Cloud Security Engineer
Part of the Cybersecurity Career Guide — This article is one deep-dive in our complete guide series.
By HADESS Team | February 28, 2026 | Updated: February 28, 2026 | 5 min read
You design and implement security controls for cloud environments. Whether your organization runs on AWS, Azure, GCP, or a hybrid setup, you are the one making sure IAM policies are right, data is encrypted, networks are segmented, and misconfigurations do not turn into breaches.
What You Will Do
Cloud security engineering is hands-on work with infrastructure-as-code, cloud-native security services, and the constant challenge of securing environments that change faster than traditional data centers ever did.
Your responsibilities include:
- Designing and implementing IAM policies, roles, and permission boundaries
- Configuring and maintaining cloud-native security services (GuardDuty, Security Hub, Azure Defender, Cloud SCC)
- Building security into IaC templates — Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep
- Implementing network security — VPCs, security groups, NACLs, private endpoints
- Managing encryption for data at rest and in transit — KMS, certificate management
- Setting up cloud logging and monitoring — CloudTrail, Azure Activity Log, VPC Flow Logs
- Running cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools — Prowler, ScoutSuite, Prisma Cloud
- Automating security remediation with Lambda functions, Azure Functions, or Cloud Functions
- Reviewing architecture designs for security before deployment
- Responding to cloud-specific incidents — credential leaks, S3 bucket exposures, privilege escalation
- Maintaining compliance controls for SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA in cloud environments
You work closely with DevOps, platform, and development teams. If you cannot explain why a security control matters in terms they understand, it will not get implemented.
Skills You Need
Cloud security engineering requires deep cloud platform knowledge combined with security expertise.
Build these:
- AWS/Azure/GCP security services — native security tooling for at least one major platform
- Identity and access management — IAM policies, federation, service accounts, least privilege
- Infrastructure as code — Terraform, CloudFormation for secure deployments
- Container security — Docker, Kubernetes security, image scanning
- Cloud networking — VPCs, peering, transit gateways, DNS security
- Encryption and key management — KMS, HSM, certificate lifecycle
- Cloud logging and monitoring — centralized logging, alerting, SIEM integration
- Compliance automation — mapping controls to cloud services
Explore these in the skills library and trace your progression in the career path explorer.
Certifications
Cloud security certifications are platform-specific and highly valued:
- AWS Security Specialty — thorough coverage of AWS security services and architecture
- Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500) — Microsoft cloud security
- CCSP — Certified Cloud Security Professional, vendor-neutral
- CKS — Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist, for container-heavy environments
Plan your certification sequence with the certification roadmap planner.
Salary Range
Cloud security engineers earn between $70K and $150K. Multi-cloud expertise and infrastructure-as-code skills push compensation higher. Engineers at tech companies and financial institutions regularly exceed this range. This is one of the fastest-growing roles in cybersecurity.
Benchmark your compensation with the salary calculator.
How to Get Started
1. Learn a cloud platform deeply — pick AWS, Azure, or GCP and get certified at the associate level first 2. Learn Terraform — infrastructure as code is the foundation of modern cloud security 3. Take the skills assessment to identify your cloud security gaps 4. Build cloud security labs in the workspace — deploy and secure real infrastructure 5. Study IAM thoroughly — it is the most common source of cloud security failures 6. Get AWS Security Specialty or AZ-500 — plan your path with the certification planner 7. Contribute to open-source cloud security tools — Prowler, ScoutSuite, Cartography 8. Build your resume with specific cloud security projects and achievements 9. Search for cloud security engineer roles on the job board
If you are coming from traditional infrastructure security and want to transition to cloud, the career coach can help you identify the fastest path based on your existing skills.
Related Guides in This Series
Take the Next Step
Start your career assessment. Go to the start your career assessment on HADESS.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What certifications do I need for this role?
Certification requirements vary by employer and seniority level. Use the certification roadmap planner to build a sequence based on your target role and current qualifications.
What is the salary range for this role?
Salaries vary significantly by location, experience, and employer type. Use the salary calculator for your specific market rate.
How do I transition into this career path?
Take the skills assessment to identify your current strengths and gaps relative to this role. The assessment generates a personalized learning plan to close the gap.
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HADESS Team consists of cybersecurity practitioners, hiring managers, and career strategists who have collectively spent 50+ years in the field.
