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Security Engineer Salary in Ireland 2026: €80K Median & Range

What does a Security Engineer earn in Ireland?

The median Security Engineer salary in Ireland is €80K in 2026, with a typical range from €65K to €90K. Pay has moved 0.0% year-on-year. Dublin currently leads city pay at €91K. This is base salary for permanent employees.

What does A Security Engineer do?

A Security Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining security controls, tooling, and infrastructure to protect systems from threats.

Day-to-day responsibilities

  • Hardening cloud infrastructure configurations
  • Building automated security scanning pipelines
  • Conducting threat modelling
  • Reviewing code for security vulnerabilities
  • Managing PKI and secrets management
  • Integrating security into CI/CD
Medium demand+16% CISSP / CISM+15% HashiCorp Vault+17% DevSecOps pipeline integration

Permanent Salary Benchmark for Security Engineer

Permanent salary benchmarks for Security Engineer in Ireland, from the low end to the top of the range, based on published market compensation data.

€80K

national median per year

Flat year on year

€80K
€45K€150K
Low
€45K
P25
€65K
Median
€80K
P75
€90K
High
€150K

High evidence · Ireland annual benchmark · 2026 data · How we check our numbers

Security Engineer Salary by Seniority Level

Seniority bands are shown where independent benchmarks exist across experience levels for this role and market.

General

€80K

€65K-€90K middle band

Mid

€73K

€70K-€75K middle band

Senior

€90K

€80K-€95K middle band

Junior

€58K

€40K-€75K middle band

Skills That Command a Premium for Security Engineers

Certain technical skills push Security Engineer salaries in Ireland significantly above the €80K median. These are the most impactful skills to develop or highlight when negotiating.

CISSP / CISM

+16%

salary premium vs median

HashiCorp Vault

+15%

salary premium vs median

DevSecOps pipeline integration

+17%

salary premium vs median

Zero Trust architecture

+19%

salary premium vs median

Security Engineer Salary in Dublin, Galway, Waterford, Cork and Limerick

How much does a Security Engineer earn by city in Ireland?

Security Engineer salary varies meaningfully by location. Dublin pays the most at €91K (14% above the national benchmark), while Galway sits at €76K (5% below the national benchmark). Location is worth factoring into any offer negotiation.

Security Engineer Take-Home Pay in Ireland (2026)

After Income Tax, USC & PRSI · single, standard payroll deductions

Entry

Take-home/year

€47,563

Effective rate

26.8%

Median

Take-home/year

€54,979

Effective rate

31.3%

Senior

Take-home/year

€59,756

Effective rate

33.6%

See the full band-by-band breakdown for Security Engineer

Adjust for your actual salary, see each Income Tax, USC, and PRSI band, and get monthly and weekly figures.

Contract day rates available for this role

Median €362/day, see full breakdown, city rates, and take-home calculator

View Security Engineer day rates →

Contract break-even

What day rate beats a €80K Security Engineer salary after tax?

Break-even day rate

€364/day

to match €80K permanent net

Permanent net take-home

€54,979/yr

€80K gross, single, 2026 rates

Sole trader, 220 days, single, no pension. Net figures are estimates; use the calculators for exact results.

Market Demand & Outlook

Hiring demand, top locations, and career outlook for Security Engineer

High Confidence

Demand level

Medium

Based on hiring signals relative to similar roles in this market.

Top hiring locations

DublinCorkGalwayWaterford

Career outlook

Stable market outlook

Security Engineer pay is broadly stable, with current market guidance centered around €80K.

Compare this role

Put the Security Engineer benchmark in context

Compare adjacent roles, employer estimates, published agency guides, and an offer against the market before you make a decision.

Why Security Engineer Salaries Are at This Level

Security Engineers in Ireland earn a median salary of €80K in 2026, with a typical range from €65K at the 25th percentile to €90K at the 75th percentile. This benchmark reflects published market compensation data for annual pay across the Ireland market.

Dublin currently leads city pay at €91K, which is 14% above the national benchmark. City coverage for this role includes Dublin, Galway, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, helping you compare local pay differences without needing separate city-role pages.

At experience level, entry roles start around €58K, senior roles sit near €90K, and upper bands continue to trend above the median. Demand is currently steady for this role based on recent coverage and salary momentum signals.

Frequently Asked Questions About Security Engineer Salary in Ireland

1

What is the median Security Engineer salary in Ireland?

The median Security Engineer salary in Ireland is €80K in 2026. The typical range runs from €65K at the 25th percentile to €90K at the 75th percentile, based on published market compensation data.

2

Is Security Engineer salary increasing in Ireland?

