Lead Security Engineer

Ocho People; Belfast City District; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Share options

Hybrid/Remote Belfast

35 days annual leave inc stats

Enhanced pension scheme

Private health

Job summary

Ocho People is seeking a Lead Security Engineer to head security engineering and testing within a growing cyber security team in Belfast. You will set methodology, tooling and engagement scope, working with agile teams to embed security across the SDLC and advise clients directly.

You will lead penetration testing engagements, evolve testing outputs, review code for security, and mentor junior engineers to grow their skills while communicating complex concepts to non-technical audiences.

Qualifications

• Expertise securing web applications and cloud platforms (AWS/Azure).
• Hands-on experience with manual and automated security testing tools.
• Strong knowledge of security standards (NCSC, NIST, OWASP ASVS, GDPR, PCI).
• Familiarity with OWASP Top 10, XSS, SQL injection, MITM.
• Experience in Continuous Security, CI/CD practices.
• Ability to mentor and develop team members.
• Clear, non-technical client communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead security testing engagements on web apps, networks, and infra.
• Define and evolve security testing methodology and tooling.
• Review source code and embed security into CI/CD pipelines.
• Coach and develop a small security team and careers.
• Advise customers on security best practices for varied audiences.

Skills

Web app security

Cloud security

Security testing

Mentoring

Client advisory

CI/CD security

Tools

Burp Suite

OWASP-ZAP

Nmap

Nessus

Metasploit

Job description

Lead Security Engineer

A senior technical role leading security engineering and testing within a cyber security team that has doubled in size over the past six months and is continuing to grow.

The Opportunity

This is a genuinely exciting moment to join. The team has gone from 6 to 16 people in six months, with plans to reach 30 to 35 within the year. It is led by a CISO who is quality-focused and culturally driven, building a commercially credible, specialist-led security practice rather than hiring for headcount.

The Role

You will lead security engineering and testing efforts, setting direction on methodology, tooling, and engagement scoping. Working alongside agile delivery teams, you will embed good security practice throughout the software development lifecycle, advise clients directly, and help grow the skills of more junior engineers.

Day-to-day

• Lead security testing engagements, including penetration tests on web applications, networks, and infrastructure.
• Define and evolve our security testing methodology, outputs, and tool selection.
• Conduct source code reviews and embed security into CI/CD pipelines.
• Coach and develop a small team, supporting performance and career growth.
• Advise customers and colleagues on security best practice, translating complexity for varied audiences.

Experience

• Expertise securing web applications and cloud platforms (AWS or Azure).
• Hands-on experience with manual and automated security testing tools.
• Strong knowledge of security standards such as NCSC, NIST, OWASP ASVS, GDPR, and PCI.
• Familiarity with common attack vectors including OWASP Top 10, XSS, SQL injection, and MITM.
• Experience in Continuous Security, CI, and CD practices.
• Proven ability to mentor and develop team members.
• Comfortable advising clients directly and communicating clearly with non-technical audiences.

Desirable

• Penetration testing qualification such as OSCP, CREST, or TIGER.
• Experience with tools including Burp Suite, OWASP-ZAP, Nmap, Nessus, or Metasploit.
• Background working in agile delivery or consultancy environments.
• Active involvement in the security community.

Package

• Share options
• Hybrid/Remote working - Belfast
• 35 days annual leave inc stat
• Enhanced pension scheme
• Private health