25+ Security & Public Safety Jobs in Seattle, WA

Observed metro-wide BLS data puts protective service occupations at a mean $35.47 per hour as of May 2025. For sworn police specifically, BLS reported a $109,510 median annual wage in 2023, and a later third-party summary of 2025 BLS tables places the police median at $115,120 with a middle band of $101,820-$126,950.

Full August 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 27 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $49,920 at the 25th percentile, $55,505 at the median and $59,696 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 25, 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 32 openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a workable but uneven market for Protective Services & Public Safety in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue right now. The metro unemployment rate was 5.0% in July 2026, while Washington's protective-services employment and active postings were down 3.3% and 10.2% year over year in August, pointing to softer overall category demand than last summer. At the same time, the local posting sample still showed more than 75 postings across more than 30 companies, Bellevue police said it was still 28 officers short after receiving over 900 applications in 2026, and Seattle Fire reported 15 promotions plus 6 newly hired professional staff in August. The opportunity is real, but it is concentrated in specific lanes rather than broad-based across the whole field.

Best positioned: Candidates with transferable public-safety experience, or entry-level candidates who can show first aid, emergency response, report writing, and conflict-resolution skills for fully on-site work, have the best odds right now.

Main caution: Do not confuse staffing shortages with easy hiring: Seattle ended police incentives for new applicants on September 1, 2026, even while roughly 3,500 police applications remained in the pipeline and about 200 recruits were already in training.

From the August 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 32 openings in this market. 5 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. AUS: 6 open roles
2. Bee's Plumbing and Heating: 2 open roles
3. Constellis: 2 open roles
4. Evergreen Goodwill: 2 open roles
5. Wells Fargo Company: 2 open roles
6. Bee's Plumbing & Heating: 1 open role
7. Bremerton: 1 open role
8. Buyidahorealestate: 1 open role
9. Cascadia Global Security: 1 open role
10. DPS Private Security: 1 open role

Where the openings are

• Seattle: 11
• Federal Way: 3
• Kent: 3
• Georgetown: 2
• Bremerton: 2
• Bothell: 2
• Bellevue: 2
• Renton: 2

Work arrangement

on-site 32 (100%)

Where the demand is

Openings are concentrated first in the private, on-site side of the market. In the local posting sample, security & safety accounts for about 30% of postings and retail about 25%, with sports & recreation adding about 15%; the most consistently active employers include Fast Guard Service, Seattle YMCA, AUS, National Police, Costco Wholesale Corp., and The TJX Companies, Inc. That mix favors candidates who can start quickly, work shifts, and handle surveillance, access control, loss prevention, first aid, and report writing. Public-sector demand is real but narrower. Government & public sector accounts for about 10% of sampled postings and public administration about 5%, while Bellevue Police says it is still 28 officers short after more than 900 applications, Seattle reported roughly 3,500 police applications in the pipeline with about 200 recruits in training, Tacoma launched an 18-month public safety partnership pilot, and Seattle Fire showed ongoing movement through 15 promotions and 6 newly hired professional staff. For job seekers, that means city roles exist, but they are process-heavy and not the bulk of current openings.

• Contract security and retail protection (high): This is the biggest opportunity pocket right now: security & safety is about 30% of sampled postings and retail is about 25%, with active employer names including Fast Guard Service, AUS, Costco Wholesale Corp., and The TJX Companies, Inc.
• Municipal sworn and fire/public-sector roles (moderate): This lane is smaller in the posting sample, but still meaningful. Government & public sector is about 10% and public administration about 5%, while Bellevue Police reports a visible staffing gap and Seattle Fire is showing internal movement plus some fresh hiring.
• Recreation and community safety (moderate): Sports & recreation accounts for about 15% of sampled postings, Seattle YMCA appears among the more active named employers, and certifications such as lifeguard, first aid, CPR/AED, and emergency oxygen show up frequently enough to matter.

Where to focus: If you need a job soon, focus first on on-site security, loss prevention, or recreation-safety roles; if you already hold sworn credentials, run a separate lateral track into Bellevue-area and other municipal openings rather than waiting on Seattle alone.

