Application Security Engineer: Facts, Skills, and Next Paths

An Application Security Engineer works within software development teams to identify and fix security vulnerabilities before code reaches production. Day to day, you review code, configure automated security scanners, and advise developers on secure coding practices. You also integrate security tools into CI/CD pipelines so that every build is automatically checked for weaknesses.

Core responsibilities include leading the development and enforcement of application security policies, as at CVS Health, where engineers embed security-by-design across traditional and AI-driven systems. The role sits in the security or DevSecOps team, often reporting to a security manager. For example, at Ernst & Young Oman, the position involves managing application development platforms and optimizing security tools through automation. At Regions Bank, the focus is on safeguarding personally identifiable information submitted by customers.

Median salary for this role is about $166,042, and the most requested skills include Security Fundamentals (100% of postings), CI/CD (60%), Cloud Security (44.4%), Compliance (40%), Automation (40%), Software Development (40%), and Python or R (40%).