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Senior Detection Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

$174K - $240K/yr

About this role As our first Detection & Response engineer, you'll build that capability from the ... • • • • Privacy Senior Security Engineer, Application SecurityStaff Engineer ...

$84K - $115K/yr

We need a Senior Detection and Response Engineer to build and operate our security operations center, hunt threats across distributed satellite infrastructure, and lead incident response for systems ...

Work under senior detection engineers and Subject Matter Experts with cutting edge cyber monitoring tools to build and enhance the organization's threat detection and response capabilities. This ...

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Senior Detection Engineer information

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$59.5K

$126.6K

$183.5K

How much do senior detection engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior detection engineer in the United States is $126,557.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $104,500.00 and $143,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior detection engineer?

A Senior Detection Engineer is a cybersecurity professional responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining systems that detect threats and malicious activities within an organization's network. They create and refine detection rules, analyze security alerts, and work closely with incident response teams to mitigate risks. Senior Detection Engineers also lead efforts to improve detection capabilities by researching new attack techniques and developing advanced monitoring solutions. Their expertise helps organizations proactively defend against evolving cyber threats.

What are some common challenges a senior detection engineer faces when developing and tuning detection rules?

A Senior Detection Engineer often encounters challenges such as balancing detection accuracy with false positive rates, staying ahead of evolving threat landscapes, and ensuring detection rules adapt to new attack techniques. They must also collaborate closely with other security teams to understand operational impacts and validate the effectiveness of their rules in real-world scenarios. Regular communication, continuous learning, and iterative testing are crucial to overcoming these challenges and maintaining a robust security posture.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior detection engineer, and why are they important?

To excel as a Senior Detection Engineer, you need advanced knowledge of cybersecurity principles, threat detection methodologies, and experience with incident response, often supported by a degree in computer science or related certifications like CISSP or GIAC. Proficiency in SIEM platforms (such as Splunk or Sentinel), scripting languages (like Python), and EDR/XDR tools is typically required. Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and effective communication help you collaborate with teams and respond to evolving threats. These capabilities are crucial for proactively identifying and mitigating security risks to protect organizational assets.

What is the difference between Senior Detection Engineer vs Security Analyst?

AspectSenior Detection EngineerSecurity Analyst
Required CredentialsBachelor's in CS, Cybersecurity, or related; certifications like CISSP, GIACBachelor's in CS, Cybersecurity, or related; certifications like CompTIA Security+
Work EnvironmentDevelops detection tools, analyzes security data, creates detection rulesMonitors security alerts, investigates incidents, reports findings
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, financial institutions, cybersecurity firmsIT departments, government agencies, large enterprises

While both roles focus on security, Senior Detection Engineers primarily develop and refine detection systems, whereas Security Analysts monitor and respond to security incidents. The Senior Detection Engineer role is more technical and development-oriented, while Security Analysts focus on incident response and analysis.

How much do detection engineers make?

Detection engineers typically earn a median salary ranging from $90,000 to $130,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and certifications. Senior detection engineers with specialized skills in cybersecurity tools and threat detection may earn higher salaries, often exceeding $150,000.
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Infographic showing various Senior Detection Engineer job openings in the United States as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 89% Full Time, 7% Part Time, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 84% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $126,557 per year, or $60.8 per hour.

Senior Detection and Response Engineer

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$174K - $240K/yr

Other

Posted 14 days ago


Job description

Important: if an employer asks you to log into their system via iCloud or Google, send a code, an SMS or Telegram password, run some code, or install software — refuse. These are signs of fraud.

••••• is a technology wholesale platform built on the belief that the future is local. Independent retailers around the globe collectively represent a multi-hundred-billion-dollar wholesale market that has historically been fragmented and offline. At ••••• , we're using the power of tech, data, and machine learning to connect this thriving community of entrepreneurs across the globe. Picture your favorite boutique in town — we help them discover the best products from around the world to sell in their stores. With the right tools and insights, we believe that we can level the playing field so businesses can grow and local communities can thrive.

We’re looking for smart, resourceful and passionate people to join us as we power the shop local movement. If you believe in community, come join ours.

