Principal Cyber Engineer

Job summary

Are you an experienced cyber engineer ready to lead the development of innovative solutions that address some of the UK's most complex cyber challenges?

Dstl is seeking a Principal Cyber Engineer to provide technical leadership across a diverse portfolio of cyber projects, helping to shape and deliver capabilities that support critical defence and national security outcomes. Working alongside highly skilled engineers, scientists and operational stakeholders, you will influence technical direction, solve complex engineering problems and lead the delivery of cutting-edge cyber capabilities.

This is a senior technical role offering the opportunity to work at the forefront of cyber capability development. You will be responsible for defining technical approaches, shaping architecture decisions and ensuring the delivery of secure, resilient and effective solutions. You'll work across multidisciplinary teams, integrating innovative technologies and providing trusted technical advice that influences customer decisions and future investment priorities.

Beyond technical delivery, you'll play a key role in developing organisational capability through mentoring, coaching and knowledge sharing, while driving continuous improvement in engineering practices, tools and ways of working.

If you have a passion for cyber engineering, technical leadership and delivering innovative solutions that make a real operational impact, we'd love to hear from you.

This role is eligible for an additional specialist allowance of £2758 annually subject to meeting extended onboarding requirements. The role may be eligible for additional skills allowances depending on the skills and experience of the applicant.

Job description

What you'll do

• Lead the design, development and delivery of innovative cyber capabilities, software solutions and technical prototypes.
• Provide technical leadership across complex cyber engineering activities and programmes.
• Shape technical strategies, architectures and engineering approaches to ensure solutions are secure, effective and sustainable.
• Apply expertise in software engineering, cyber technologies and secure development practices to solve challenging technical problems.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to develop and integrate advanced cyber technologies.
• Influence and advise customers, stakeholders and decision-makers through evidence-based technical recommendations.
• Drive the delivery of technical outputs to agreed time, cost and quality requirements.
• Champion engineering excellence by improving tools, processes, standards and ways of working.
• Mentor, coach and support the development of less experienced engineers.
• Monitor emerging technologies and industry developments, identifying opportunities to enhance Dstl's cyber capabilities.
• Ensure work is carried out safely, securely and in accordance with organisational policies and governance requirements.

For more information on the job responsibilities, please see the job profile attached below.

Person specification

What we're looking for

Qualifications

• Degree in a relevant STEM discipline, such as Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, Embedded Systems, Physics or Mathematics, or equivalent professional experience.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

• Strong software development experience using modern programming languages such as Python, C, C++, Java, Go or Rust.
• Experience developing innovative prototypes, proof-of-concept solutions and technical demonstrators.
• Experience using Linux operating systems and software development toolchains.
• Experience using version control systems such as Git within collaborative development environments.
• Understanding of system vulnerabilities and cyber security principles.
• Ability to provide technical leadership across complex engineering activities while balancing quality, security and risk considerations.

Experience

• Significant experience leading complex software development or cyber engineering activities within engineering, scientific, technical or operational environments.
• Experience solving complex and ambiguous technical problems and making informed decisions using multiple sources of information.
• Experience translating customer and stakeholder requirements into practical technical solutions that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Experience working effectively within multidisciplinary teams and delivering successful technical outcomes.
• Experience influencing technical direction and providing authoritative technical advice to stakeholders.

Please review the attached job description for more detailed information

Important Information:

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats.

For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require Develop Vetting and you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

Qualifications

Relevant STEM-based degree such as Electronic Engineering, Embedded Systems, Computer Science, Physics or Mathematics. Individual with equivalent skills qualifications or experience are also actively encouraged to apply.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £51,568, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contributes £14,939 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Benefits

Dstl’s full range of great benefits can be found in the information pack which includes:

• Financial: An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution (find out more here). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme.

• Flexible working: Options include alternative working patterns such as; compressed hours, job shares and annualised hours (agreed number of hours per annum paid monthly i.e. working term-time only).

• Working hours: Flexibility around your working day (e.g. start time, finish time). Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month.

• Where you work: This role requires a minimum of 80% on site attendance.

• Annual leave: 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum.

• Family: Ma