Job Specifications
About the Role
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.
Read more about UKTL here!
About Us
UKTL is building leading edge Telecoms testing facilities to keep our telecommunications networks safe, accelerate the roll-out of new technologies, and grow our world leading telecoms sector to maintain resiliency and security.
Successful candidates will join a state-of-the-art facility and be supporting the team conducting testing and research on the latest technologies and innovations in the industry. You will work alongside our infrastructure and Cybersecurity professionals to ensure that the UK’s world class Telecoms infrastructure grows in a resilient and secure manner underpinning growth in other industry sectors.
As a trusted and independent national capability, UKTL interacts with standards bodies, Academia, and Government Departments as well as Communications Service Providers and equipment vendors.
The National Physical Laboratory (N
About the Company
NPL is the UK’s National Metrology Institute, providing the measurement capability that underpins the UK's prosperity and quality of life.
From new antibiotics to tackle resistance and more effective cancer treatments, to secure quantum communications and superfast 5G, technological advances must be built on a foundation of reliable measurement to succeed. Building on over a century’s worth of expertise, our science, engineering and technology provides this foundation. We save lives, protect the environment and enable citiz...
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