Software Engineer (Active SC required)

Software Engineer - Defence & National Security

Gloucester or London | 2-3 Days On-Site Per Week SC Clearance Required (and eDV eligibility essential) Build secure, mission-critical systems that help protect the UK.

We're hiring experienced Software Engineers to work on high-impact defence and national security programmes. You'll help deliver secure, resilient, and sophisticated software solutions that support critical operations - all within a mission-led, engineering-focused environment.

This role is ideal for engineers who want meaningful, technical work in a sector where quality and security truly matter.

The Role

As a Software Engineer, you'll design, build and maintain software within secure, highly-regulated environments. You'll join a multidisciplinary team of engineers, analysts and security specialists, contributing to complex systems that support UK national security.

You will work in a hybrid model, spending 2-3 days per week on-site in either Gloucester or London (secure facilities), with the remainder from home or a non-secure office depending on project needs.

What You'll Be Doing

• Designing and developing secure, reliable and scalable software components
• Writing high-quality, well-tested code suitable for sensitive environments
• Supporting CI/CD pipelines built for restricted or hybrid networks
• Collaborating with systems engineers, cyber specialists and product teams
• Contributing to architecture decisions and technical roadmaps
• Troubleshooting complex issues across distributed and secure systems
• Applying strict coding, security and governance standards
• Documenting key decisions, processes and technical designs
• Working with teams embedded inside defence and intelligence organisations

What We're Looking For

Essential

• Active SC clearance
• Eligibility for eDV clearance (UK national or other qualifying criteria)
• Software engineering experience across design, development, testing and deployment
• Proficiency in one or more key languages: Java, Python, C++, C#, JavaScript
• Understanding of secure software engineering principles
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and version control (Git)
• Familiarity with modern development practices and automated testing
• Ability to work 2-3 days per week on-site in Gloucester or London
• Strong communication skills, including working with multidisciplinary teams

Desirable

• Experience working in public sector, defence, national security or other highly regulated environments
• Knowledge of distributed systems, event-driven architectures or messaging frameworks
• Experience with Docker/Kubernetes or secure containerised systems
• Familiarity with hybrid cloud or secure on-prem environments
• Interest in emerging technologies, data-intensive platforms or mission systems

Who This Role Suits

You'll thrive here if you:

• Want to contribute to the UK's defence and national security mission
• Enjoy solving complex, sensitive engineering challenges
• Are comfortable with structured environments and high assurance processes
• Prefer collaborative, multi-disciplinary technical teams
• Take pride in building secure, robust, well-engineered solutions

Security & Working Environment

• Active SC clearance is mandatory
• eDV eligibility is required - the role will sponsor eDV when appropriate
• Must be able to work on-site 2-3 days/week in Gloucester or London
• Work may require access to secure networks or classified environments

What's in It for You

• Chance to work on mission-critical systems with real societal impact
• Exposure to some of the UK's most unique engineering challenges
• Strong progression routes into tech leadership, architecture or specialist roles
• Training and development tailored for defence and national security engineering
• Supportive engineering culture and knowledge-sharing community

Interested?

If you're a Software Engineer with SC clearance, eligibility for eDV, and a passion for solving meaningful problems in defence and national security, we'd love to hear from you.

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason , please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.