Roles worth searching next

• Public safety dispatcher / 911 telecommunicator: It keeps you inside emergency-response operations without requiring the same field exposure as sworn or fire roles.
• Emergency management specialist: It uses incident-response thinking and public-safety context in a planning, coordination, and preparedness role.
• Workplace safety coordinator / EHS specialist: It converts safety mindset, compliance awareness, and incident documentation into a civilian safety path.
• Security systems or surveillance technician: It stays close to monitoring, cameras, access control, and threat-detection workflows without staying in guard work.

What postings ask for

• Valid driver's license (table_stakes | immediate): A valid driver's license is one of the most common explicit requirements, and about 95% of sampled jobs are on-site. Who: Everyone, especially entry-level applicants and career switchers.
• First aid certification (table_stakes | immediate): First aid appears in about 25% of hard-skill mentions and about 10% of certification mentions, so it is one of the clearest screening signals across the local mix. Who: Entry-level candidates, recreation-safety applicants, and anyone moving from customer service into safety work.
• CPR/AED certification (table_stakes | immediate): CPR shows up in about 15% of hard-skill mentions and CPR/AED certification in about 10% of certification mentions, making it a practical way to clear early screens. Who: Entry-level, recreation, and private-security candidates.
• Emergency response (differentiator | immediate): Emergency response appears in about 25% of local hard-skill mentions, which tells you employers want people who can act, not just observe. Who: Anyone targeting security officer, loss prevention, fire-support, or recreation-safety roles.
• Report writing (differentiator | near-term): Report writing appears in about 20% of local hard-skill mentions, and law-enforcement workflows increasingly use AI-assisted reporting tools, which raises the value of clear, defensible documentation. Who: Sworn candidates, investigators, corrections applicants, and career switchers trying to look more operationally credible.
• Surveillance, access control, and loss prevention (differentiator | near-term): Surveillance and loss prevention each appear in about 20% of hard-skill mentions, and access control in about 15%, matching the heavy local mix of security, retail, and on-site roles. Who: Private-security candidates, retail-protection candidates, and switchers from warehouse or customer-facing operations.

Questions about this market

What do Protective Services & Public Safety roles pay in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

Observed metro-wide BLS data puts protective service occupations at a mean $35.47 per hour as of May 2025. For sworn police specifically, BLS reported a $109,510 median annual wage in 2023, and a later third-party summary of 2025 BLS tables places the police median at $115,120 with a middle band of $101,820-$126,950. This market can pay well, especially in sworn public-sector roles, and BLS says protective service wages sit above the overall metro average. But the local posting sample centers much lower, around $22 to $24 per hour, which means many currently advertised roles are private security, recreation safety, or entry-level posts rather than six-figure sworn jobs.

Where is demand for Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA concentrated?

Openings are concentrated first in the private, on-site side of the market. In the local posting sample, security & safety accounts for about 30% of postings and retail about 25%, with sports & recreation adding about 15%; the most consistently active employers include Fast Guard Service, Seattle YMCA, AUS, National Police, Costco Wholesale Corp., and The TJX Companies, Inc. That mix favors candidates who can start quickly, work shifts, and handle surveillance, access control, loss prevention, first aid, and report writing. Public-sector demand is real but narrower. Government & public sector accounts for about 10% of sampled postings and public administration about 5%, while Bellevue Police says it is still 28 officers short after more than 900 applications, Seattle reported roughly 3,500 police applications in the pipeline with about 200 recruits in training, Tacoma launched an 18-month public safety partnership pilot, and Seattle Fire showed ongoing movement through 15 promotions and 6 newly hired professional staff. For job seekers, that means city roles exist, but they are process-heavy and not the bulk of current openings.

Which employers are hiring the most Protective Services & Public Safety talent in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA?

Recent postings show the most activity from Fast Guard Service (15 postings), Seattle YMCA (10 postings), AUS (10 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Protective Services & Public Safety roles in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 4% are remote and 4% 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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