Hopefully the following helps, it is from research I have done comparing the public sector to the private sector pay and compensation over time, specifically comparing intelligence community pay to regular government agency pay and compensation for the independent agencies (FCC, SEC, CIA, CFTC, FTC, GSA, USPS, SSA, etc.) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_agencies_of_the_Un...

If they are government employees they are normally paid on the regular government GS Pay scale (title 5) - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries... so the really good ones get paid up to $161,900 if they can make it past the GS-14 pay grade.

Though, that is considered generally OK pay for a regular government job that is not extremely high stress, quick turn around and high demand. Though to the private sector's top hackers as many far exceed this as a senior cyber security engineer or CISOs making up to $380,000/year + stock options + other perks. In those cases the government also has Title 10 which limits pay to under the president's salary (section 102 of title 3) $400,000 - https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/102. This allows the federal government secretaries or heads of agency to be able to pay individuals of extraordinary talent and ability the same rate as they may pay a physician or other medical professional if that individuals salary requirements fall outside of the regular GS pay scale and they really want that person on board and want to pay them a competitive salary.

There is also the Senior Executive Service and other equivalents for the many agencies that puts the individual into a senior level(SL), scientific or professional (ST) positions. These positions may come with cash rewards up to $25,000 with approval from OPM/White House, eligibility to be nominated for the Presidential Rank Awards (Distinguished Rank (35% of annual basic pay) or Meritorious rank (20% of annual basic pay) - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-s....

Though these positions for hackers would normally be reserved for those with at least 10 to 20+ years in the game with extreme in depth knowledge of the multiple operating systems, hardware and software, SCADA, Satellite, and other embedded/private/public/military communications systems out there. This normally means they are not just specialized in a few things, but have deep knowledge of many systems through practical experience working with them hands on over the years and hacking them to pieces during security audits, product evaluations, quality assurance, security validation and testing through reverse engineering to insure the products do what they say they do, etc.

There are also some agencies that use a pay band system 1 to 5, etc. and normally cap out at around $157,000/year then bump up to around $120,000 to $167,000 for their senior level positions and $120,000 to around $180,000 for their senior executive service compensation.

So in general the best of the best in terms of government employees could be paid up to $400,000/year under title 10 which is more of a government contractor type position that has to be renewed regularly, highly unlikely unless those in top positions see someone they want working for them and really want them badly to work on the inside of government. Normally the title 10 pay is around $160,000-$300,000, so in general the bulk of hackers would fall under the GS pay scale ranging from GS-9 to GS-14 Step 6. Anything higher would have to be negotiated and justified during the hiring process or worked into a promotion for those already working for the government.