50+ Security & Public Safety Jobs in San Jose, CA

Observed local government wage data shows unusually strong sworn patrol pay: police and sheriff's patrol officers were at $121,410 at the 25th percentile, $151,870 at the median, and $178,240 at the 75th percentile in the San Jose metro. Broader protective-services signals are much lower: the metro-wide protective-service mean hourly wage was $29.19, the Callings.ai job database centers hourly postings at about $22 to $23 / hour, and one San Jose unarmed security listing posted $25/hour.

Full July 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 59 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $47,788 at the 25th percentile, $54,080 at the median and $70,720 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 10, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 66 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a workable market, but it is split in two. Local unemployment was 4.0% in June 2026, and Protective Service occupations made up 2.4% of metro employment with a location quotient of 1.9, so public-safety work is more concentrated here than in many metros. The strongest local public employers include the City of San Jose Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, and the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, and the Sheriff's Office was actively recruiting multiple roles in late July 2026. At the same time, much of the accessible online hiring skews toward entry-level, on-site security and loss-prevention work rather than sworn municipal openings.

Best positioned: Applicants who already qualify for sheriff or corrections pipelines, or who can prove emergency response, report writing, access control, and a valid driver's license, have the best odds right now.

Main caution: Do not anchor on police salary headlines alone: sworn patrol pay is high, but many current openings sit closer to about $22 to $23 / hour and are fully on-site.

From the July 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 66 openings in this market. 6 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 26 open roles
2. GardaWorld: 8 open roles
3. Allied Universal Corp: 2 open roles
4. California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee: 2 open roles
5. National Police: 2 open roles
6. Santa Clara Police Department: 2 open roles
7. Air Systems, Inc.: 1 open role
8. All-Guard Alarm Systems: 1 open role
9. CALIFORNIA SIERRA EXPRESS INC: 1 open role
10. City of Pleasanton: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• San Jose: 17
• Palo Alto: 6
• Fremont: 6
• Mountain View: 5
• Santa Clara: 5
• Milpitas: 4
• Union City: 4
• Pleasanton: 3

Work arrangement

on-site 64 (98%), hybrid 1 (2%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity is spread across a long tail rather than one dominant buyer. Over the last 90 days, the Callings.ai job database observed more than 75 postings across more than 40 companies in the metro, and employer concentration in the sample was fragmented. That means most job seekers should run a multi-track search instead of waiting for one perfect department opening. The biggest visible clusters were retail at about 30%, government and public sector at about 15%, sports and recreation at about 15%, security and safety at about 10%, and building and personnel services at about 10%. Municipal anchors include the City of San Jose Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, and Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, while current private-security signals also include Prosegur, Allied Universal, Gavin de Becker & Associates, and One Team Protection Services. Typical active postings stay open around 34 days, so you usually have some application time, but not enough to delay background documents or resume tailoring.

• Private security, loss prevention, and site coverage (high): This is the broadest access lane. It aligns with the local posting mix in retail, security vendors, and building services, and usually rewards access control, surveillance, first aid, and incident reporting.
• County and city sworn or corrections pipelines (moderate): These roles offer the best upside and career stability, but entry is narrower because hiring runs through formal screening, background review, and role-specific qualification steps. Recent county recruiting shows the lane is open.
• Venue, recreation, and event protection (moderate): Sports and recreation account for about 15% of the local posting mix, and current listings point to special-events and customer-facing protection work rather than only static guard posts.

Where to focus: If you are not already lateral-ready for a sworn department, focus first on structured security or Sheriff's Protective Services and correctional pathways, then use that experience to move toward better-paid municipal roles.

Roles worth searching next

• Public safety telecommunicator / dispatcher: It keeps you inside emergency-response workflows and incident documentation without requiring field patrol experience.
• Emergency management coordinator: It uses incident command, response planning, and cross-agency communication skills that overlap with public safety.
• Safety coordinator / EHS specialist: It converts emergency response, reporting discipline, and hazard awareness into a civilian compliance track.
• Security systems or access-control technician: It builds directly on access-control and surveillance exposure while moving you toward a more technical path.

What postings ask for

• Emergency response (table_stakes | immediate): Emergency response is the most requested hard skill in the local posting sample at about 25%, and it also maps directly to patrol and public-safety screening needs. Who: Everyone, especially entry-level applicants and career switchers.
• Report writing (differentiator | immediate): About 20% of local postings mention report writing, and agencies are increasingly using AI tools for report writing, data analysis, and summarization, which raises the value of clear, defensible documentation. Who: Anyone targeting law enforcement support, investigations, corrections, or supervisory security roles.
• Access control and surveillance (table_stakes | immediate): Access control, incident reporting, and surveillance each show up in about 15% of local postings, making them core screening signals for security, venue, and retail protection work. Who: Entry-level and mid-career candidates targeting private security or loss prevention.
• Conflict resolution, de-escalation, and customer-facing judgment (differentiator | immediate): Customer service appears in about 20% of local postings and conflict resolution in about 10%, while patrol profiles emphasize community policing and de-escalation. Who: Career switchers and anyone moving from hospitality, retail, or operations into protective work.
• Valid driver's license (table_stakes | immediate): A valid driver's license is the most commonly named credential in the local sample and is often a quiet screening filter for patrol, mobile, and county roles. Who: Everyone applying to field-facing or shift-based roles.
• Academy training, state certification, or relevant professional certificate (premium | near-term): Protective-service jobs commonly require postsecondary training or certification, with police roles specifically tied to academy training and state certification. Who: Applicants targeting sworn police, sheriff, firefighter, or other formal public-sector pathways.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA?

Observed local government wage data shows unusually strong sworn patrol pay: police and sheriff's patrol officers were at $121,410 at the 25th percentile, $151,870 at the median, and $178,240 at the 75th percentile in the San Jose metro. Broader protective-services signals are much lower: the metro-wide protective-service mean hourly wage was $29.19, the Callings.ai job database centers hourly postings at about $22 to $23 / hour, and one San Jose unarmed security listing posted $25/hour. This is a split-pay market. Sworn city and county roles can be very well paid, but the easier-to-enter hiring lane is still mostly private security, loss prevention, and site coverage.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA concentrated?

Real opportunity is spread across a long tail rather than one dominant buyer. Over the last 90 days, the Callings.ai job database observed more than 75 postings across more than 40 companies in the metro, and employer concentration in the sample was fragmented. That means most job seekers should run a multi-track search instead of waiting for one perfect department opening. The biggest visible clusters were retail at about 30%, government and public sector at about 15%, sports and recreation at about 15%, security and safety at about 10%, and building and personnel services at about 10%. Municipal anchors include the City of San Jose Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, and Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, while current private-security signals also include Prosegur, Allied Universal, Gavin de Becker & Associates, and One Team Protection Services. Typical active postings stay open around 34 days, so you usually have some application time, but not enough to delay background documents or resume tailoring.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA?

Recent postings show the most activity from The TJX Companies, Inc. (10 postings), AUS (5 postings), Santaclaraca (5 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Protective Services & Public Safety roles in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 0% hybrid, with 95% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

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Other roles in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

• Engineering & Scientific
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• Manufacturing, Construction & Field Services
• Education & Training

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