Security and Privacy Researcher (UKTL)
| Posting date: | 16 June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 16 July 2026 |
| Location: | Solihull, West Midlands |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | National Physical Laboratory |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | UKTL |
Summary
This Role Speaks to You If... You’ve always been curious about how things work—especially when it comes to telecoms systems like 5G, fibre broadband.
Maybe you know IP/TCP/HTTP but here you will work with SCTP/ NGAP / 5G SBI in carrier grade implementations that no one else has this level of access to!
Whether you’ve worked in the field professionally or you’ve been diving into open-source projects in your spare time, you’re someone who enjoys breaking things down, testing their limits, and uncovering security flaws others might miss.
You’re not just interested in tech—you’re passionate about it. You love the challenge of understanding complex systems, and you’re driven by the thrill of building, testing, and sometimes even breaking things (ethically, of course) to make them better.
Successful Applicants must be able to commute to the UKTL offices in Solihull, 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 possible. This will be dependent on the kind of role you do and part of the business you work in.
About You
What You’ll Bring
You’ll ideally demonstrate experience or strong interest in one or more of the following research areas:
• Cybersecurity research within telecoms systems
• RF and Software Defined Radio (SDR)
• Artificial intelligence / Machine learning applied to networks or security
• Formal modelling and verification of protocols or systems
• Cryptography
• Hardware or software prototyping
• SIM / JavaCard technologies
• Non-terrestrial networks
Alongside this, you’ll be able to evidence:
• Strong research capability, with experience investigating complex technical problems
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Experience developing software or hardware prototypes, turning concepts into working solutions
• Clear technical communication, including writing reports to a professional or publication standard
• Confidence working with Linux environments and quickly adopting new programming languages
• An understanding of development lifecycles and their impact on security
• The ability to navigate and apply academic literature and publicly available sources
Bonus points if you have experience with reverse engineering tools such as IDA Pro or Ghidra. Having curiosity and a strong research mindset is key.
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.
Maybe you know IP/TCP/HTTP but here you will work with SCTP/ NGAP / 5G SBI in carrier grade implementations that no one else has this level of access to!
Whether you’ve worked in the field professionally or you’ve been diving into open-source projects in your spare time, you’re someone who enjoys breaking things down, testing their limits, and uncovering security flaws others might miss.
You’re not just interested in tech—you’re passionate about it. You love the challenge of understanding complex systems, and you’re driven by the thrill of building, testing, and sometimes even breaking things (ethically, of course) to make them better.
Successful Applicants must be able to commute to the UKTL offices in Solihull, 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 possible. This will be dependent on the kind of role you do and part of the business you work in.
About You
What You’ll Bring
You’ll ideally demonstrate experience or strong interest in one or more of the following research areas:
• Cybersecurity research within telecoms systems
• RF and Software Defined Radio (SDR)
• Artificial intelligence / Machine learning applied to networks or security
• Formal modelling and verification of protocols or systems
• Cryptography
• Hardware or software prototyping
• SIM / JavaCard technologies
• Non-terrestrial networks
Alongside this, you’ll be able to evidence:
• Strong research capability, with experience investigating complex technical problems
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively
• Experience developing software or hardware prototypes, turning concepts into working solutions
• Clear technical communication, including writing reports to a professional or publication standard
• Confidence working with Linux environments and quickly adopting new programming languages
• An understanding of development lifecycles and their impact on security
• The ability to navigate and apply academic literature and publicly available sources
Bonus points if you have experience with reverse engineering tools such as IDA Pro or Ghidra. Having curiosity and a strong research mindset is key.
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.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.