Builds privacy protections into software and data systems, such as consent handling, data deletion and de-identification, to meet laws like GDPR and CCPA. BLS does not publish separate figures for information security engineers; it counts them within information security engineer (SOC 15-1299), whose median pay is $116,580 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
- SOC 15-1299
- Computer and Mathematical
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Privacy Engineer in four numbers
- Median pay
- $116,580a year, or $56.05/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $56KTop 10% $188K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +5.1%Faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+5.1%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +5.1% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 27,000471,200 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 2025471.2K
- Projected 2035495.3K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 471.2K Projected 2035 495.3K - Typical education
- Bachelor'sneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- Less than high school5.3%
- High school5.3%
- Certificate15.8%
- Some college10.5%
- Associate's10.5%
- Bachelor's47.4%
Highest education held by information security engineers Segment Value Less than high school 5.3% High school 5.3% Certificate 15.8% Some college 10.5% Associate's 10.5% Bachelor's 47.4%
Also advertised as: Data Privacy Engineer, Privacy Software Engineer, Privacy Technologist, Privacy by Design Engineer.
Pay
How much do Information Security Engineers make?
Every privacy engineer in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$116,580
Middle half earn $79,370 to $157,500
- 10th
- $55,940
- 25th
- $79,370
- 75th
- $157,500
- 90th
- $188,470
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $55,940 |
| 25th | $79,370 |
| Median | $116,580 |
| 75th | $157,500 |
| 90th | $188,470 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $116,580
- Median hourly wage
- $56.05/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $122,230
- People employed
- 435,370
Versus all US occupations
At $116,580, Information Security Engineers earn 129% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $65,600 a year.
Versus computer and mathematical occupations
The median is typical for the Computer and Mathematical group, where the middle occupation pays $116,580.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $188,470 or more while the bottom 10% earn $55,940, a gap of 3.4×. That is an unusually wide spread, which usually tracks specialisation, employer type and years of experience.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 82% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
District of Columbia pays the most at $156,590, and still leads at $142,483 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Information Security Engineers the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1District of Columbia | $156,590 | $142,483 | 17,200 |
| 2Maryland | $144,680 | $137,844 | 19,060 |
| 3Colorado | $139,580 | $135,446 | 11,800 |
| 4Virginia | $139,030 | $137,512 | 17,000 |
| 5Delaware | $137,470 | $137,734 | 860 |
| 6California | $134,440 | $121,423 | 80,150 |
| 7Washington | $128,940 | $120,490 | 14,360 |
| 8Connecticut | $127,720 | $123,270 | 3,100 |
| 9New Mexico | $127,090 | $137,824 | 1,650 |
| 10Hawaii | $120,100 | $109,230 | 2,080 |
Job outlook
Is Privacy Engineer a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Faster than average. +5.1% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Information Security Engineers | +5.1% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Faster than average
BLS projects employment of Information Security Engineers to change 5.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 24,200 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 27,000 openings are projected each year, 5.7% of the 471,200 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Privacy Engineer
Most privacy engineers have a bachelor's degree in computer science or software engineering and come from software, data or security engineering roles. A few universities offer dedicated programs, such as Carnegie Mellon's Master of Science in Information Technology: Privacy Engineering.
The International Association of Privacy Professionals' Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) is the main credential for technical privacy roles. Understanding data architecture, security controls and privacy law basics is essential. Many enter by owning privacy features, such as data deletion or consent, in an existing engineering job.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
None
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Medium preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as information security engineers.
- Bachelor's Degree47.4%
- Post-Secondary Certificate15.8%
- Some College Courses10.5%
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree10.5%
- Less than a High School Diploma5.3%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | 47.4% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 15.8% |
| Some College Courses | 10.5% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 10.5% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 5.3% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a Privacy Engineer do?
Privacy engineers make sure software respects people's personal data. Laws such as the EU's GDPR and California's CCPA give people rights to see, correct and delete their data, and require companies to collect only what they need. Privacy engineers turn those legal requirements into working systems: tools that find personal data across databases, pipelines that honor deletion requests, consent management, data retention rules and access controls.
