Cloud, Data & AI Engineers

Locations: Opportunities across all compass points, including London, Cheltenham/Gloucester, Bristol, Hampshire and Manchester Clearance: Active DV / eDV predominantly required Level: Mid-level through to Senior / Lead

If you’re working across Cloud, Platform, Data or AI in National Security, there’s a good chance you’re not actively looking for another job.

But you might be wondering whether there’s somewhere you’d be learning more, working with better people, getting broader exposure or simply being trusted with a little more flexibility.

Those are increasingly the conversations I’m having.

I’m currently supporting a mix of engineering-led SMEs, specialist consultancies and growing technology businesses across the National Security ecosystem - many of which are actively expanding their Cloud, Data and AI capability.

The interesting part is how increasingly cross-functional these teams are becoming.

A Platform Engineer might enable Data and ML workloads. A Data Engineer might work across cloud infrastructure and AI-enabled platforms. An ML Engineer might get much closer to deployment, evaluation and seeing their work make it into real-world environments.

If you want to keep your tools sharp rather than disappear into a narrow programme or technical silo, there are some genuinely interesting teams worth knowing about.

Where I’m Seeing Demand

• Cloud & Platform - AWS/Azure, Kubernetes, Terraform, CI/CD, Linux, automation, DevOps and DevSecOps
• Data Engineering - Python, SQL, ETL/ELT, Spark/Databricks, distributed systems and modern cloud data platforms
• AI & Machine Learning - ML Engineering, MLOps, model deployment/evaluation, Python and increasingly GenAI/LLM capability

You don’t need to sit neatly inside one of those boxes.

In fact, some of the strongest opportunities are for engineers who enjoy working across them.

Why Consider a Move?

The organisations I work with vary significantly, but I’ve deliberately built relationships with teams offering things engineers consistently tell me they value:

• Strong, engineering-led cultures
• Broader technical exposure and progression
• Greater ownership and access to technical leadership
• Interesting, real-world National Security problems
• Varied hybrid models and greater flexibility where programmes allow
• Smaller teams where good engineers are genuinely valued

I’ve already helped engineers join a number of these organisations, so I can also give you an honest view based on the feedback and testimonials I’ve had from people actually working there - not just what’s written on a careers page.

Clearance

The majority of these opportunities support live National Security programmes, so active DV/eDV clearance is typically required.

Occasionally, opportunities arise for exceptional SC-cleared engineers with a realistic route to higher clearance, but these are the exception rather than the rule.

If you’re curious about which organisations are genuinely investing, how their cultures and working patterns compare, or where you could broaden your experience across Cloud, Data and AI, I’m always happy to share what I’m seeing.

If nothing else, you’ll come away with a clearer picture of the market - even if your next move is still a year away.

As an industry leading, nationwide Marketing, Digital, Analytics, IT and Design recruitment agency, we are continually receiving new assignments to work on, so keep a close eye on our website, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages for a full list of current permanent and interim opportunities as well as marketplace news and fun stuff. Forward Role is operating as an employment agency.