Hire a security engineer in Utrecht

A security engineer protects an organisation's IT environment against digital threats. Where a network or cloud engineer mainly builds and manages, the security engineer looks at it critically: where are the weak spots, how does an attacker get in, and what is needed to prevent that or detect it in time. It is a specialism that weighs ever more heavily, as cyber threats grow and legislation such as NIS2, ISO 27001 and the GDPR set increasingly high requirements.

What does a security engineer do?

The work is broad and depends on the organisation. Common tasks include securing networks and cloud environments, setting up and monitoring through a SOC and SIEM, carrying out vulnerability management and penetration testing, and arranging identity and access management with principles like least privilege and Zero Trust. In addition, the security engineer plays a role in incident response: recognising, containing and handling security incidents, and drawing lessons from them.

Which skills and certifications are common?

A security engineer combines technical depth with overview. Knowledge of network and cloud security, firewalls, encryption, logging and detection is common, as is experience with security tooling and scripting for automation. Many professionals hold certifications such as CompTIA Security+, CEH, OSCP, CISSP or cloud-specific security certificates from Microsoft or AWS. Equally important is the ability to translate risks into language management understands, because security is ultimately an organisational matter and not only a technical one.

Junior, medior or senior?

A junior security engineer assists with monitoring, patching and following up on alerts. A medior works independently on security projects, runs tests and improves security structurally. A senior or lead sets the security strategy, advises management, leads incident response and ensures the organisation complies with legislation. Which level you need depends on your organisation's maturity and the risks you run — during the intake we help you get that clear.

What does hiring a security engineer in Utrecht cost? The hourly rate depends on level, specialism and the weight of the assignment. The indication below applies to the Utrecht region and excludes VAT:

• Junior security engineer: indicatively €58–€78 per hour — assists with monitoring, patching and following up on alerts.
• Medior security engineer: indicatively €78–€98 per hour — works independently on security projects, tests and improvements.
• Senior / lead security engineer: indicatively €98–€116 per hour — sets strategy, leads incident response and safeguards compliance.

Security profiles are scarce, and specialised knowledge — such as OT security, cloud security or pentesting — can push the rate up further. Maedium works transparently: you pay the engineer's rate plus a clear, agreed fee. No surprises afterwards. During the intake we determine together which level and specialism fit your situation and budget.