NCSC AI Technologist Lead

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.

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 and 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 develop AI capabilities that support some of the UK’s most important national security missions. Depending on your area of expertise, you could work across engineering, operations and applied research, evaluating AI-enabled systems, building prototypes, identifying and mitigating emerging threats, assessing technical risks, developing guidance, or helping to deploy AI securely in real-world environments.

We’re recruiting across a range of technical specialisms and disciplines. Depending on your background and interests, opportunities may include agent development, software and infrastructure engineering, AI security analysis and testing, cyber applications of AI, MLOps, workflow automation, solution architecture and cyber consultancy. Roles may also involve research into agentic frameworks, machine learning, generative AI and LLMs, as well as the development of data-driven insights, including with private sector organisations.

As your experience grows, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the world’s leading organisations, helping us stay at the forefront of AI innovation and its application to cyber security. You’ll also work alongside multidisciplinary teams and some of the UK’s leading cyber specialists to turn emerging ideas into operational capability.

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 missions and what it means to keep a nation secure.

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.

About you

We’re looking for talented individuals who demonstrate how they have delivered meaningful impact through the application of AI technologies and/or the development of agentic solutions, ideally within large or complex team environments. You’ll bring experience leading technical delivery, setting direction and objectives, driving projects forward, and mentoring or developing others to achieve successful outcomes. Curiosity and a genuine interest in cyber security are important. You don’t need to be an expert in every area, but you should have the enthusiasm and aptitude to learn about a broad range of cyber topics and emerging technologies. We value people who actively develop their skills, whether through professional experience, personal projects, research, or cyber challenges and competitions.

You’ll have a good technical grounding and be comfortable learning and applying new technologies quickly. We’re particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate experience in at least two of the following areas: software development, designing and building system architectures, and technical research and analysis. We value individuals who enjoy tackling complex problems, working across disciplines, and continuously developing new skills.

Collaboration is central to the way we work. You’ll be comfortable working with colleagues from a variety of technical backgrounds, both within and beyond the immediate team, and will be keen to contribute to a supportive, inclusive and high-performing environment. You’ll be motivated by working at pace, balancing multiple priorities and delivering outcomes in a dynamic setting.

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.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application; however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism is identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own), applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

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 3, 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.

You’ll receive a starting salary of £53,000 which includes a concessionary payment of £2,758. 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.

To secure an interview for this role, you must meet the following minimum 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.
• Able to demonstrate evidence of delivering impact through your use of AI technology and/or through agent development. (Assessed at sift)
• Demonstrate experience in leading technical delivery teams, setting project goals and mentoring staff. (Assessed at sift)
• 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 adjustments we can offer.

What to expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

• Initial online application.
• Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in which you rate the appropriateness of responses to a series of short scenarios.
• Application sift.
• Online Interview.
• If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment.

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 to continue in your current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before you apply

To work at NCSC, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here. This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here.

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 use at the relevant stage.

Before you apply, 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 having 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 to manage your application with us more securely.

The role is based in London or Manchester, 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.

Please note that you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application with anyone other than with your partner or a close family member.

The closing date for this role is: 2nd September 2026 at 23:55.

Right to withdraw statement: Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role once a certain number of applications have been received. Please submit your application at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.