Recruits Lab places security engineers, identity and access specialists, cloud security architects, and CISO-level talent at enterprises and venture-backed startups. We screen on actual security work, not certifications.
Cybersecurity hiring has compressed dramatically. The talent gap is real — over 700,000 unfilled security roles in the U.S. — and the bar for senior talent has moved up while the candidate pool has barely grown. Generic IT recruiters cannot fill these roles. They send the wrong profiles and miss the right ones.
Recruits Lab is a specialized cybersecurity recruiting firm placing across the full security stack. We work with enterprises building out internal security organizations, venture-backed security startups hiring product and platform engineers, and companies in regulated industries (healthcare, financial services, life sciences) where security maturity is non-negotiable.
Our recruiters know the difference between a SOC analyst with real incident response experience and one who has only triaged false positives. They know which IAM engineers have actually rolled out CyberArk or Okta at enterprise scale. They know which cloud security architects can design AWS landing zones and which ones only know AWS by reading whitepapers.
We support hiring across security engineering, application security (AppSec), cloud security (AWS/Azure/GCP), identity and access management (CyberArk, Okta, SailPoint), DevSecOps, GRC, threat detection and response, security architecture, and CISO-level leadership.
Cybersecurity candidates are uniquely sensitive to environment, leadership, and authenticity. Generic outreach fails. Our process is built around the realities of recruiting in this market.
Why this market is hard to recruit for. And how we solve each one.
Certifications are easy to collect. Real incident response, real IAM rollouts, real cloud security design are not. We screen on the latter.
Some roles require active clearances. We pre-qualify on clearance status to avoid wasted cycles.
Security teams in regulated industries often require on-site work. We pre-qualify on location.
An Okta expert is not interchangeable with a SailPoint expert. We screen on actual vendor experience.
Real CISOs with both technical depth and board-level communication are rare. Executive search expertise matters.
Senior security talent gets retained aggressively. We coach offer strategy and manage close.
The repeatable system behind our 14-day average hire time.
Map the security stack, regulatory environment, and incident profile before recruiting.
Targeted outreach by specific tool experience (CyberArk, Okta, Splunk, CrowdStrike, etc.).
Pre-screen on incident response, rollouts, or platform builds — not certifications alone.
4-6 candidates per slate with security-specific briefs.
Many security hires are confidential. We run stealth searches as standard.
2026 U.S. base salary ranges for cybersecurity roles. Excludes equity, bonus, and on-call premiums.
| Role | Base Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Senior Security Engineer | $180K–$245K |
| Staff Security Engineer / AppSec | $240K–$340K |
| Cloud Security Architect | $230K–$320K |
| Senior IAM Engineer | $185K–$255K |
| Director, Security Engineering | $275K–$390K |
| VP of Security | $340K–$485K |
| Chief Information Security Officer | $385K–$560K |
Quick answers to the questions founders and hiring leaders ask most.
The best cybersecurity recruiters specialize by domain (IAM, AppSec, cloud, GRC) and screen on shipped security work rather than certifications. Recruits Lab places security engineers, architects, and CISOs with a 14-day average hire time.
Senior security engineers in the U.S. cost $180K-$245K base in 2026. Staff engineers cost $240K-$340K. Cloud security architects with deep AWS or Azure design experience often command higher premiums.
Industry average for retained CISO search is 5-9 months. Recruits Lab averages 60-90 days for CISO-level executive search using a focused retained model.
AppSec focuses on application-layer security: code review, SAST/DAST, secure SDLC, and product security. General security engineering covers infrastructure, identity, detection, and response. The talent pools are largely distinct above the senior level.
Yes. We maintain a pool of cleared candidates for federal and federal-adjacent roles.
Yes. SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and HITRUST audit and program management roles are a regular practice area.
Needed a Director of Security Engineering with healthcare experience before a SOC 2 Type II audit. Two months of internal sourcing had produced zero qualified candidates.
Recruits Lab mapped 40 directors with HIPAA-environment experience, ran warm outreach, and presented 5 candidates in 12 days.
Offer signed in 23 days. SOC 2 Type II completed on schedule. The hire has since scaled the security team to 9.
"Recruits Lab knew the cloud security space cold. The slate was sharper than the two retained firms we tried first."
"They placed our CISO in 11 weeks. The process was clean and the candidate was right."
Security engineering, AppSec/product security, cloud security, IAM (CyberArk/Okta/SailPoint), DevSecOps, threat detection, incident response, GRC, security architecture, and CISO-level leadership.
Yes. Active TS/SCI and Secret-level candidates available for cleared roles.
Yes — see our dedicated CyberArk recruiters page.
Yes. CISO-level search is run as a focused retained engagement.
Roughly 50/50. Regulated industries (finance, healthcare) trend on-site or hybrid.
Subscription from $7,500/month or 20 percent flat contingency with a 90-day guarantee. CISO retained search is priced separately.
Kickoff within 48 hours.
Yes. We have built out security organizations from first hire through 15-person teams.
Compensation data, hiring playbooks, case studies, and related recruiting specialties.
Four ways to engage. Pick whichever matches where you are.
30-minute strategy review with a senior recruiter. Free, no commitment.
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