Key findings

1
103 employers listed the 190 open roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team; Thales held 11 of them (5.8%) and the three largest 30 (15.8%).
Figure 1
2
68 of the 190 open roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team (35.8%) stated pay, with a median of $194k/yr (typical pay $146k to $320k a year), 3% below the $200k/yr of all security roles.
Figure 2
3
5 of the 190 open roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team (2.6%) accepted applicants from any country, against 3.1% of all open security roles; of the 20 countries compared, residents of the United States (94), then France and the United Kingdom (28 each) could apply to the most, and residents of the Netherlands and Slovakia to the fewest (12 each).
Figure 5
4
The words used most in the titles of open roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team were Penetration tester or red teamer (77), Engineer or developer (63) and Researcher (45), of 190 open roles.
Figure 6
5
Of the 190 open roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team with a full description, 57 (30.0%) mention a degree, 20 (10.5%) mention a security clearance and 89 (46.8%) state years of experience, a median of 5 years.
Figure 7
6
78 of the 190 described roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team (41.1%) name a security certification; OSCP (70), OffSec advanced (OSEP, OSWE, OSED, OSCE3, 52) and GIAC certifications (GSEC, GCIH, GPEN and others, 42) were named most.
Figure 8
7
Among the 3 employers with at least 3 distinct advertised salaries in Penetration Testing & Red Team, Palo Alto Networks advertised the highest median ($193k/yr) and CertiK the lowest ($130k/yr).
Figure 1

Figure 1

Who hires for it

Which employers list security roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team, and what does each advertise?

Employer	Open roles	Share of open roles	Stating pay	Median pay a year
Thales	11	5.8%	0.0%	n/a
Two Six Technologies	10	5.3%	100.0%	$174,000
Palo Alto Networks	9	4.7%	55.6%	$193,000
Armadin	5	2.6%	0.0%	n/a
CertiK	5	2.6%	80.0%	$130,000
Inetum	5	2.6%	0.0%	n/a
Interrupt Labs	5	2.6%	0.0%	n/a
Packetlabs	5	2.6%	40.0%	n/a
Qualys	5	2.6%	0.0%	n/a
CENSUS	4	2.1%	0.0%	n/a
Dataflow Security	4	2.1%	0.0%	n/a
IOActive	4	2.1%	25.0%	n/a
Bishop Fox	3	1.6%	0.0%	n/a
Bitdefender	3	1.6%	0.0%	n/a
Coupang	3	1.6%	33.3%	n/a
10a Labs	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
Advens	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
AfterQuery	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
AIFT	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
Altruist	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
Anduril Industries	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
Anthropic	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
Coinbase	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
CrowdStrike	2	1.1%	50.0%	n/a
Higgsfield AI	2	1.1%	50.0%	n/a
Magnet Forensics	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
Mercor	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
OpenAI	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
Pindrop	2	1.1%	50.0%	n/a
Robinhood	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
SafeBreach	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
Septeo	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
Sophos	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
Starling Bank	2	1.1%	0.0%	n/a
Tevora	2	1.1%	100.0%	n/a
VulnCheck	2	1.1%	50.0%	n/a
Aikido Security	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
Anyone AI	1	0.5%	100.0%	n/a
Apex	1	0.5%	100.0%	n/a
Artemis	1	0.5%	100.0%	n/a
AvePoint	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
Axonius	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
Backblaze	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
Brave	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
Bybit	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
Check Point	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
ClickHouse	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a
Cloudflare	1	0.5%	100.0%	n/a
Cobalt	1	0.5%	100.0%	n/a
Cogent Security	1	0.5%	0.0%	n/a

The other 53 rows, in the same order (every value of every row is in the report's data, sent by email):

CyberOne, depthfirst, Distribusion, Docker, Dragos, Endor Labs, ESET, Eye Security, FAR.AI, Finite State, Forward Financing, GitLab, GuidePoint Security, Horizon3.ai, iFood, Inspectiv, Integrity360, JFrog, Liftoff, Menlo Security, micro1, MongoDB, Netcompany, Nscale, Offchain Labs, Okta, OpenSesame, OpenZeppelin, Perplexity, PlayStation (Sony Interactive Entertainment), Praetorian, Protiviti, QuintoAndar, Rogo, Scalian, Sectigo, SentinelOne, Snyk, Software Secured, SpaceX, Sporty Group, Sprocket Security, Stripe, Tanium, Tenable, Terac, The Browser Company, Trace3, Trend Micro, UltraViolet Cyber, Workstreet, Zafran, Zscaler

Sample. 190 roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team open at the end of 14 Nov 2026, by the employer that lists them: HHI 188 (unconcentrated), against 60 for all security roles.

