skills
- Information security systems engineering principles (NIST SP 800-160)
- IT security principles and methods such as firewalls, demilitarized zones, and encryption
- Security system design tools, methods, and techniques
- Network access and identity and access management, such as PKI, OAuth, OpenID, and SAML
- Secure configuration management techniques such as security technical implementation guides (STIGs)
- Systems security testing and evaluation methods
- Encryption algorithms
- System life cycle management principles, including software security and usability
- Assessing security controls against frameworks such as CIS CSC, NIST SP 800-53, and the Cybersecurity Framework
- Data security standards for personally identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI)
How to Become a Cybersecurity Engineer
In O*NET's survey of information security engineers, 47 percent of respondents said a new hire needs a bachelor's degree, 16 percent a post-secondary certificate, and 11 percent some college but no degree.
CompTIA positions its SecurityX certification for security architects and senior security engineers and recommends a minimum of 10 years of general hands-on IT experience, including 5 years of hands-on security.
ISC2 says its ISSEP, a security engineering certification, was developed with the U.S. National Security Agency and lists the required work experience as a CISSP plus 2 years, or 7 years cumulative.
Certifications
10 certificationsThe DoD 8140 Qualification Matrix V2.1 lists 8 certifications as qualification options for DCWF work role 632 Systems Developer, up to the proficiency level shown. Options aligned to a higher proficiency level also qualify for the lower levels. Rows marked "Not listed" are certifications that the sources on this page name for the role, as described in the FAQ.
| Certification | Issuer | DoD 8140 level |
|---|---|---|
| FITSP-D Federal IT Security Professional-Designer-NG · Federal IT Security Institute | Federal IT Security Institute | Up to Advanced |
| GCSA GIAC Cloud Security Automation · GIAC | GIAC | Up to Advanced |
| GISF GIAC Information Security Fundamentals · GIAC | GIAC | Up to Advanced |
| SSCP Systems Security Certified Practitioner · ISC2 | ISC2 | Up to Advanced |
| CSSLP Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional · ISC2 | ISC2 | Up to Intermediate |
| GCLD GIAC Cloud Security Essentials · GIAC | GIAC | Up to Intermediate |
| GSEC GIAC Security Essentials · GIAC | GIAC | Up to Intermediate |
| CND Certified Network Defender · EC-Council | EC-Council | Up to Basic |
| SecurityX CompTIA SecurityX · CompTIA | CompTIA | Not listed |
| ISSEP Information Systems Security Engineering Professional · ISC2 | ISC2 | Not listed |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a cybersecurity engineer do?→
A cybersecurity engineer builds and maintains security technology such as firewalls, designs and implements security controls that identify vulnerabilities and protect digital files and infrastructure, and monitors and responds to security breaches and intrusions.
What other job titles does a cybersecurity engineer have?→
O*NET lists security engineer, infrastructure security engineer, and information security system engineer among the reported job titles for information security engineers. CISA lists information systems security engineer and systems security engineer as alternative titles for related work roles.
What is the DCWF work role code for a security engineer?→
CISA lists security engineer and information systems security engineer as alternative titles for two work roles: systems security analyst, work role code 461, and systems developer, work role code 632.
What software do cybersecurity engineers use?→
O*NET lists software such as firewall software, intrusion detection systems, Snort, Wireshark, Splunk Enterprise, and Tenable Nessus for information security engineers.
Is cybersecurity engineer an entry-level job?→
O*NET places information security engineers in Job Zone Four, where considerable preparation is needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not, and workers usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, or vocational training.
What certifications are aimed at security engineers?→
ISC2 describes its ISSEP as a security engineering certification that recognizes the ability to apply engineering principles and processes to develop secure systems. CompTIA positions its SecurityX certification for security architects and senior security engineers.
Role descriptions follow the sources listed above: U.S. government workforce data first, then standards bodies and, where named in the text, certification issuers. Certification options come from the DoD 8140 Qualification Matrix V2.1 (2025-09-19); the matrix and a specific job posting are the authority for a given position. This site is not affiliated with CISA, the Department of Labor, or the Department of Defense. Last verified Oct 28, 2026.