Careers at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ

About the Company

IN THE INTERESTS OF DISCRETION AND SECURITY, WE ADVISE AGAINST FOLLOWING OR LINKING YOURSELF PERSONALLY TO THIS PAGE. We’re the UK Intelligence Community, and our mission is to protect the country’s people, businesses, and interests from a wide range of threats, including terrorism and threats from other states. MI5 protects the UK and its interests by collecting intelligence, investigating, and working with partners to disrupt national security threats. MI6 (also known as the Secret Intelligence Service or SIS) work across the globe to protect the security and economic wellbeing of the UK from overseas threats. GCHQ is the UK’s intelligence and cyber agency, whose mission is to help keep the country safe in the real world and online. We recruit people with a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and with all levels of experience to help achieve our mission. From apprenticeships, internships and graduate programmes to opportunities for those looking to change careers or take their expertise somewhere new, you’ll do extraordinary work where making a difference matters. We recruit for a variety of roles, from intelligence officers and language specialists to lawyers and security officers, software engineers and data analysts. Plus, in our welcoming, open culture, you’ll discover far more than just truly rewarding work. We put a real focus on your wellbeing and work-life balance, offering continued training and development opportunities, support, and flexible working (where operations allow) to help you manage your personal commitments alongside your role at the heart of British intelligence. To discover more about us and the roles available, visit our websites: www.mi5.gov.uk/careers www.sis.gov.uk/careers www.gchq-careers.co.uk

Listed Jobs

Company Name

Careers at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ

Job Title

Senior Software Engineer

Job Description

**Job title**: Senior Software Engineer **Role Summary**: Senior Software Engineer responsible for designing and architecting mission‑critical systems, establishing best software practices, and delivering high‑quality, secure solutions across diverse languages and cloud platforms. Acts as a technical lead, mentor, and bridge between engineering teams and stakeholders in a fast‑paced, security‑focused environment. **Expectations**: - Deliver scalable, secure software that supports national security missions. - Lead or heavily influence code quality, architecture, and deployment pipelines. - Mentor junior developers and promote continuous improvement. - Communicate technical concepts to technical and non‑technical audiences clearly. - Keep current with emerging technologies and apply innovative solutions. **Key Responsibilities**: - Design, develop, and maintain high‑performance applications using Java, JavaScript, C++, Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, or .NET. - Architect system components, define data models, and evaluate trade‑offs for reliability and security. - Review pull requests, enforce coding standards, branching strategies, and automated testing. - Own CI/CD pipelines, deployment workflows, and infrastructure provisioning on AWS, Azure, or GCP. - Collaborate with cross‑functional teams (product, security, SRE, data) to translate business needs into technical specifications. - Mentor junior engineers, conduct knowledge‑sharing sessions, and foster a culture of excellence. - Participate in architectural reviews, threat modeling, and security assessments. - Stay informed of industry best practices, emerging frameworks, and tools, and advocate their adoption. **Required Skills**: - Strong command of modern programming languages: JavaScript, Java, C++, Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, .NET. - Proficiency with cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, GCP (including IaC, containerisation, Kubernetes). - Deep experience with Agile/DevOps practices, CI/CD, automated testing, and code‑review tooling. - Knowledge of secure coding principles, threat modeling, and defensive design. - Excellent communication, collaboration, and stakeholder‑management skills. - Proven ability to mentor and lead technical teams. - Strategic thinking and problem‑solving in complex, high‑security contexts. **Required Education & Certifications**: - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent professional experience). - Minimum 5 years of senior‑level software development experience. - Relevant industry certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Solutions Architect, or Scrum Master) are preferred but not mandatory.

Manchester, United kingdom

On site

Senior

09-02-2026