They review new product designs for privacy risks, run privacy impact assessments with legal teams, and apply techniques such as pseudonymization, aggregation and differential privacy so data can be analyzed without exposing individuals. The NIST Privacy Framework is a common reference for structuring this work.
Day-to-day tasks
- Build systems that discover and classify personal data
- Implement data deletion and access request pipelines
- Design consent and preference management features
- Review product designs for privacy risk
- Apply de-identification and differential privacy techniques
- Enforce data retention and minimization rules
- Work with legal teams on privacy impact assessments
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Privacy engineers work at technology companies, advertising and data firms, banks, healthcare organizations and consultancies. The job is desk-based and often remote or hybrid. Days mix coding, design reviews and meetings with lawyers and product teams. Deadlines track new regulations and product launches.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayIndoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day.
Outdoors in all weather
NeverEvery dayAlmost never works outdoors.
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeSeated for more than half the working day.
Standing
NeverAlmost all the timeBending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantFace-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayDealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayConflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Active Listening3.9
- Writing3.6
- Monitoring3.6
- Speaking3.5
- Active Learning3.3
- Learning Strategies2.9
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.1 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.9 |
| Writing | 3.6 |
| Monitoring | 3.6 |
| Speaking | 3.5 |
| Active Learning | 3.3 |
| Learning Strategies | 2.9 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Quality Control Analysis3.4
- Systems Analysis3.4
- Systems Evaluation3.4
- Complex Problem Solving3.3
- Judgment and Decision Making3.3
- Instructing3.1
- Programming3.1
- Operations Monitoring3.1
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.4 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.4 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.4 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 |
| Instructing | 3.1 |
| Programming | 3.1 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.1 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Application server software · in demand
- Cloud-based management software · in demand
- Configuration management software · in demand
- Content workflow software · in demand
- Data base management system software · in demand
- Data base reporting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Development environment software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Enterprise application integration software · in demand
- Enterprise system management software · in demand
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Privacy Engineer?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code ICR) built on O*NET's Information Security Engineer profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Privacy Engineer |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 4 |
| Investigative | 6 |
| Artistic | 1 |
| Social | 2 |
| Enterprising | 3 |
| Conventional | 6 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around organising, following procedures and working precisely with data, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.
- Conventional6.1
- Investigative5.7
- Realistic4.5
- Enterprising2.7
- Social1.8
- Artistic1.3
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Privacy Engineer
O*NET related occupations
- Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
- Computer and Mathematical
- Business and Financial Operations
- Computer and Mathematical
Network and Computer Systems Administrator
$99,130median a year
Most earn $63K to $155K
−4.1%Bachelor's - Computer and Mathematical
More computer and mathematical careers
Median annual pay, with information security engineers highlighted
- Software Developer$135,980
- Actuary$130,000
- Data Scientist$120,230
- Business Intelligence Analyst$120,230
- Privacy Engineer$116,580
- Database Administrator$104,620
- Web Designer$104,000
- Computer Programmer$100,390
- Web Developer$92,650
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Software Developer | $135,980 |
| Actuary | $130,000 |
| Data Scientist | $120,230 |
| Business Intelligence Analyst | $120,230 |
| Privacy Engineer | $116,580 |
| Database Administrator | $104,620 |
| Web Designer | $104,000 |
| Computer Programmer | $100,390 |
| Web Developer | $92,650 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Privacy Engineer appears on
Questions
Privacy Engineer: frequently asked questions
How much do Information Security Engineers make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for information security engineers. It counts them within information security engineer, whose median pay is $116,580 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $79,370 and $157,500, and the top 10% earn $188,470 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Privacy Engineer?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Information Security Engineers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 47.4% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Privacy Engineer a growing career?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.1% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 27,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Privacy Engineer do?
Privacy engineers make sure software respects people's personal data. A typical task: build systems that discover and classify personal data. Employers most often ask for Application server software, Cloud-based management software, Configuration management software.
Which states pay Information Security Engineers the most?
The highest state medians for Information Security Engineers are District of Columbia ($156,590), Maryland ($144,680), Colorado ($139,580) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Privacy Engineer?
O*NET scores Information Security Engineers highest on the Conventional, Investigative and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.