Penetration Testing Engineer
Identifying vulnerabilities in systems and applications through ethical hacking
Penetration Testing Engineer is a role in the Security Engineering family. It has 50 skills across 5 levels (from Junior to Principal). 131 skills are mandatory. Key domains: Programming Fundamentals, Backend Development, Database Management.
Skill Matrix
50 skills × 5 levels. Click on a cell for details.
AI-Assisted Development
4 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | A | W | A | E | E |
| Cursor IDE | A | W | A | E | E |
| ChatGPT / Claude | A | W | A | E | E |
| Prompt Engineering for Code | A | W | A | E | E |
API & Integration
6 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REST API Design | A | W | A | E | E |
| GraphQL Design | A | W | A | E | E |
| WebSocket API Design | A | W | A | E | E |
| API Documentation | A | W | A | E | E |
| API Testing | A | W | A | E | E |
| Rate Limiting & Throttling | A | W | A | E | E |
Architecture & System Design
1 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System Design Fundamentals | A | W | A | E | E |
Backend Development
1 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redis | A | W | A | E | E |
Cloud & Infrastructure
6 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docker | A | W | A | E | E |
| Container Security Scanning | A | W | A | E | E |
| Kubernetes Core | A | W | A | E | E |
| AWS | A | W | A | E | E |
| Network Fundamentals | A | W | A | E | E |
| VPN & Network Isolation | A | W | A | E | E |
Database Management
1 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | A | W | A | E | E |
DevOps & CI/CD
1 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Actions / GitLab CI | A | W | A | E | E |
Documentation
1 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runbook & Playbook Writing | A | W | A | E | E |
Observability & Monitoring
4 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structured Logging | A | W | A | E | E |
| ELK Stack | A | W | A | E | E |
| Prometheus & Grafana | A | W | A | E | E |
| OpenTelemetry | A | W | A | E | E |
Programming Fundamentals
7 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algorithms & Complexity | A | W | A | E | E |
| Data Structures | A | W | A | E | E |
| OOP & SOLID Principles | A | W | A | E | E |
| Design Patterns | A | W | A | E | E |
| Multithreading | A | W | A | E | E |
| Async Programming | A | W | A | E | E |
| Code Quality & Refactoring | A | W | A | E | E |
Security
13 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OWASP & Application Security | A | W | A | E | E |
| SAST/DAST | A | W | A | E | E |
| Secure Coding Practices | A | W | A | E | E |
| Threat Modeling | A | W | A | E | E |
| Dependency Vulnerability Scanning | A | W | A | E | E |
| Network Security | A | W | A | E | E |
| Cloud Security | A | W | A | E | E |
| Kubernetes Security | A | W | A | E | E |
| JWT / OAuth2 / OIDC | A | W | A | E | E |
| RBAC / ABAC Authorization | A | W | A | E | E |
| Incident Response Process | A | W | A | E | E |
| Digital Forensics Basics | A | W | A | E | E |
| Vulnerability Management | A | W | A | E | E |
Testing & QA
3 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit Testing | A | W | A | E | E |
| Integration Testing | A | W | A | E | E |
| Security Testing | A | W | A | E | E |
Version Control & Collaboration
2 skills| Skills | Jun | Mid | Sen | Lead | Princ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Git Advanced | A | W | A | E | E |
| Code Review | A | W | A | E | E |
FAQ
What skills are needed for the Penetration Testing Engineer role?
The Penetration Testing Engineer role requires 50 skills, of which 131 are mandatory. Skills are distributed across 5 levels: from Junior to Principal. See full matrix.
How to advance to the next level in the Penetration Testing Engineer role?
Use the Grade Calculator to assess your current level and get personalized recommendations. The system will show which skills need to be developed for the next level.
How does the community define requirements for the Penetration Testing Engineer role?
Role requirements are shaped by the community through a proposal system. Any member can suggest changes that go through voting and expert review.