5 cybersecurity professionals your IT team needs

What’s the toughest part of hiring cybersecurity professionals?

Hiring for a skill set that won’t sit still.

Technology, systems and regulations keep changing what organizations need to protect—and the skills their cybersecurity teams need to keep up.

In fact, 93% of technology leaders say their teams lack the staff and skills needed to achieve their priorities, while 66% say hiring and retaining security and privacy talent is more challenging than it was a year ago, according to Robert Half’s 2026 Tech Priorities and Opportunities report.

That’s why the job title isn’t always the best place to start. Instead, many organizations are identifying the security skills they need and finding different ways to access them. That could mean hiring a cybersecurity professional, upskilling someone on your team or bringing in specialized outside expertise.

Whether you’re building a cybersecurity team from the ground up or adding expertise to an established group, here are 5 in-demand cybersecurity professionals and the capabilities they can bring to your team.

The cybersecurity roles every IT team needs

5 cybersecurity roles and capabilities to consider
1. Security architect
2. Cybersecurity engineer
3. Cybersecurity analyst
4. Systems security manager
5. Data security analyst
What skills should you prioritize when hiring cybersecurity professionals?
Build a cybersecurity team that evolves with your technology

5 cybersecurity roles and capabilities to consider

Think of these cybersecurity roles as areas of expertise your team needs to cover. Depending on your organization’s size, technology environment and risk profile, you may not need all 5 of these cybersecurity roles on your team, as one person may take on skills and responsibilities from several of them. Or you may need multiple people in each position, in addition to other security roles.

You may also build cybersecurity capabilities by upskilling someone on your team, hiring a specialized employee or bringing in a vendor or contract professional when you need specific expertise.

The goal isn’t to build a team with every possible cybersecurity title. It’s to make sure you can access the capabilities you need as your technology, threats and business priorities change.

1. Security architect

The role

A security architect designs the security strategy and architecture that protects an organization's systems, applications, data and users. They look across the technology environment to identify risks and build security into new and existing systems.

What's changing

The attack surface is expanding across cloud environments, third parties, AI-enabled systems and digital identities. That means security architects increasingly need to understand how these technologies introduce new risks—and how those risks can affect the systems and data around them.

What to look for

Systems thinking: Can see how changes to cloud, identity, AI and other technology affect the broader security environment

Risk-to-design thinking: Can turn security risks into practical design decisions without simply saying no to new technology

Business communication: Can explain security requirements, trade-offs and potential business impact to people outside of cybersecurity

2. Cybersecurity engineer

The role

Cybersecurity engineers build, implement and maintain the technical protections that keep systems, networks, applications and data secure. They turn security requirements into working solutions and help build security into how technology is developed and operated.

What’s changing

Attackers are using automation, AI and other technologies to find and exploit weaknesses faster. The time between finding a vulnerability and exploiting it can shrink from days to seconds. Engineers increasingly need to automate security processes and response so defenses can keep pace with the speed and scale of threats.

What to look for

Technical problem-solving: Can design and implement practical security controls across your technology environment

Security automation: Can automate detection, prevention and response to reduce manual work and respond faster

Cross-functional collaboration: Can work with development, infrastructure and other technology teams to build security into systems

Read the report

Want to learn more about current hiring trends in technology and cybersecurity? Explore Robert Half’s Building Future-Forward Tech Teams for the latest insights.

3. Cybersecurity analyst

The role

Cybersecurity analysts monitor and investigate suspicious activity, identify potential threats and help your team respond to security incidents. They connect signals from across your environment to determine what happened, what matters and what needs to happen next.

What’s changing

AI and automation are taking on more repetitive security tasks, such as monitoring and alert triage. As a result, analysts are spending more of their time investigating ambiguous signals, connecting activity across systems and applying judgment to determine what requires action.

