Location
Central London

Hours
Full Time (hours not specified)

Salary
£44,190 - £52,972 per annum

About the Role
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats such as terrorism and hostile state activity. As a Cyber Research Engineer within MI5’s Cyber Collections team, you will work at the forefront of cyber security, developing novel capabilities that directly support investigations. Your focus will be on gathering intelligence from computers, networks, and devices used by hostile individuals who pose serious threats to national security.

Working in a small, diverse team of security specialists, you will solve complex and novel technical challenges. Your day-to-day activities will include researching, developing, and testing innovative techniques and capabilities, exploring and analysing systems to identify vulnerabilities, and determining effective mitigations. This work spans open-source research and practical testing, involving tasks such as writing Python code, decompiling Java, and conducting network penetration testing.

You will develop bespoke tooling to demonstrate findings and build pipeline tools that improve efficiency, repeatability, and scalability. This is a project-based operational role with a strong cross-team ethos, requiring clear documentation and presentation of findings to support the development of innovative capabilities integral to protecting the country.

Close engagement with customers across the business is essential to understand requirements, with success measured by tangible improvements in security outcomes. Knowledge sharing is a core expectation, including teaching and mentoring colleagues, spreading new ideas, and enabling expertise and workloads to be shared effectively. The role involves writing both code and supporting documentation in equal measure. While mentoring opportunities exist, this is not a line management position.

Collaboration with other UK agencies is part of the role, with potential for infrequent national and overseas travel to partner organisations, conferences, and workshops, though this is optional rather than mandatory.

Experience
You should have a genuine interest in cyber security, developed through study, professional experience, or personal projects. Experience programming in at least one higher-level language such as Python or Java is required, with preferable exposure to low-level systems programming languages like C/C++ or Rust.

Awareness of and interest in security research, reverse engineering, or operating system internals (Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS) is essential, along with a solid understanding of networking fundamentals such as TCP/IP. This knowledge may come from a relevant degree, training, or practical experience.

About you
You must have effective collaboration skills, as the role relies on teamwork and constructive engagement with colleagues who may have different approaches or perspectives. A genuine motivation to build technically interesting solutions that deliver real value is important, alongside a willingness to share knowledge, explain concepts, contribute ideas, and support colleagues.

Maintaining professional standards while being considerate of different needs is expected. Self-awareness, flexibility, and openness to constructive feedback are important attributes for success in this role.

Qualifications
There are no specific qualification requirements stated, but relevant degrees, training, or equivalent practical experience in cyber security, programming, or related fields are beneficial.