About this role

As our first Detection & Response engineer, you'll build that capability from the ground up focused on our enterprise environment. Looking for and monitoring threats within identity systems our employees authenticate through, the laptops they work on, the SaaS applications that run the business, our enterprise network, and the internal infrastructure behind it. You'll decide what we monitor, build the pipelines and detections that monitor it, and write the playbooks we run when something fires. This is a zero-to-one role and it will suit someone who enjoys building with a lot of autonomy.

What You'll Do

  • Shape the technical direction for detection and response at ••••• . Define what good looks like, build the roadmap that gets us there, and make the case for the tooling and support it needs.
  • Build detection engineering for ••••• 's enterprise environment end to end. Telemetry pipelines, detection content, alert routing, and enrichment.
  • Bring a threat-informed point of view. Track how adversaries operate against companies like ours and translate that into detections, hunts, and tabletop exercises that test whether we'd catch it.
  • Own detections and data pipelines written as IaaC.
  • Automate triage, enrichment, and response so alert volume can grow without a proportional increase in analyst time.
  • Work with IAM, CPE, NetEng, and IT Infrastructure Engineering to get the telemetry you need.
  • Partner with Enterprise Security to translate detection findings into control improvements, and hand root causes to the teams that own them with enough context that they actually get fixed.

Qualifications

  • Deep hands-on experience in detection engineering, incident response, or security operations, with a track record of building capability
  • Depth in corporate attack surfaces such as identity providers and SSO, endpoint and EDR telemetry, email security, SaaS logs, device management signals, and corporate network access.
  • Strong proficiency in Python and query language such as SQL.
  • The ability to build and maintain detection-as-code pipelines yourself rather than specify them for someone else to build.
  • Practical experience with SIEM, EDR, and security analytics platforms
  • Investigative depth on endpoints and in cloud and SaaS environments, so you can reconstruct what happened across an IdP, a laptop, and a SaaS admin console, and say what you know versus what you're inferring.
  • Excellent written communication and a collaborative approach to influence. You'll explain to engineers why a detection matters and to leadership what an incident actually means.
  • Bonus points for experience as a founding security hire, insider threat or data loss detection, an offensive security background against corporate identity and endpoint paths, incident commander experience, endpoint or cloud forensics depth, or a clear view on what belongs in a SIEM versus a data warehouse.

Salary Range

San Francisco: the pay range for this role is $174,500 to $240,000 per year.

This role will also be eligible for equity and benefits. Actual base pay will be determined based on permissible factors such as transferable skills, work experience, market demands, and primary work location. The base pay range provided is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

Hybrid ••••• employees currently go into the office 3 days per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and a third flex day of their choosing (Monday, Wednesday, or Friday). Additionally, hybrid in-office roles will have the flexibility to work remotely up to 4 weeks per year. Specific Workplace and Information Technology positions may require onsite attendance 5 days per week as will be indicated in the job posting.

  • Move fast: You'll own meaningful problems that serve customers around the globe with the agency to move fast and see your results clearly.
  • Equipped to scale: We invest in what matters, including the latest enterprise AI tools, to help you work smarter and get more out of every day.
  • Best in class: Our team is full of sharp, kind, and generous colleagues who care about their craft and about helping you grow in yours.
  • Real rewards. Competitive pay, equity, and comprehensive benefits designed to support your life inside and outside of work.
  • Belonging: We're intentional about building an environment where every ••••• employee has equal access to opportunities, growth, and success.

••••• was founded in 2017 by a team of early product and engineering leads from Square. We’re backed by some of the top investors in retail and tech including: Y Combinator, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Forerunner Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and DST Global. We have headquarters in San Francisco and Kitchener-Waterloo, and a global employee presence across offices in Toronto, London, and New York. To learn more about ••••• and our customers, you can read more on our blog .

••••• provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

••••• is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process and applicants with a disability may request to be accommodated throughout the recruitment process. We will work with all applicants to accommodate their individual accessibility needs. To request reasonable accommodation, please fill out our Accommodation Request Form ( ••••••••••••••••••••••

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The range shows the lower and upper market bands: 25% of vacancies pay below the first value, the median is the typical salary, and 75% marks the upper band.

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