Senior Software Engineer

At UKTL, your work directly strengthens the UK’s technological, cyber, and national resilience. You’ll collaborate with expert engineers, government partners, and industry specialists to detect, understand, and counter emerging threats.

If you’re looking for meaningful work in an inclusive environment that values curiosity, teamwork, and continuous learning, you’ll thrive here.

What this role means for you

As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll be at the heart of projects that matter. You’ll help design and shape the architecture of systems that support security testing and research that protects critical national infrastructure, influencing how we deliver secure and high‑quality software.

This is a hands‑on technical role where your expertise drives real outcomes. You will:

Work across multiple languages, frameworks, and platforms to solve complex challenges

Help define and improve engineering best practices, branching and deployment strategies

Review pull requests, guide colleagues, and raise code quality across teams

Champion innovation and bring new ideas that help us stay ahead of emerging threats

Collaborate with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders to shape priorities and deliver meaningful solutions

You’ll join a wider technical community that shares knowledge, encourages experimentation, and supports your growth.

Successful Applicants must be able to commute to the UKTL offices in Birmingham at least twice a week

We strive to offer a great work life balance - if you are looking for full time, part time or flexible options, we will try to make this work where business possible. This will be dependent on the kind of role you do and part of the business you work in.

About You

You operate confidently at a deep technical level and enjoy working across a variety of technologies. You’re comfortable making informed architectural and engineering decisions, and you bring a forward‑looking mindset to how software is designed, built, and maintained.

You bring a genuine enthusiasm for discovering and applying new engineering techniques and assessing new technologies with a focus on good engineering practice—including maintainability, longevity, and available market resources.

You may already be leading or mentoring a team, or acting as a technical expert within a high‑performing group. You’re equally comfortable using COTS software to build solutions as you are building, or guiding others to build, bespoke software.

Importantly, you can communicate confidently with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders and make a positive contribution to the organisation.

You are technology‑agnostic, ideally a polyglot programmer, and already using Linux and open‑source technologies day to day.

You’re someone who:

Has experience working in Agile teams

Understands and applies DevOps/DevSecOps practices

Uses strong software testing techniques (e.g., TDD/BDD) and writes high‑quality tests

Translates user or business needs into robust technical solutions

Enjoys solving complex, often novel, engineering problems

Communicates clearly and collaborates effectively

Brings curiosity, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous learning

Is comfortable with multiple programming languages and willing to learn new ones

Produces high‑quality technical documentation

Evaluates new technologies and creates compelling business cases for their adoption

Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as practical.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in this specific area means that nationality, residency and security requirements are more tightly defined than others. To work in this role, you will need to hold an SC clearance with no restrictions. You are welcome to apply without already holding SC clearance; however, you will not be able to start in post until the clearance has been successfully granted.