Year-on-year trend data is not yet available for this role. Check back as the dataset grows.

3

How does Security Engineer salary vary by city in Ireland?

Security Engineer salaries vary across Ireland. Dublin leads at €91K (+14% vs the national benchmark), while Galway sits at €76K. Use the city breakdown above to compare all locations.

4

What does a Security Engineer take home after tax in Ireland?

A Security Engineer earning the median €80K gross in Ireland will take home a net amount after income tax and other deductions. Use the PayMetric Labs take-home calculator on this page for an exact breakdown by tax band.

5

What experience level earns the most as a Security Engineer in Ireland?

Pay increases significantly with seniority for Security Engineers in Ireland. See the seniority band breakdown above for exact figures at each level.

6

Is a €80K Security Engineer hybrid role worth the commute in Ireland?

On a 3-day hybrid schedule with a typical Irish commute (€15/day travel, 60-minute round trip, daily meal premium, annual wardrobe costs), your true net income at €80K is approximately €45,081 per year, compared to €54,979 net without any commute. The commute costs €9,898 per year in direct expenses and lost time. A fully remote role paying €60,300 would leave you equally well off.

7

What remote salary is equivalent to a €80K hybrid Security Engineer salary in Ireland?

Assuming a 3-day hybrid schedule with typical commute costs, you would need a remote salary of at least €60,300 to match the true net value of a €80K hybrid Security Engineer role in Ireland. For a 5-day fully in-office role, the break-even remote salary rises to €48,600, as the higher office frequency increases travel, meal, and time costs significantly.

8

How many hours per year does a Security Engineer in Ireland spend commuting?

On a 3-day hybrid schedule with a 60-minute round trip, a Security Engineer in Ireland spends approximately 138 hours commuting per year, equivalent to 17 full working days. Valued at the implied hourly rate for a €80K salary (€46/hr), that time is worth €6,400 annually.

9

How does the 2026 Return to Office trend affect Security Engineer compensation in Ireland?

As more employers in Ireland reintroduce hybrid or full in-office mandates in 2026, the true value of a Security Engineer salary depends increasingly on the number of required office days. At €80K, each additional day in the office costs roughly €3,099 per year in direct and time costs (moving from 3 to 5 days). Candidates evaluating offers should compare true net income rather than gross salary alone.

10

What day rate do you need to earn more than a Security Engineer permanent salary in Ireland?

A Security Engineer earning €80K permanently takes home approximately €54,979 per year after tax in Ireland. As a sole trader contractor at 220 billable days, you need a day rate of at least €364/day to match that net income. Anything above that rate puts more money in your pocket compared to the permanent equivalent. Use the Irish contractor calculator at /ie/calculators/irish-contractor-calculator for a full breakdown.

11

Is contracting more profitable than a permanent Security Engineer role in Ireland?

Whether contracting beats permanent pay for a Security Engineer in Ireland depends entirely on the day rate you can command. The break-even rate is approximately €364/day (220 working days, sole trader), which is the minimum required to match the €80K median permanent net take-home of €54,979 per year. Day rates above this produce a higher net income; rates below it mean the permanent role pays more after tax.

12

How reliable is this Security Engineer salary benchmark?

This benchmark is derived from verified market compensation data and is rated High Confidence. High Confidence means the benchmark is corroborated across independent sources and is citation-ready. Moderate Confidence is directional context while coverage is still building. Limited Market Data means early signals only.

13

Is Security Engineer pay increasing?

The latest year-over-year signal is 0.0%. Growth is matched using the closest comparable prior-year role, location, seniority, currency, and salary type available in the salary intelligence tables.

14

What should employers and candidates take from this benchmark?

Candidates should compare offers against the €65K-€90K middle-market band, while employers should treat €80K as the current market midpoint for this role.

Sources and review

How this salary is built

Reviewed 4 September 2026

This is a PayMetric Labs benchmark, not a salary quote or a guaranteed offer. We align available Ireland market-guide evidence by job title, seniority, pay period, and location before publishing the range.

01 · Collect

Recorded salary and rate-guide evidence

02 · Align

Role, seniority, location, and pay period

03 · Review

Outliers, coverage, and data quality

Recorded agency-guide evidence

These organisations have guide evidence recorded for this market. Coverage differs by role and location, so a listed organisation is not necessarily the direct source for every figure on this page.

BrightwaterClarkCollins McNicholasCPLHaysIT SearchMorgan McKinleySigmarStelfoxThe Panel
Read our methodology

Compare Security Engineer pay in another market

The same role has published benchmarks in these markets. Open each local page for its salary range, tax context, and city detail.

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