GCHQ
NCSC Senior AI Technologist Lead
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London, Manchester
Job Summary
About Us
GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners, MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks and espionage.
At GCHQ, you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that places a strong emphasis on teamwork.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, is the UK Government’s lead authority on cyber security. The organisation is at the heart of the Government’s cyber security strategy and aims to make the UK the safest place to live and work online.
Job Description
The Role
AI is transforming how organisations design, build and defend technology — and the NCSC is looking for outstanding technical talent to research and build agentic solutions that improve the nation’s cyber security and help protect the UK.
We’re looking for talented AI technologists to join us across a variety of departments at the NCSC. You’ll be at the forefront of applying AI to some of the UK’s most important cyber security resilience challenges. You’ll help explore how increasingly capable AI systems can strengthen defence, improve security outcomes and enhance our understanding of adversaries. You’ll also support organisations across the public and private sectors to adopt AI confidence and contribute to the development of secure, resilient and innovative technology.
Working in highly specialised environments, you’ll help shape how AI is evaluated, developed, secured and deployed to support some of the UK’s most important national security missions. The work is varied, fast-moving and highly collaborative. You’ll combine technical expertise with a deep understanding of the mission to tackle complex challenges, helping GCHQ and NCSC remain at the forefront of evaluating, securing and applying AI for national security. By harnessing AI and agentic technologies, you’ll deliver tangible outcomes against some of the UK’s most pressing cyber and national security challenges.
These roles are supporting a wide range of GCHQ and NCSC missions. Working across engineering, operations, and applied research, you could be evaluating AI-enabled systems, building prototypes, detecting and mitigating adversaries, assessing technical risks, or supporting the secure deployment of AI in real-world environments. The work spans the full AI lifecycle, from research into machine learning, generative AI and large language models through to software engineering, solution architecture, MLOps and deployment. Working in multidisciplinary teams alongside engineers, researchers and cyber specialists, you’ll help turn innovative ideas into secure, resilient capabilities. As your expertise develops, you will provide technical advice across the public and private sectors and engage with leading technology companies to help keep the UK at the forefront of the secure and effective use of AI. Depending on your role and experience, you may also help shape technical strategy and influence decision-making across teams, and provide leadership on complex, mission-critical challenges.
The rapid evolution of AI means you’ll continually explore emerging technologies, develop new skills and adapt quickly to new opportunities and challenges. You’ll also have opportunities to deepen your understanding of a broad range of cyber security disciplines and apply your expertise in new and innovative ways.
This is an opportunity to be part of one of the most significant technological shifts of our time within the UK’s National Technical Authority for cyber security. AI is transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, shaping the future of intelligence mission and what it means to keep a nation secure.
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We’re looking for people who combine technical expertise with curiosity, creativity and a passion for solving complex challenges. If you enjoy exploring new technologies, thinking ahead to future engineering challenges, and contributing to a mission that makes the UK safer to live and work online, we’d love to hear from you.
Person Specification
About You
We’re looking for outstanding AI technologists who have delivered meaningful impact through the application of AI technologies and/or the development of agentic solutions across a department, function or wider organisation. Successful applicants will be comfortable operating in complex technical environments, bringing the judgement and experience needed to shape strategy, lead time-critical work, and make technical trade-offs across teams and organisational boundaries.
You’ll Have a Solid Technical Foundation And The Ability To Quickly Understand, Evaluate And Apply Emerging Technologies. Your Experience Will Include At Least Two Of The Following Areas
- Software development
- Systems architecture design and implementation
- Technical research and analysis
You’ll combine deep technical expertise with curiosity, adaptability and a genuine enthusiasm for learning about a broad range of cyber security topics and challenges. We’re seeking individuals who enjoy working across technical disciplines and collaborating with a broad range of colleagues and stakeholders both within and outside our organisations.
We welcome applications from people of all educational and professional backgrounds and have no formal qualification requirements. Instead, we’re interested in evidence of your technical ability, potential and achievements. Depending on the role and your skills, you may be eligible for specialist pay. These roles require 80% office attendance, subject to role requirements and business need.
Please note: The NCSC is advertising a number of roles at the moment. Please submit an application for each role you wish to be considered for. Applying for other roles will not be detrimental to your application for this role and, if you are successful in a number of roles, you will be able to choose which role you prefer at the point of conditional job offer.
GCHQ Competencies
As part of the selection process, the NCSC will assess you using competencies aligned with those used across the UK Intelligence Community. These are closely based on the Civil Service Behaviours, so if you’re familiar with those, you’re already on the right track.
At Level 4, we’ll be looking at how you demonstrate the following:
- Driving Innovation and Change (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Changing and Improving)
- Continuously Developing (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Developing Self and Others)
- Working Collaboratively (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Working Together)
- Making Effective Decisions (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Making Effective Decisions)
- Delivering Outcomes (Civil Service Behaviour Equivalent: Delivering at Pace)
To help you prepare your application, further information on Civil Service Behaviours can be found here.
Rewards And Benefits
At NCSC and GCHQ, we are proud of our inclusive and supportive working environment, which is designed to encourage open minds and positive attitudes. As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we are committed to helping you fulfil your potential. With comprehensive training and development opportunities tailored to your needs and the requirements of your work, we will enable you to flourish in your role and perform to the very best of your abilities.
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You’ll receive a starting salary of £68,745 which includes a concessionary payment of £3,144.
Candidates with technical skills in information assurance, data science, or related fields may qualify for specialist skills payments ranging from £5,000 to over £44,000 per annum in this role. Skills will be assessed at interview.
For roles based in London, you’ll receive an additional £6,250 London Allowance.
Other Benefits Include
- 25 days’ annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after five years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
- opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
- an interest-free season ticket loan
- a cycle-to-work scheme
- Facilities such as a subsidised gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
- Paid parental and adoption leave
- Excellent pension scheme - Civil Service pension
Equal Opportunities
At GCHQ, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website.
Disability Confident
GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident Leader, we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position are offered an interview, where it is practical for us to do so. This is known as Offer of an Interview.
Role
To secure an interview for this role, you must meet the following criteria, which will be assessed at the CV sift stage:
- You'll be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses criteria important for all roles in our organisation.
- Evidence of delivering impact through your use of AI technology and/or through agent development.
- Able to demonstrate experience in setting strategy for large teams, directing complex, time critical projects and making technical trade-offs across team boundaries.
- Evidence of your experience, including one or more of: working in software development, or designing and building systems architectures or technical research and analysis.
- Evidence of working across a range of technical disciplines, within diverse teams both within and outside your immediate area.
There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best. Please see our website for information on reasonable
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