Application Security Engineer Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an application security engineer. Feel free to use our application security engineer job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an application security engineer.
Who is an Application Security Engineer?
The need for application security cannot be overemphasized; nowadays, hackers and attackers tend to successfully compromise applications to access finances and information stored in the computer systems of organizations, firms, businesses, schools, government, and entertainment enterprises. Security breaches lead to a downturn in business and have direct impacts on trade, profitability, and outcome. Additionally, there are financial and economic consequences attached to security breaches such as damaged brand image, reduced shareholder trust, and loss of customers or clients. Also, legal and regulatory ramifications that result in fines and sanctions are associated with security breaches.
When there is inadequate application security in companies, it creates a loophole for cyber-crime and cyber intruders; these attackers hijack data and make unauthorized, unsanctioned, and illicit purchases thereby putting the organization in jeopardy. Therefore, application security involves all the tasks that introduce a secure software development life cycle to development teams. The process is aimed at improving security practices and finding, fixing, and preventing security attacks and issues within applications. Application security is crucial in every organization; it encompasses the whole application life cycle from design, requirements, implementation, analysis, maintenance, and verification. Proper application security ensures the safety of the organizations’ finances, business plans, and customers’ information. Individuals that ensure application security are called application security engineers.
An application security engineer has an important role to play to make sure that customers’ data is effectively protected and preserved in applications. Since the role is sensitive and important, certain proficiencies and criteria must be attained and completed. Importantly, application security engineers do not create or develop applications even though they know the software development cycle. Much of their duties are performed in tandem with developers; they set up and install security control measures and packages at different stages of application development. They use techniques and tools to secure applications that have been created or deployed.
An application security engineer succinctly and precisely secures data, applications, and systems. They are trained to ensure that a company’s services and applications are implemented and applied with high standards and protection. They lead efforts to secure codes, penetrate testing support, project security reviews, and application scanning processes. Most application security engineers work in a team of security engineers to guarantee that business software and infrastructures are implemented, authenticated, and designed with the best security practice and procedures available. Pointedly, application security engineers often collaborate with other IT personnel to toughen and reinforce systems and applications to safeguard user data.
The application security engineer designs and suggests technical solutions to address security weaknesses and works with germane stakeholders and other interested parties to ensure implementation. In some firms, application security engineers build systems at scale and prevent a series of vulnerabilities. They provide support with security incident responses when needed. The most successful application security engineers are renowned for adhering or sticking to secure coding principles; he/she aids in testing the application security against security risks, parameters, and malware before release.
Where applicable, an application security engineer can make adjustments to the code to stem cybersecurity threats. They make changes to an application regularly to negate hackers and intruders. Hence, all application security engineers are duly and efficiently trained in cybersecurity and cybercrime aversion. The individual is knowledgeable and familiar with multiple computer programming languages. Application security engineers carry out penetration testing to see if outside forces or sources can hack into the particular application. Uniquely, they perform security code reviews and threat modeling of programming done by other application programs. Evaluation of lines of programming code is vital to ensure applications are safe and free from cyber-attack; the application security engineer is responsible for that.
Application security engineers are needed and hired for several reasons; described below are some of the importance of recruiting application security engineers;
To secure, safeguard, and protect sensitive information: Organizations, firms, and businesses often have sensitive information and data they don’t want in public. An application security engineer can help safeguard them. Apart from preventing attackers and hackers from sniffing organizational files, firms need to guarantee that even genuine and permitted users cannot access data that is prohibited to them.
To prevent potential attacks: As the saying goes, it is better to make hay while the sun shines. Thus, the application security engineer takes proactive steps to discover vulnerabilities in applications and patch them before intruders and invaders get a chance to exploit them. This may involve dynamic and constant application security testing and regular monitoring and evaluation of applications.
To gain customers’ and clients’ trust: Trust and confidence are two of the vital cogs in business. Moreover, it takes just one data or information leak to lose customers and shatter the reputation of a burgeoning organization. The resulting loss of confidence from a data breach can bring even boisterous businesses and firms down. Remember, an organization needs customers to grow.
Application Security Engineer Job Description
Below are the application security engineer job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write an application security engineer job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
An application security engineer has numerous duties and responsibilities that cut across the entire software development life cycle. Although the industry is fast-paced and evolving, application security engineers still perform trivial and core tasks aimed at curbing cybercrime and ensuring the safety and protection of vital cum sensitive information. They work daily to mitigate information leakages and promote business and company reliability. Though the responsibilities of an application security engineer often vary from business to business, the following tasks span the entire industry regardless of the employer;
Set development parameters: An application security engineer will be required to set security controls and design requirements during the software development and creation process while integrating security designs into the software. Relatively, they ensure that security in the different areas of the software is uniform, even, and identical. This can be achieved by setting up security checkpoints.
Implement advanced security features: Most employers expect application security engineers to implement patches and utilize shielding tools after testing applications. This makes applications less vulnerable or susceptible to hacking, attacks, and invasion. Examples of advanced security processes are code obfuscation and runtime application self-protection.
Maintain technical documentation: Although documentation is not universally known to be among the application security engineers’ duties, it is also important in many organizations. In large companies and development teams with various applications, the application software engineer documents and stores information about application security.
Test source and running codes: The application security engineer analyses applications source code for vulnerabilities before compiling and running them. This is done in tandem with security measures in the application development stage to avoid security breaches and loopholes. Source and running code testing encompass static application security testing, dynamic application security testing, interactive testing, mobile testing, and email testing.
