Senior Penetration Tester (CTL / CSTL) | CHECK | Remote (UK)

Location: United Kingdom (Fully Remote) – Travel across the UK (≈20%), fully expensed

Package: £80,000 – £100,000 base salary + Excellent Benefits

Eligibility: Must hold UK residency, valid SC Clearance, and CHECK certification (CTL or CSTL)

Travel: Role includes up to 15–20% UK travel to client sites across the UK (all expenses covered)

Requirements

• 6+ years’ hands‑on penetration testing experience
• Current CTL or CSTL status (held for 2+ years)
• Active SC Clearance
• CHECK certification (CTL / CSTL / CSTM – you must hold CHECK status, we will verify)
• Strong track record delivering advanced pen testing across infrastructure and/or applications
• Ability to work independently in senior‑level client‑facing environments
• Willingness to travel approximately 15–20% across the UK

Required Background

• 6+ years’ industry experience in offensive security / penetration testing
• Demonstrable depth in at least one of the following:
• Strong knowledge of modern attack techniques, tooling, and methodologies
• Experience delivering reports, presenting findings, and advising on remediation
• Exposure to large‑scale enterprise, government, or regulated environments
• Ability to run complex engagements end‑to‑end with minimal oversight
• Clear understanding of threat modelling, risk assessment, and senior stakeholder communication
• MUST hold CTL or CSTL status (CHECK‑approved)
• MUST hold SC Clearance
• Senior, hands‑on role – not suitable for juniors or mid‑level testers
• UK‑wide travel (~20%), fully expensed
• Dual‑skilled CTLs (Infrastructure + Apps) considered for top salary band
• Strong communication and client‑facing professionalism essential
• CTL or CSTL status held for minimum 2 years
• CHECK registration (CTL / CSTL / CSTM – must confirm you hold CHECK status)
• Deep technical proficiency in offensive security
• Ability to scope, plan, execute, and deliver high‑quality testing engagements
• Strong reporting, documentation, and advisory capabilities
• Experience working with enterprise or government clients
• SC Cleared
• UK‑based and eligible to work & travel freely
• Stable career history and proven delivery of long‑term engagements

Bonus Experience

• Dual‑skilled CTL (Infrastructure + Applications)
• Experience mentoring or guiding junior testers
• Red Teaming exposure
• Experience with tooling and automation for testing
• Knowledge of cloud security (AWS/Azure)
• Threat intelligence or purple team collaboration experience

Hands‑On Experience With

• Web and application penetration testing
• Advanced exploitation, enumeration, and privilege escalation
• Reporting to CHECK standards
• Vulnerability assessment tooling
• Manual testing methodologies aligned to industry best practice
• Working with clients across public sector, enterprise, or highly regulated industries

What You’ll Be Doing

Pen Testing & Delivery

• Deliver high‑quality penetration testing engagements (infrastructure, applications, cloud etc.)
• Execute senior‑level testing aligned to CHECK requirements
• Provide in‑depth, quality reporting with remediation guidanceLead or contribute to multi‑scope testing assignments

Quality & Ownership

• Ensure testing is delivered to the highest technical and professional standard
• Maintain CHECK‑level methodologies and best practices
• Support continuous improvement in offensive security approaches

Client Interaction

• Present findings and recommendations to technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Work directly with engineering, security, and leadership teams
• Provide expert guidance, advisory support, and risk insight

If you meet all the above essentials and are a highly capable Senior Penetration Tester with CTL/CSTL and SC, get in touch for an immediate conversation.