Cyber Engineer - DV Cleared

Meritus; Newport; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense cybersecurity company in Newport is seeking an experienced Contract Cyber Engineer for a 6-month role, with likely extension, offering up to £90 per hour. The position requires DV Clearance and demands strong hands-on technical skills in a SOC environment. Responsibilities include being the senior escalation point for engineering issues, ensuring toolset availability, and supporting SOC Analysts. Ideal candidates will have substantial experience with firewalls and SOC tooling, as well as scripting abilities.

Qualifications

• Strong working knowledge of core SOC tooling such as SIEM/Splunk.
• Hands-on experience with firewalls like Cisco ASR or Palo Alto.
• Excellent understanding of network technologies including routing and switching.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior escalation point for SOC engineering issues.
• Support SOC Analysts with toolset faults and troubleshooting.
• Ensure new systems introduced can be supported operationally.

Skills

SOC tooling (SIEM/Splunk, IDPS)

Cisco ASR, Palo Alto or Fortinet firewalls

Network technologies (LAN/WAN, routing, switching)

Scripting (PowerShell, Python, Bash)

Windows Server and RedHat (RHEL) administration

Tools

vCenter

VMware ESXi

Nessus

SQL

Jira

Job description

Job Advert: Contract Cyber Engineer (DV Cleared)

📍 Newport | 💼 6-month contract + likely extension
🏢 Fully onsite | 💷 Up to £90 per hour (Umbrella)
🔐 DV Clearance required / British Nationals only

We're recruiting for an experienced Contract Cyber Engineer to join a major defence cyber security function. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys hands‑on technical problem solving, acting as a senior point of escalation, and supporting a high-performance Security Operations Centre (SOC).

You'll work within a specialist cyber defence organisation, supporting the smooth running of security tools, leading operational engineering activity, and ensuring that new security projects transition successfully into the live environment.

The Role

• Act as the senior escalation point for SOC engineering issues
• Support SOC Analysts and Engineers with toolset faults, troubleshooting and ongoing operational work
• Oversee toolset availability, performance, and capacity
• Support change and release management, including planned upgrades and deployments
• Ensure new systems introduced by the design team can be supported operationally
• Maintain a strong awareness of emerging cyber technologies, tools and best practice
• Work with the wider Airbus Cyber Defence Centre on tooling and security product improvements
• Provide technical input into documentation, processes, and service support activities

This is a key position in a busy SOC environment, fully onsite, requiring strong communication skills and the ability to work across engineering, operations, and cyber security functions.

What You'll Need (Essential)

• Strong working knowledge of core SOC tooling e.g. SIEM/Splunk, IDPS, Email/Web security, Firewalls
• Hands‑on experience with Cisco ASR, Palo Alto or Fortinet firewalls
• Excellent understanding of network technologies (LAN/WAN, routing, switching)
• Experience with scripting or programming (PowerShell, Python, Bash etc.)
• Experience with Windows Server and RedHat (RHEL) administration, including CIS hardening

Desirable Skills

Experience with any of the following is beneficial:

• vCenter / VMware ESXi / vSAN
• Nessus / Tenable
• SQL / MariaDB
• CheckMK, Jira, Syslog management
• Patch management (WSUS etc.)
• AD / LDAP / PAM
• Backup/restore solutions
• Disaster recovery and service continuity
• ISO 27001 / Cyber Essentials