Threat modeling: This involves determining the major or potent threats to an application. The application security engineers break the application into components, document them, and outline the flow of data between the components. Next, they explore the threats in each component and counter them accordingly.
Other tasks include:
- Help to evolve and update the company’s security functions and services.
- Take charge of bug intake and remediation process on behalf of the firm.
- Uphold and coordinate code reviews across all platforms of the organization.
- Lead and supervise application vulnerability scanning and penetration testing remediation.
- Troubleshoot production issues and performance bottlenecks.
- Guide junior-level security engineers.
- Follow application security best practices when performing tasks.
- Represent the firm in application and information security conferences, workshops, and seminars.
- Manage integration with vulnerability check tools including dynamic code analysis and static code analysis tools.
- Support the information security manager on all application security activities.
- Discover application security exposures and loopholes.
- Develop mitigation plans, report, and fix the technical debt.
- Participate in sourcing initiatives within the company.
- Work closely with cross-functional teams such as DevOps and cross-business unit on executive standardized security solutions and integration.
- Facilitate and support the preparation of regular and critical security releases.
- Guide and advice product development teams as SMEs in the area of application security.
- Assist with recruitment and administrative activities.
- Participate and assist in initiatives to holistically address multiple vulnerabilities and threats found in a functional application.
- Become a significant stakeholder in improving application security releases.
- Influence and lead cross-functional positive changes in the organization.
- Significantly own and suggest application security training with the development team.
Qualifications
Since application security engineers work with several groups of people such as application developers, testers, designers, and others, they need to possess certain qualifications to practice. These include relevant education, adequate work experience, rigorous training, and verifiable certification. Most application security engineers start as application developers and transition or metamorphose into the cybersecurity field. Most fields and careers have entry-level positions. In contrast, there are no entry-level application security engineers. Therefore, the employer or hiring manager must make sure that application security engineers have relevant academic and professional qualifications to back up their skills and expertise. An individual must fulfill and meet certain requirements to qualify for the position of an application security engineer; these include;
Knowledge and experience: The ideal candidate must have a deep and extensive technical knowledge of front-end to back-end systems and all points between. Also, knowledge and experience in network engineering, software development, security or authentication protocols, cryptography, or system engineering can suffice. Familiarity and experience in application security best practices are required as well.
Training: Most employers prefer highly trained application security engineers. Training should cover web protocols, Linux/Unix tools and architecture, and application and information security. Also, training on automation enablement and security capturing and consolidation are desirable.
Education: The educational qualification for an application security engineer includes but is not restricted to a bachelor’s degree in information security, computer engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, or other related courses. However, most organizations or firms prefer candidates with master’s degrees. Also, the degree should include courses centered on security theory, in-depth defense and protection, situational crime prevention, and security system drivers amongst others.
Professional Certification: Lastly, certifications can bolster an application security engineers’ chances of getting hired. Examples of certification for application security engineers include certified secure software lifecycle professional, GIAC web application defender, certified application security engineer, GIAC secure software programmer, certified information security manager, and certified hacking forensic investigator.
Essential Skills and Abilities
Can you remember the series of security checks you passed through at the airport when trying to fly to an island for a vacation? Security personnel rigorously checked your boarding pass and ID, you walked through a metal monitor, your luggage was x-rayed, you passed airport security dogs, and security guards monitored TV screens to decode unusual activity. Similar to the security checks in the airport, an application security engineer must be mindful of intruders’ entry points and offer the necessary protection against hackers at each stage of an application’s development and deployment. Some essential skills are needed to successfully secure applications including;
Threat modeling skills: These skills allow the application security engineer to think about how hackers, invaders, and intruders can compromise an application system and what protections and precautions are needed to combat them.
Vulnerability and testing and analysis skills: The application security engineer needs this skill to discover weaknesses, faults, and flaws once an application is deployed. In turn, the application software engineers can advise and recommend solutions and remediation to the development team.
Security code review skills: This enables the individual to efficiently identify security vulnerabilities and threats in source code before an application is deployed for production.
Result-orientation skills: Identifying vulnerabilities, issues, threats, and problems is one aspect of application security, fixing them is another. After the identification of problems, an application security engineer must have the predisposition for action to initiate the remediation of such issues.
Avid reading skills: Since application security testing continues to evolve, an individual must possess avid reading skills to stay updated on trends and developments in the field. This skill enables the application security engineer to constantly self-improve and advance in their career.
How to Become an Application Security Engineer
Most application security engineers start their career by earning a bachelor’s degree in a related field and progress thereafter. Thus, follow the steps below to become an application security engineer;
Earn a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, computer science, information security, and other related fields. A high GPA and a strong internship can add practical and real-world value to the degree.
Since there are no entry-level positions for this career, get an entry-level job in a related area such as program testing or risk management.
Gain professional experience for 2-5 years in the field.
After gaining experience for 5 years, apply for a certified information security system professional certification or other related certifications.
Enroll for a master’s degree in cybersecurity or information security with a focus on application security engineering.
Apply for advertised application security engineer roles and start your journey in application security.
Where Can An Application Security Engineer Work?
An application security engineer can work in every sector or industry in coastal communities, remote locations, and heartland cities. Different employers of application security engineers include healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail, technology, and government. According to findings, the highest-paid application security engineers are found in complex industries in urban centers. Furthermore, multinational companies like Amazon, Google, and cloud-based Salesforce also employ application security engineers to protect their data.
Application Security Engineer Salary Scale
According to PayScale, an application security engineer earns an average salary of $90,923 annually depending on education, location, job function and level, and experience. Application security engineers employed by financial institutions have been reported to earn more than those in other sectors.