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DevSecOps Engineer
DevSecOps Engineer is an engineer who builds security checks into how code is developed and delivered, from the repository to production.
Also known as: DevSecOps Specialist, Cloud Security Engineer, Security Automation Engineer, Product Security Engineer.
What does a DevSecOps Engineer do?
A DevSecOps Engineer is an engineer who makes security part of how software is written and shipped rather than a separate check before release. They automate checks so that developers find vulnerabilities themselves and early, and they work alongside teams rather than policing them from outside. Typical tasks:
- secure CI/CD: access to pipelines, artifact signing, control over what reaches production;
- build scanning of code, dependencies, containers and secrets into the pipeline;
- check infrastructure as code and cloud configuration for dangerous mistakes;
- manage access and secrets across the infrastructure;
- help investigate incidents quickly and fix the cause, not only the consequences.
When does a company need a DevSecOps Engineer?
A company needs a DevSecOps Engineer when security starts slowing development down, or when development moves so fast that security cannot keep up. Common triggers: requirements from a regulator or a large customer (SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS), a leaked secret or an incident with a dependency, a move to the cloud, team growth at which manual release checks stop working. The role will not work if the company has no mature CI/CD: there is nowhere to build security into, and a DevOps Engineer is needed first. If the main task is policy, risk and audit, a CISO or an Information Security Analyst is a better fit.
DevSecOps Engineer vs DevOps Engineer: what's the difference?
A DevSecOps Engineer differs from a DevOps Engineer in making sure nothing dangerous reaches production, while a DevOps Engineer makes sure what is needed gets there quickly and reliably. They work with the same pipelines and infrastructure, but DevSecOps adds checks and restrictions in a way developers accept and do not work around. What sets them apart from an Application Security Engineer is the focus on infrastructure and automation rather than manual analysis of application code.
DevSecOps Engineer vs related roles: comparison
| DevSecOps Engineer | DevOps Engineer | Information Security Analyst | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Responsible for | Pipeline and infrastructure security | Delivery speed and stability | Threat monitoring and compliance |
| Main result | Vulnerabilities caught before production | Frequent, reliable releases | Risks found and closed |
| Works with | Developers, DevOps, security | Developers | Security team, auditors |
Why is it hard to hire a DevSecOps Engineer?
DevSecOps Engineers are hard to hire because the role needs real engineering in both infrastructure and security, and most candidates are strong in only one of them.
- DevSecOps is often the title of a DevOps engineer who plugged in a vulnerability scanner, and in a CV they look the same as someone who built a security system.
- Security specialists often know threats well but do not write code and do not understand how delivery works.
- The role also needs negotiation skills: a rule developers work around is worse than no rule at all.
- Strong candidates are concentrated in fintech and other regulated industries, where they are well retained.
What to decide before hiring a DevSecOps Engineer?
- What triggers the hire: a regulator, an incident or growth? The trigger decides whether you need someone to pass an audit on deadline or to rebuild processes over the long term.
- Which part of the stack is riskiest right now? Cloud, containers, dependencies and secrets call for different experience, and this narrows the search.
- Will the person build tools, set rules, or both? A Security Automation Engineer and a Security Architect are different profiles.
- Who can stop a release for security reasons? Without clear authority, a DevSecOps Engineer either becomes a bottleneck or gets ignored.
Where to find a DevSecOps Engineer?
DevSecOps Engineers most often come from DevOps and platform teams that moved into security, from AppSec teams with a lot of automation, and from fintech and other regulated industries. A strong profile signal is automated checks that genuinely run in a large team's pipeline, or contributions to open-source security tools. NEWHR finds such candidates by the results of their work, not by applications to a job post.
How to assess a DevSecOps Engineer in an interview?
DevSecOps Engineers are assessed with a review of a pipeline the candidate secured and a practical task on a test repository and infrastructure with planted vulnerabilities. The review covers what they automated, what they blocked and how developers reacted. On the company side, the Head of Security or the CISO and a lead infrastructure engineer take part.
Strong signals:
- describes how they got developers to use the checks on their own;
- prioritises by real risk rather than by the number of vulnerabilities found;
- can explain which check they removed because it got in the way more than it helped.
Red flags:
- believes security means blocking releases;
- knows the tools but cannot explain how the attack they protect against works;
- has never written code or automation themselves, only configured off-the-shelf scanners.
How long does it take to hire a DevSecOps Engineer?
We present the first candidates for the DevSecOps Engineer role within 5–7 days of the brief.
Related roles
- DevOps Engineer — builds the pipelines and infrastructure DevSecOps builds security into.
- Information Security Analyst — monitors threats and compliance rather than automating delivery.
- CISO — owns security for the whole company and sets policy.
- Network Security Developer — develops network protection tools rather than securing the development process.
- Platform Engineer — builds the internal platform, where security is one of the requirements.