About the job

Job summary

Interested in Cyber Security and Ethical Hacking?

Enjoy searching for vulnerabilities in systems?

Want to work somewhere that you can really make a difference?

Your passion and interest in Cyber Security will spur you on to do hands on research and discover vulnerabilities within systems to help protect National Security in the UK and overseas.

You’ll ‘Red Team’ a wide range of IT and communication products that HMGCC provides to the British Government. Your knowledge will enable you to find vulnerabilities in software and hardware and ensure you can secure them before they can be exploited.

You’ll work on projects that range from short term security assessments to long term in-depth examination of complex systems. You’ll work on a wide range of technologies which will require your problem solving skills and tenacity to tackle new security problems as technologies evolve.

Don’t know it all yet? No problem! You’ll receive investment in your career development through technical training, professional accreditation, mentoring and on the job training. There’s also the chance to travel overseas for conferences and training too. 

More About You

You’ll already have experience and be able to demonstrate evidence in your application of,

• Reverse engineering Software or Firmware.
• Platform security mitigations (such as ASLR, DEP, Sandboxing etc).
• Common Vulnerability Classes (such as buffer overflows, UAF etc).
• Invasive and passive debugging.

To strengthen your application, it would be beneficial if you also have one or more of the following (although these are not essential),

• Operating System Internals (such as memory and process management, kernel driver development etc.
• Developed software in low level unmanaged languages (such as C, C++).
• Worked with one or more assembly languages (x86, ARM, MIPS etc).

Job description

Putting your skills to use

Using your range of skills within our Security Research Teams, you will,

• Examine and experiment with our products.
• Carry out vulnerability research activities.
• Identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities and demonstrate them using proof of concepts.
• Document your research for sharing with others.
• Liaise with our development teams to secure our products.
• Develop new tools and techniques to help analyse our products.
• Keep track of emerging technologies and assess how they may impact us.
• Make good use of configuration management tools.

Person specification

Your Personal Skills

You will be the type of person who,

• Is technically curious and likes to explore the detailed inner workings of a system.
• Feels implicit with uncertainty and doesn’t require knowing the full picture.
• Thinks flexibly and creatively about problems that seem impossible.
• Is willing to persevere with a challenge and approach it in an organised manner.
• Is willing to work with and learn from others.

Benefits

What we Offer

Now that we’ve explained a bit about what you will we be doing, here’s what we can offer you,

• 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 after 5 years’ service.
• 8 Bank Holiday days off in addition to your annual leave.
• 2 ½ additional days leave (set dates through the year).
• Paid overtime or time off in lieu. Your salary is for your contracted hours.  If you work more, we believe you should be rewarded for that.
• Lots and lots of training.  This can be anything from a ½ day internal course to a distant learning degree.  If it’s relevant to your career, we will aim to support you.
• Our Pension scheme is Alpha.  It’s competitive.
• Sports & Social Society. Whether its classic cars or baking, golf or crafting, we have a society for you.
• On site nursery (subject to availability).
• 3 days paid leave a year to support a registered charity of your choice.
• Free parking.
• Free onsite gym, open 24 hours a day.
• Relocation Package*
• Affinity Groups – whether you are disabled, LGBTQ and/or from an Ethnic Minority. We provide an inclusive environment and support for everyone.

About HMGCC

We’re HMGCC, His Majesty’s Government Communications Centre. You may not have heard of us before. That’s because our customers are other UK Government Departments. Using our collective expertise, we develop communication systems for our customers that are innovative, reliable and totally secure to protect national security at home and overseas.

We invest in our people, not only with training but also support throughout your career with us; to allow you to reach your full potential at work, as well as enjoy the work/life balance many aspire to.

To find out more about us and if we’re right for you, please visit our website

Equal Opportunities

Inclusion & Diversity really matters to us. It's not just about numbers or visible differences.

HMGCC are committed to providing equal opportunities and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and those with disabilities or who are neurodiverse.

We’re not looking for any one type of person. We’re looking for talent from all different backgrounds to join our organisation, where we genuinely respect and value each other's differences, as well as our similarities. It makes us even better at what we do.

We are proud to offer candidates the opportunity to apply through the Offer of Interview Scheme. The scheme ensures eligible candidates are selected for an interview as long as their application meets the minimum criteria for the role. To find out more and how you can apply under this scheme, please see the  inclusion and diversity information on our website.  

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Apply now

Discover more by visiting our website

Our Recruitment Team will process your application once the role has closed and everyone will get a response.

Please note dependent on the recruitment requirements, we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.