Lead Cyber Research Engineer, British Intelligence Agencies

MI5

£53.3-62.6k

£53,267 to £62,599, depending on skills and experience This role offers a specialist capability-based pay approach, designed to recognise and reward your cyber technical expertise. Following an assessment of your skills and experience at interview, you may be eligible for an additional skills payment, which could increase your salary to up to £62,599. To maintain a higher salary within this range, you’ll be supported to demonstrate and accredit your skills against our Cyber Technical Framework within your first year. If you’re not able to evidence all the required skills straight away, we’ll provide support and time to help you close any gaps.

Mid and Senior level

London

More information about location

4-5 days a week in office

UK's domestic and foreign intelligence services

Posted today

UK's domestic and foreign intelligence services

1001+ employees

SecurityGovernmentsCyber Security

Posted today

£53.3-62.6k

Mid and Senior level

London

More information about location

4-5 days a week in office

1001+ employees

SecurityGovernmentsCyber Security

Company mission

MI5, MI6 and GCHQ work together to protect the UK from a range of national security and overseas threats, keeping citizens safe.

Job

Company

Role

Who you are

You’ll bring strong technical experience across cyber security and software or systems engineering, with the ability to understand how technologies work at a deep level and how they can be exploited. This might come from areas such as security research, reverse engineering, vulnerability discovery, systems programming or working with operating systems and networks
You’ll be confident writing code across a range of languages (for example Python, Java or C/C++), and using this to test, prototype or build tools. You have a solid understanding of how systems communicate and operate, alongside practical experience of investigating real-world problems, identifying vulnerabilities and developing effective solutions
You think analytically and approach problems with curiosity, using experimentation and research to explore how systems behave under different conditions. Just as importantly, you can communicate your findings clearly – whether through written outputs, presentations or working directly with others to explain risks and recommendations
You enjoy working collaboratively, sharing knowledge and supporting others to develop. While no formal leadership experience is required, you’ll be comfortable guiding others, contributing to technical direction and helping raise standards across a team
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality

What the job involves

As a Lead Cyber Research Engineer, you’ll play a central role in identifying vulnerabilities, understanding how systems can be exploited and developing practical ways to defend them. Combining hands-on engineering with deep security expertise, you’ll help shape how cyber threats are understood, tested and mitigated across a complex and evolving technology landscape
Working in a highly collaborative environment, you’ll tackle challenging security problems through a mix of research, experimentation and engineering. This could involve analysing attack techniques, reverse engineering software, testing systems under real-world conditions or building bespoke tools to uncover and demonstrate vulnerabilities. The work is varied and often fast-moving, requiring both technical depth and creative problem-solving
You’ll contribute to the development of new security capabilities, working closely with engineers, researchers and stakeholders to ensure solutions are effective, scalable and usable. Writing code, building tooling and creating repeatable processes will form a core part of the role, helping to improve both efficiency and impact
As a lead, you’ll provide technical direction within your team – guiding approaches, shaping solutions and supporting others to deliver high-quality work. Mentoring and knowledge sharing are central, helping to develop capability and promote strong engineering and security practices, without the requirement for formal line management
Operating across teams, you’ll influence how security is approached more broadly – working with others to strengthen resilience, improve understanding of risk and ensure systems are robust against evolving threats

Application process

An initial online application form including pre-screening questions to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria
Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios
Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation
If successful, you’ll be invited to an initial online interview where you’ll be asked questions relating to your motivation and our core competencies
If successful, you’ll be invited to a face-to-face technical skills-based interview, in areas relevant to the role
If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment, subject to vetting

Salary benchmarks

Our take

The British Intelligence Agencies - GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 play crucial roles in protecting the nation from a range of security threats. By focusing on counterterrorism, espionage, and cyber threats, the unified force works to safeguard the public and support law enforcement agencies. Its work, largely behind the scenes, is pivotal in ensuring national security.

With origins dating back to the 19th century, each of the British Intelligence Agencies plays a specific role within the security services. GCHQ focuses on signal intelligence gathering and information assurance, MI5 on counterterrorism and national security, whilst MI6 is focused on foreign intelligence and overseas security. This evolution into three specific organisations reflects the agency's ability to stay ahead of emerging security challenges, adjusting its strategy and operations as needed.

As technology and global threats change, the British Intelligence Agencies' approaches continue to evolve, ensuring the UK's security remains a top priority. With its deep expertise and ongoing adaptation, they are major key players in protecting national and international interests, whilst responding to complex security dynamics.

Kirsty

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Company

Company benefits

Merit awards – we have a merit award system to recognise exceptional contributions by individuals or team
Flexible working – opportunities to work part-time, compressed hours or as a job share are available, dependent on the role and business needs
Pension – we understand the importance of saving for retirement and offer a desirable pension scheme, which gives you a guaranteed pension based on career average earnings
Annual leave – our employees are entitled to 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after five years’ service. In addition to this, employees are entitled to public and privilege holidays. Part-time employees receive the same entitlement calculated on a pro-rata basis
Maternity and paternity leave – we offer maternity and paternity leave over and above the statutory entitlements
Voluntary service leave – we offer special leave for our employees who wish to undertake voluntary work
Rented accommodation loan – moving house to take up an offer of employment can be expensive. We offer new joiners the opportunity to take out an interest-free loan of up to £2,500, via our benevolent fund, to assist with the financial burden of relocating into privately rented accommodation. You will be sent an application for the loan at the point of receiving a final offer of employment
Season ticket loan – we recognise that travel expenses from your home to the office can be significant, so we offer an interest-free season ticket loan which can be used for travel, car park costs or the purchase of a bicycle
On-site facilities – there is a gym, restaurant, and coffee bar at some locations
Clubs and societies – we offer a range of sports clubs, fitness classes, societies, and language training facilities
Childcare Vouchers – we offer two childcare voucher schemes which provide a simple and cost-effective way for employees to receive help towards the cost of childcare
Eye Voucher Scheme – we offer eye care vouchers and a financial contribution towards prescription glasses
Physiotherapy – we offer subsidised in-house physiotherapy
Personal learning – all our staff can undertake professional development to improve their skills and performance in the workplace

Company HQ

Manchester, UK

Articles

GCHQ chief opens £5.8m cyber and digital centre

MI5: Official Secrets Exhibition Shortlisted For National Award

Speech by Blaise Metreweli, Chief of MI6, 15 December 2025

Leadership

Ken McCallum

(Director General)

An MI5 Officer with over 25 years of experience in national security and intelligence. Their career has spanned roles in counterterrorism, cyber security, and leading MI5's strategic response to major incidents. They were appointed Director General in 2020 and previously served as Deputy Director General and Director General of Strategy.

Blaise Metreweli

(Chief)

Blaise joined the Service in 1999 and has had a range of roles, most recently Director General Technology & Innovation (Q). She has spent most of her career operationally in the Middle East & Europe.

Anne Keast-Butler

(Director)

Became the first female Director of GCHQ in May 2023. Previously served as Deputy Director General at MI5, where they led operational and investigative work, including responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With over 30 years in national security, they have held key roles in MI5, GCHQ, and Whitehall, including launching the National Security Programme.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at British Intelligence Agencies

At the Intelligence Agencies, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking, and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are underrepresented in our workforce, such as women, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Find out more about our culture, working environment, and diversity on our website: https://www.gchq-careers.co.uk/life-at-gchq/diversity-inclusion.html

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