HHI: the sum of every employer's squared percentage share of the open roles, 0 to 10,000; under 1,500 is unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately and above 2,500 highly concentrated (US merger-guideline thresholds).

Shares are of listings, not of people hired: an employer posting one role for each city or country it hires in weighs more here than its hiring may.

A median needs at least 3 distinct advertised salaries.

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

Figure 2

What it pays

What do security roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team advertise a year, against every security role on the board?

Roles	Median pay a year	Typical pay from	Typical pay to	Stating pay	Roles stating pay
Penetration Testing & Red Team	$194,000	$146,000	$320,000	35.8%	68
All security roles	$200,000	$160,000	$332,000	40.7%	1,237

Sample. Roles open on 14 Nov 2026: 190 in Penetration Testing & Red Team, 68 of them stating pay; 3,041 across all security roles.

Pay is the year's pay a posting advertises (the middle of a stated range; an hourly rate counts as 2,080 hours), counted once per distinct salary as the job board counts it. The median and typical pay are the board's: typical pay is the span from the 25th percentile of range midpoints to the 90th percentile of range tops, every figure taken as a full-time year (an hourly rate times 2,080 hours), stated from 3 distinct salaries.

A role whose posting gives no salary or pay range counts as not stating pay.

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

Figure 3

How its pay is spread

How is the advertised pay of security roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team spread across salary bands?

Advertised pay a year	Open roles	Share of roles stating pay	This band or lower	All security roles
Under $75k a year	5	7.4%	7.4%	2.3%
$75k to $100k	0	0.0%	7.4%	2.2%
$100k to $125k	6	8.8%	16.2%	4.4%
$125k to $150k	7	10.3%	26.5%	10.4%
$150k to $175k	8	11.8%	38.2%	14.0%
$175k to $200k	11	16.2%	54.4%	16.3%
$200k to $250k	20	29.4%	83.8%	28.9%
$250k to $300k	5	7.4%	91.2%	13.0%
$300k a year or more	6	8.8%	100.0%	8.5%

Sample. 68 roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team open on 14 Nov 2026 that state pay, against 1,237 across all security roles.

Each role counts once, at the middle of its advertised range, on the board's one scale (a year's pay; an hourly rate counts as a full-time year). The bands are those of the salary-transparency report.

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

Figure 4

Who may apply: location rules

Can people apply to security roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team from anywhere, or are they based in some countries?

Location rule	Open roles	Share of its open roles	All security roles
Open to applicants anywhere	5	2.6%	3.1%
Anywhere except listed countries	4	2.1%	0.2%
Based in or limited to listed countries	181	95.3%	96.7%
No location rule stated	0	0.0%	0.0%

Sample. 190 roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team open at the end of 14 Nov 2026, against 3,041 across all security roles.

The rule is read from each posting's location text, then, where that names no country, from what the posting's own description states, and where both are silent from what the employer states about where it hires.

Most security roles are based in one country, on site, hybrid or remote within it, and count as limited to that country; a role open to applicants anywhere is remote from any country.

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

Figure 5

Who may apply: roles open to each country

How many roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team can a resident of each country apply to?

Country	Open roles	Share of its open roles	Median pay a year
Any country (roles open to applicants anywhere)	5	2.6%	n/a
United States	94	49.5%	$195,000
France	28	14.7%	$208,000
United Kingdom	28	14.7%	$224,000
Canada	26	13.7%	$224,000
India	23	12.1%	$208,000
Israel	21	11.1%	$224,000
Germany	19	10.0%	$208,000
Spain	18	9.5%	$208,000
Mexico	17	8.9%	$235,000
Greece	16	8.4%	$208,000
Ireland	15	7.9%	$208,000
Italy	15	7.9%	$208,000
Portugal	15	7.9%	$208,000
Romania	15	7.9%	$208,000
Sweden	14	7.4%	$208,000
Belgium	13	6.8%	$208,000
Czechia	13	6.8%	$208,000
Poland	13	6.8%	$208,000
Netherlands	12	6.3%	$208,000
Slovakia	12	6.3%	$208,000

Sample. 190 roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team open at the end of 14 Nov 2026, for residents of a fixed set of 20 countries.

A country's count is the roles open to applicants anywhere (including roles that state no rule, as on the job board), plus roles whose list names it, plus roles whose exclusion list does not.