What to look for

Investigative thinking: Can separate meaningful threats from noise and follow activity across systems to understand what’s really happening

Security tool fluency: Can use SIEM platforms and AI-enabled security tools to investigate threats, not just respond to alerts

Judgment and curiosity: Knows when to question an automated finding, dig deeper and adapt as new threats and technologies emerge

4. Systems security manager

The role

Systems security managers oversee the people, processes and technology that support your security program. They set priorities, coordinate security efforts across teams and make sure resources are focused on the risks that matter most to the business.

What’s changing

Systems security managers increasingly need to balance in-house capabilities with specialized expertise as evolving technologies and threats create new security requirements. That means knowing which capabilities to build internally, which skills to develop and where outside expertise can fill a gap.

What to look for

Risk-based decision-making: Can translate changing threats and business risks into clear security priorities

Resource planning: Can identify capability gaps and determine the right mix of employees, upskilling and specialized outside expertise

Cross-functional leadership: Can work with technology and business leaders to align security priorities with broader business goals

5. Data security analyst

The role

Data security analysts help organizations protect sensitive information, whether in databases, cloud environments, applications or file systems. They monitor how data is accessed and used, identify potential risks and help implement controls that safeguard confidential business and customer information.

What’s changing

As organizations generate more data and adopt AI-powered tools and connected applications, the risk of data exposure continues to grow. Data security analysts increasingly need to understand how information moves across systems, identify vulnerabilities before they become incidents, and help organizations meet privacy, security and compliance requirements.

What to look for

Data protection expertise: Understands how to classify and protect sensitive information across systems and platforms.

Risk and compliance awareness: Can help align data security practices with privacy requirements and industry regulations.

Monitoring and investigation skills: Can detect unusual activity, investigate potential data security issues and recommend measures to reduce risk.

What skills should you prioritize when hiring cybersecurity professionals?

Cybersecurity professionals need a combination of technical expertise and soft skills. Their decisions affect how your organization adopts technology, manages risk and supports growth. Look for professionals who can solve security problems today while continuing to learn as technologies, threats and business needs change.

Technical skills

AI governance and security: Helps organizations adopt AI while managing security, privacy and compliance risks

Cloud security architecture: Designs and secures systems across cloud and hybrid environments rather than relying on a traditional network perimeter

Identity and access management (IAM) and privileged access management (PAM): Manages access for employees, applications, machines and privileged users across increasingly complex environments

Security monitoring and threat detection: Uses security information and event management (SIEM) platforms and other security tools to identify meaningful threats amid a growing volume of alerts

Incident response: Investigates suspicious activity, responds to security incidents and uses AI tools to improve—not replace—human judgment

Cybersecurity risk management: Connects technical risks to business decisions and helps leaders understand what needs attention and why

Robert Half’s 2027 Salary Guide offers the latest compensation trends. And some of these skills are in such high demand that they may command higher pay.

Soft skills

Curiosity: Digs deeper into technology, looks for ways to identify weaknesses and figures out how to make systems more secure

Critical thinking: Separates real risks from noise, questions assumptions and makes sound decisions when the answer isn’t obvious

Collaboration: Works across security, IT, engineering, product and other business teams to solve problems

Communication: Explains technical risks in business terms, clearly communicates what needs to happen next and brings other stakeholders on board

Adaptability: Keeps learning as technologies, threats and security requirements change

Build a cybersecurity team that evolves with your technology

The strongest cybersecurity teams are built for flexibility. They have access to the expertise they need as technology, threats, regulations and business priorities change.

That might mean upskilling employees or automating repetitive work. It might mean hiring full-time talent or bringing in contract professionals. For complex initiatives, it might mean tapping consulting firms for specialized expertise.

By prioritizing access to skills over fixed job titles, your team can adapt as the threat and technology landscape changes.

Ready to build your cybersecurity team?

Contact us today

From contract to full-time talent or consulting solutions, we can help you bring the right talent on board through a smooth hiring process to strengthen your team.