Cyber Security Engineer

Thames Water; Reading; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 67,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading utility company in the UK is seeking a Cyber Security Engineer to design, implement, and maintain security controls. This role involves collaborating with stakeholders, overseeing security technology, and driving improvements in cyber resilience. Candidates should possess strong communication skills, a degree in a relevant field, and experience with security engineering technologies such as Microsoft Azure. Competitive salary and excellent benefits are offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual leave of 26 days, increasing with service

Generous pension scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience with security technology platforms and audits.
• Familiarity with security engineering technologies.
• Industry certifications such as CCSP or CompTIA Security+ preferable.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain security controls across IT and OT environments.
• Monitor control performance and report to stakeholders.
• Automate operational procedures for reporting.

Skills

Experience in designing and implementing security controls

Hands-on knowledge of network security

Strong understanding of IT and OT systems

Analytical and problem-solving skills

Ability to explain security concepts to non-technical stakeholders

Education

Degree in Cyber Security, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field

Tools

Microsoft Azure

Power BI

Job description

As a Cyber Security Engineer, you will play a vital role in designing, implementing, and maintaining security controls across Thames Water’s IT and OT environments.

You will be responsible for ensuring controls are effective, measurable, and aligned with business and compliance objectives, while driving continuous improvement in our cyber security posture. This includes managing operational procedures, reporting methodologies, and overseeing the operation of security technology platforms to deliver tangible risk reduction.

This role requires a deep understanding of security engineering concepts, infrastructure technologies, and best practices. The ideal candidate will have strong communication skills, a solid grasp of IT and OT systems, and a commitment to enhancing cyber resilience across the organisation.

What you’ll be doing as a Cyber Security Engineer

• Collaborate with stakeholders to design, implement, and maintain security controls that meet business, compliance, and risk mitigation requirements.
• Own or provide consultation to security controls, ensuring continuous control effectiveness.
• Develop and manage operational procedures and reporting methodologies.
• Oversee security technology platforms, whether operated internally or through service providers.
• Monitor control performance, coordinate remediation, and drive continuous improvement.
• Automate operational procedures and reporting processes, integrating outputs into risk reporting frameworks.
• Work closely with IT and OT teams to ensure controls are implemented according to agreed baselines.
• Align control design with industry standards, regulations, and best practices such as NIS, ISO 27001, and GDPR.
• Support internal and external audits, reviews, and assessments of security controls.
• Identify and implement improvements to enhance control coverage and resilience.
• Provide expert advice on technology, best practices, and delivery models.
• Support integration of security controls into SIEM and SOC processes for improved visibility and response automation.
• Develop and present dashboards and metrics demonstrating measurable risk reduction and technical debt reduction.
• Contribute to the advancement of Thames Water’s strategic cyber capability roadmap and engineering maturity.

Base location – Hybrid – Clearwater Court, Reading.

Working pattern – 36 hours Monday to Friday.

What you should bring to the role

• Experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining security controls, including automation of operational procedures and reporting methodologies.
• Hands‑on knowledge of network, identity, host, and/or cloud‑based security technology platforms.
• Experience supporting internal and/or external information security audits.
• Strong understanding of IT and OT systems, infrastructure, and security best practices.
• Familiarity with security engineering technologies, including Microsoft Azure, Defender, and Sentinel.
• Ability to clearly explain complex IT and security concepts to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, planning, and organisational skills.
• Degree in Cyber Security, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• Industry certifications such as CCSP, SSCP, CompTIA Security+, or SC‑200 are preferable.

It would be great if you also had

• Experience in Security Engineering, control design, and implementation within an enterprise environment.
• Previous experience working in the water utility industry or a large, complex infrastructure‑based organisation.
• Experience supporting or implementing an Information Security Management System (e.g. ISO 27001).
• Hands‑on experience with reporting and analytics tools such as Power BI.
• Security engineering vendor or product certifications such as Certified Vulnerability Assessor (CVA), Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate, or Tenable.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary between £52,000 and £67,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave – 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays).
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Performance‑related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets.
• Access to a wide range of benefits to support health and wellbeing, including annual health MOTs, physiotherapy and counselling, Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers, and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Learn more about our purpose and values. We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.