The 20 countries are the same in every report of this series: those named most often by the location rules of open security roles on 14 Nov 2026, as the countries a role is based in or limited to or as excluded.

Median pay is over the roles open to that country that state pay (at least 3 distinct advertised salaries).

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

Figure 6

What the roles are called

Which words do the titles of security roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team use most?

Title word	Open roles	Share of its open roles	Median pay a year	Employers
Penetration tester or red teamer	77	40.5%	$175,000	45
Engineer or developer	63	33.2%	$215,000	48
Researcher	45	23.7%	$193,000	26
Consultant or advisor	16	8.4%	$140,000	8
Analyst	10	5.3%	$185,000	7
Expert or SME	6	3.2%	$150,000	5
Lead	5	2.6%	$193,000	3
Specialist	4	2.1%	n/a	4
Threat hunter or incident responder	2	1.1%	n/a	1
Architect	1	0.5%	n/a	1
Auditor or assessor	1	0.5%	n/a	1

Sample. 183 of the 190 roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team open on 14 Nov 2026 use one of these words in their title (96.3%); 11 title words are used.

A title can use several of these words and counts for each. The vocabulary is the job-titles report's.

Median pay needs at least 3 distinct advertised salaries.

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

Figure 7

What the descriptions ask for

Do security roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team ask for a degree, a certification, a clearance, years of experience or a test?

Requirement	Roles	Share of described roles	All described roles
Mentions a PhD	10	5.3%	2.6%
Mentions a PhD or master's	17	8.9%	9.6%
Mentions any degree	57	30.0%	31.8%
Names a security certification	78	41.1%	30.0%
Mentions a security clearance	20	10.5%	6.0%
States years of experience	89	46.8%	52.3%
Asks for 5 years or more	46	24.2%	36.3%
States weekly hours	2	1.1%	0.8%
Mentions a technical assessment or test	4	2.1%	1.9%
Mentions a background check	11	5.8%	6.1%

Sample. 190 roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team open on 14 Nov 2026 whose job board publishes a full description (at 103 employers), 100.0% of its open roles; 3,037 described roles across all security roles.

A mention can be a requirement or a preference ('a CISSP is a plus'): the figure counts both. The patterns are those of the requirements report, and a certification is one of the one list the certification pages count.

Only roles whose job board publishes a full description are read, so this figure describes those roles.

A specialty's figure is shown when its described roles outweigh the average of the specialties (93.3 described roles: the weight of every specialty's shares around the shares of all described roles, fitted on their own counts).

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

Figure 8

Certifications the postings name

Which security certifications do the postings for roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team name?

Certification	Roles naming it	Share of described roles	All described roles
OSCP	70	36.8%	6.9%
OffSec advanced (OSEP, OSWE, OSED, OSCE3)	52	27.4%	3.3%
GIAC certifications (GSEC, GCIH, GPEN and others)	42	22.1%	10.9%
CRTO	17	8.9%	0.8%
CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)	12	6.3%	3.3%
CISSP	9	4.7%	18.8%
PNPT	9	4.7%	0.3%
CompTIA Security+	5	2.6%	4.9%
eJPT and eCPPT	4	2.1%	0.2%
AWS certifications	2	1.1%	3.3%
Microsoft security certifications (AZ-500, SC-200, SC-100, SC-300)	2	1.1%	2.2%
CompTIA CySA+	2	1.1%	1.4%
Cisco CCNA or CCNP	1	0.5%	1.6%
CCSP	1	0.5%	4.1%
CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)	1	0.5%	5.8%
CISM	1	0.5%	8.3%
CKS (Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist)	1	0.5%	1.1%

Sample. 78 of the 190 roles in Penetration Testing & Red Team open on 14 Nov 2026 with a full description name at least one security certification (41.1%); 17 certifications are named.

A certification counts where the description names it, required or preferred alike, by the rules of the certification pages (lib/certifications.ts): CISA, also a US government agency, counts only beside another certification's name. A description naming several counts for each.

A specialty's figure is shown when its described roles outweigh the average of the specialties (20.3 described roles: the weight of every specialty's shares of each certification, fitted on their own counts).

Source. CyberJobs.cc Research, The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market, live data.

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3,462 roles tracked, each with its history
Every role on 696 job boards, read since 11 Nov 2026 (every hour since 11 Nov 2026): its pay and place, and the first and last day it was open.
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Which security roles people actually apply to, by specialty, pay and where the role is open. It happens on this site, so nobody else can count it.
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Method and definitions

The public job boards of the employers this site tracks (Greenhouse, Ashby, Lever, Workday, SmartRecruiters and the other systems they post on), read every hour, keeping the postings whose title and description read as security work. Apply clicks are made on CyberJobs.cc; full descriptions come from the employers whose boards publish them. Every figure is computed by one database query over the window shown, the same query for the live report and for every edition. Each figure states its sample beneath it.

