Detection Engineer
Write detections that find real attacks inside noisy telemetry
About the profession
Detection engineers translate attacker behavior into rules, queries, and ML models that fire on real intrusions and stay silent the rest of the time.
How to Get Started
Take a personality test to see if Detection Engineer fits your profile
Career Match Test →Explore the Career Path section to see progression from junior to senior
Jump to Career Path →Start learning — check the Learning Path for free courses
Jump to Learning Path →Career Path
Your career progression roadmap with salary growth at each level
Career Ladder
Detection Engineer → Senior Detection Engineer → Staff Detection Engineer → Head of Detection
Where are you on this career path?
Click a level below to set your current position
Salary Growth
4
Levels
260K
Top Salary
8+
Years
Learning Path
Skills you need to develop and courses to get there
🚀
Set your current level first
Go to the Career Path tab and select your current level to see your personalized learning plan.
Go to Career PathCareer levels
Timeline: 0-2 | Entry Level Base: $120,000 - $155,000/year With equity/bonuses: $132,000 - $186,000 Top markets (SF/NYC): $138,000 - $186,000 Execute core tasks using SIEM under…
Day in Life
Junior vs Senior — daily schedule breakdown
9am — Review priorities and respond to urgent items 10am — Team standup and progress check 11am — Deep work using SIEM 1pm — Cross-functional meeting with stakeholders 3pm —…
Income Dynamics
Conservative and aggressive scenarios for 10–15 years
Year 1: Entry level $84,000 - $108,000 Year 2-3: Junior level $120,000 - $165,000 Year 4-6: Mid level $165,000 - $197,000 Year 7-10: Senior level $197,000 - $239,000 Year 10+:…
Is this for me?
15 questions — answer honestly
You find the craft of a Detection Engineer genuinely interesting, not just a paycheck You enjoy working with SIEM and Detection-as-code You communicate clearly with diverse…
💰 Salary Range
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