What Is an Application Security Engineer and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

An application security engineer is responsible for ensuring the secure function of software application programs. For this career, you must have advanced training in cybersecurity and familiarity with multiple computer programming languages. Your main job duty is to evaluate lines of programming code to make sure a given application is safe from cyber-attack. You perform penetration testing to see if outside sources can "hack" into the application. You also do threat modeling and security code reviews of programming done by other application programmers.

The qualifications for an application security engineer include a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field. Many employers prefer job candidates with a master’s degree. The responsibilities of an application security engineer include making adjustments to the code to stem cybersecurity threats, so proficiency in several programming languages is essential. In addition to security testing, typical job duties are to review changes to an application on a regular basis. Relevant professional certifications are available.