Specialty: Each role is classified from its title and description into one of the 10 security specialties this site tracks (Security Operations & Incident Response, Security Engineering, Cloud Security, Application & Product Security, Identity & Access Management, Penetration Testing & Red Team, Threat Intelligence & Security Research, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Security Architecture & Consulting, Security Leadership). Every specialty links to its own page.
Open role: A role listed by a given day and still on its employer's board that day.
New listing: A role that first appeared during the window on an employer already tracked before that week. An employer's first week in this dataset is its back catalogue (the roles it already had up) and is not counted as new. When this site changes how it reads an employer's board (a page or department read too, a relevance rule changed), the roles that came into view or left it from that change to the end of its week are this site's reading, not the employer's hiring: they are not new listings or removals, and changes in open roles are measured like for like across it. Each employer's report says what changed.
Removed listing: A role that left its employer's board during the window, other than with a change in how this site reads the board (see New listing).
HHI: Herfindahl-Hirschman Index: the sum of every employer's squared percentage share of open roles, 0 to 10,000. Under 1,500 unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately, above 2,500 highly concentrated.
Advertised pay: The pay a posting publishes, on one scale: a year's pay in US dollars (the middle of a stated range; an hourly rate counts as 2,080 hours, a monthly one as 12 months). Pay in another currency is kept in that currency and left out of these medians. Counted once per distinct figure, as the job board counts it. Typical pay is the span from the 25th percentile of range midpoints to the 90th percentile of range tops, every figure taken as a full-time year (an hourly rate times 2,080 hours), stated from 3 distinct figures.
Clicks per open role a week: Apply clicks on CyberJobs.cc on a specific role, divided by the days the roles were open, times 7.
Demand index: Clicks per open role a week divided by the same rate across every role on the site. Above 1, the roles draw more applicants than the average role.
Where it is open: Read from each posting's location text and, where that names no country, from what the posting's own description states: open to applicants anywhere (remote worldwide), worldwide except listed countries, only listed countries (the country or countries the role is based in or hires from), or no rule stated.
Window: Live: the last 28 complete days, in UTC, and the last twelve complete ISO weeks (from the week of 11 Nov 2026 at the earliest) for the weekly series. Edition: one calendar month, in UTC, and its weeks.

What this data cannot tell you

Employers that hire without a public job board, or post only on LinkedIn or through recruiters, are not counted; government agencies and most staffing firms are not read.
A listing is not a hire. Some employers keep a role open for months, and some post one listing per city or country.
Apply clicks measure interest among the people who use this site, and what is shown first gets clicked more. Clicks are never published by employer.
Since 14 Nov 2026 an employer's own application opens from this site only where the employer pays this site for it, so apply clicks per open role are left out of any window that reaches that day: they would measure where the site sends people. The searches for the specialty are in What People Search For in Cybersecurity Jobs.
The weekly series and the new and removed listings appear once the board has six weeks of its own history (from 28 Dec 2026): in its first weeks the removals include roles this site's own relevance rules took off the board, and the first week is every employer's back catalogue.
A specialty with few open roles gives figures that move with a handful of postings: rows on too little data are marked as a small sample.

How the job feeds are read and roles are classified: site methodology. How fresh, complete and consistent the data is, checked every day: data quality and coverage.

Editions

The live report covers the last 28 complete days and changes every day. Each complete month is also published as an edition, frozen two days after the month ends, so a figure you cite from an edition never moves.

Live data (this page)Last 28 complete days, recomputed daily

Cite and reuse

Free to quote, chart and republish under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) with a link to this page. Live figures change daily: cite a monthly edition for numbers that will read the same later, or keep the access date.

Citation

CyberJobs.cc (2026). The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market (live data, 11 Nov 2026 to 14 Nov 2026). https://cyberjobs.cc/research/offensive-security-job-market (accessed 15 Nov 2026)

BibTeX

@misc{cyberjobscc_offensive_security_job_market_live,
  author = {{CyberJobs.cc}},
  title = {The Penetration Testing & Red Team Job Market (live data, 11 Nov 2026 to 14 Nov 2026)},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://cyberjobs.cc/research/offensive-security-job-market}},
  note = {Accessed 15 Nov 2026},
}

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