Side-by-side distribution
Application Security
$190,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 55.2%
- Live roles
- 317
Embedded Engineer
$185,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 52.9%
- Live roles
- 450
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
Staff Engineer - Product Security
Senior Staff Engineer - Product Security
Product & Application Security Engineer
Senior Security Engineer, Product AppSec
Principal Software Engineer II - Product Security
Security Engineer, Application Security
Staff Engineer - Product Security
Principal Security Software Engineer, Application Security
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Engineer, Embedded Linux Developer
Helix AI Engineer, Embedded Android Systems
Principal Embedded Security Engineer
Sr. Software Engineer, Embedded Agentic AI
Staff Embedded Firmware Engineer
Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Embedded Software Test Engineer, Onboard Test Automation
Embedded SW Engineer
Staff Embedded Linux Engineer
Embedded Systems Engineer-Federal
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$204,500 | 8 |
Mozilla
|
$85,751 | 5 |
|
Faire
|
$422,240 | 4 |
|
Veeam Software
|
$315,000 | 4 |
Harvey
|
$275,000 | 3 |
Brex
|
$216,000 | 3 |
Airwallex
|
$205,000 | 3 |
SpaceX
|
$202,500 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anduril Industries
|
$199,500 | 25 |
Silvus Technologies
|
$170,000 | 10 |
|
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 9 |
| AX Axon | $183,300 | 7 |
Verkada
|
$245,000 | 6 |
Applied Intuition
|
$202,000 | 6 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$140,000 | 6 |
STR
|
$130,500 | 6 |
Application Security salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $237,500 | 27 |
| San Francisco | $233,750 | 46 |
| Chicago | $213,750 | 7 |
| Seattle | $200,000 | 11 |
| Boston | $195,000 | 4 |
| Austin | $187,500 | 5 |
| Toronto | $185,000 | 11 |
| Denver | $177,500 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 7 |
| London | $131,502 | 3 |
Embedded Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | $200,750 | 4 |
| Seattle | $193,025 | 12 |
| Austin | $186,975 | 6 |
| Boston | $183,300 | 11 |
| San Francisco | $180,000 | 19 |
| Los Angeles | $180,000 | 15 |
| Denver | $177,500 | 3 |
| New York | $167,500 | 6 |
Application Security vs Embedded Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Application Security is $190,000 per year (typically $159,735–$235,000), versus $185,000 for Embedded Engineer ($155,000–$208,938). That puts Application Security about 3% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Application Security and Embedded Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.