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Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) jobs: 82 open roles, pay, industries and skills

82 open Chief Information Security Officer jobs (CISO), taken from employers’ own career sites and checked to still be open. Also listed as Chief Security Officer, Head of Information Security, Head of Cybersecurity. Listings that state pay show a median of $246,500 a year.

The market for Chief Information Security Officer work

Every figure is counted from verified open listings. Pay is what the employer advertises for the job.

Verified open Chief Information Security Officer jobs
82

Source: NextChapter, checked against employer career sites, last 7 days.

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Median pay in listings that state it
$246,500

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

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State with the most openings
California (23)

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

Industry hiring the most
Technology & Software (41%)

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

Listings that are remote
31%

Source: NextChapter verified openings.

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Listings that ask for an AI skill
46%

Source: NextChapter verified openings, read in full.

What a CISO does

C-suite role in Security.

Protecting the company’s data and systems: security strategy, risk, incident response and the board’s view of cyber risk.

Reports to the CIO, CTO, CEO or general counsel, depending on the company.

Other ways this role is written

  • CISO
  • Chief Information Security Officer
  • Chief Security Officer
  • Head of Information Security
  • Head of Cybersecurity

Listings under any of these titles are counted on this page. Assistant, associate, manager and staff titles are not.

Open Chief Information Security Officer jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 82 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

Search all Chief Information Security Officer jobs

CISO salary

From 36 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars, base pay only.

Lower quarter
$201,500
Median
$246,500
Upper quarter
$296,500

Leadership pay often includes bonus and equity that a listing does not state. Treat these figures as the floor of the conversation, not the whole package.

Best industries for CISO jobs

Employers hiring the most, as a share of listings whose employer has a known industry. Median pay shown where at least 8 listings state it.

Where CISO jobs are

States with the most open listings; median pay where at least 8 listings state it.

Skills CISO jobs ask for

Named in the listings themselves, as a share of 49 Chief Information Security Officer listings that name skills. Leadership listings name fewer skills than individual-contributor ones, so this is a signal, not a checklist.

Most named in CISO listings

  1. 1. risk management67%
  2. 2. audit39%
  3. 3. aws39%
  4. 4. hipaa22%
  5. 5. gdpr20%
  6. 6. azure20%
  7. 7. due diligence18%
  8. 8. gcp16%
  9. 9. machine learning14%
  10. 10. ci/cd14%

Across all Security openings

  1. 1. aws16%
  2. 2. risk management16%
  3. 3. python16%
  4. 4. audit13%
  5. 5. azure10%
  6. 6. ci/cd8%
  7. 7. onboarding8%
  8. 8. linux7%
  9. 9. kubernetes6%
  10. 10. gcp6%

AI skills for CISO jobs

Specific AI skills named in the full posting text, such as prompt engineering, AI governance or an AI tool. A general mention of AI does not count.

46% of 59 open Chief Information Security Officer listings ask for a specific AI skill, against 19% of all Security openings.

AI skills named most often

  1. 1. AI governance and risk34%
  2. 2. AI workflow automation19%
  3. 3. AI tools in daily work15%
  4. 4. AI adoption and change management8%
  5. 5. LLM application engineering8%
  6. 6. Responsible AI7%

Do AI skills change chief information security officer pay?

For Security roles in general, as of November 2, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for chief information security officer alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Security listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise +6.7% (about $13k) compared with similar listings that do not, matched on level and industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$207,000
median, from 550 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$156,000
median, from 402 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

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The Security ladder

The same function at other levels: where this role comes from and where it leads.

All Security jobs

Employers hiring for CISO roles

  • JRG Partners 3
  • Tatari 3
  • Klarna 2
  • Lightfield 2
  • MLabs 2
  • Blackmere Talent Acquisition 2
  • DHS Headquarters 2
  • Fortinet 2
  • Code42 2
  • Campfire 2
  • Alma 1
  • University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources 1

CISO questions

What does a CISO do?
Protecting the company’s data and systems: security strategy, risk, incident response and the board’s view of cyber risk. Reports to the CIO, CTO, CEO or general counsel, depending on the company.
What does CISO stand for?
CISO stands for Chief Information Security Officer. The same job is also written Chief Security Officer, Head of Information Security, Head of Cybersecurity.
How many CISO jobs are open?
82 verified open Chief Information Security Officer jobs, each checked against the employer’s own career site within the last week.
How much does a CISO make?
Among 36 open Chief Information Security Officer listings that state pay, the median is $246,500 a year, and half of listings fall between $201,500 and $296,500. This is pay the employer advertises for the job, not total compensation such as bonus or equity.
Where are CISO jobs?
California (23), New York (12), Virginia (6), Massachusetts (4) have the most open Chief Information Security Officer listings. About 31% of listings that state a work arrangement are remote.
Which state pays a CISO the most?
Of the states with enough listings that state pay, California has the highest median at $300,000.
Which industries hire for CISO roles?
Technology & Software (41%), Financial Services & Banking (13%), Government & Public Sector (13%), Healthcare & Hospital Systems (11%), as a share of listings whose employer has a known industry.
What skills do CISO jobs ask for?
The skills named most often in open Chief Information Security Officer listings are risk management, audit, aws, hipaa, gdpr.
Do CISO jobs ask for AI skills?
46% of 59 open Chief Information Security Officer listings read in full name a specific AI skill. The most common is AI governance and risk.

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