Software Engineer

Salary: £42,630 - £46,246, dependent on experience and made up of a base salary of £35,134 - £38,750, a concessionary payment of £2,758, and a skills payment of up to £4,738 (assessed at interview and offered from day one). You will also receive a one-off recruitment bonus of £2,000 (£1,000 on arrival and £1,000 on successful completion of probation)., A typical day as a Software Engineer at GCHQ involves working both collaboratively and independently to develop innovative solutions to complex, real-world mission challenges. As part of an Agile, multidisciplinary team, you'll contribute to a culture of continuous learning and adaption. Teams experiment with new ideas, explore different technical approaches and tackle difficult problems that often require fresh thinking. Collaboration with analysts and technical specialists across multiple missions is central to shaping solutions that meet operational needs.

Day-to-day work may include team check-ins and planning sessions, reviewing and raising pull requests, and applying a range of engineering practices such as pair programming, mobbing, or focused individual development. You might also spend time researching and analysing web or mobile technologies, designing, documenting and implementing software solutions, and delivering software for mission requirements. You'll also support existing solutions throughout their lifecycle, all contributing to steady progress and well-crafted outcomes.

Depending on the project and your own strengths, you might draw on a variety of specialisms such as server - client-side technologies, object-orientated programming, software design principles, Android development, or Agile/Lean practices. You'll use a mix of modern engineering languages and frameworks such as JavaScript, Java, Node, Python, Rust, Go and .NET, depending on the project needs. Knowledge sharing is also central to the role, whether that's swapping ideas with peers, discussing approaches across teams, or contributing to the wider engineering community to help strengthen capability and improve technical practice.

You'll bring a real aptitude for learning and problem-solving, with a genuine interest in technology and trying new approaches. You enjoy developing ideas, exploring technical options and working with others to solve challenges. You will have practical experience in a software development environment gained through a previous role or an industrial placement. You're comfortable using at least one modern programming language or framework and have a good understanding of core software engineering practices.

You'll be curious about cloud technologies, and any familiarity with AWS, Azure or GCP would be beneficial. You may have some experience with Agile or DevOps ways of working, CI/CD, automation or infrastructure-as-code, and you're keen to build confidence in areas like cloud security or vulnerability awareness. A basic understanding of Linux or Windows is useful, along with a willingness to learn more as part of the role. You'll work well in development teams, switching between independent tasks and collaborative work, and you're happy contributing across teams when needed. You can prioritise effectively, adapt to change and stay focused when things get challenging. You communicate clearly, enjoy sharing ideas and are comfortable engaging with a range of customers and technical colleagues.

If you're enthusiastic about technology, motivated to develop skills and excited by our mission, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet every requirement. Your perspective and potential could be exactly what we're looking for., We encourage you to dedicate time to continual professional development through formal courses and practical experimentation, supported by the innovation time available to you. You'll have access to books, online learning platforms, conferences and practical project work supported by experienced colleagues, along with funding towards formal qualifications. Training covers a broad range of areas, including Front-End Design, RF Software Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, Data Engineering, Solution Architecture, MLOps, UX, Agile, Cloud Engineering and Security. You'll also have access to courses including AWS certification, Scrum Master training, microservices, engineering patterns, Linux, user experience and leadership skills., * Demonstrate a strong motivation to learn and adapt to Agile ways of working.

• Demonstrate an ability to develop software features.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of at least one modern language or framework, such as, Golang, Java, JavaScript, .Net, Node, Python, Rust.
• Demonstrate experience of working as a Software Engineer in a software engineering environment. This could include an industry placement.

Flexible Working: We recognise the importance of a healthy work-life balance and offer full-time, part-time, and compressed hours. Due to the nature of the work, hybrid working may be more limited; however, some home-working options may be available depending on business requirements., You'll receive a starting salary £42,630 - £46,246 dependent on skills and experience, with an additional one-off bonus of £2,000 plus other benefits including:

• 25 days' annual leave, rising automatically to 30 days after 5 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
• an excellent pension scheme
• a cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as a gym, restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• paid parental and adoption leave, Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. Application sift.
2. Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) assessing the appropriateness of your responses to a series of short scenarios. The SJT tests criteria important for all roles in our organisation
3. Technical and competency-based interview, including a presentation.
4. If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, subject to vetting.

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before you apply

To work at GCHQ, you must be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. Read about our eligibility criteria.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It's something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can't take any recreational drugs and you'll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Before applying, we recommend setting up a separate email address for your contact with us to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid including identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you manage your application with us more securely.

The role is based in Cheltenham, Bude, Manchester or Samlesbury so you'll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.

We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in-person appointments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation. Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hard copy receipts for reimbursement.

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 puts the emphasis on teamwork.