Software Security Engineer

Defence; Bristol; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Defence Bristol is seeking an experienced software security professional to lead security across the full product lifecycle in a regulated environment. You will guide architecture, coding standards and risk mitigation while collaborating with cross‑functional teams on ambitious defence projects.

You will mentor engineers, perform security assessments, drive improvements, and maintain documentation. A STEM degree and British citizenship with security clearance are required to succeed in this

Qualifications

• Experience developing complex software in regulated or security-conscious sectors.
• Practical software security experience and familiarity with relevant standards.
• Strong collaboration, leadership and communication skills.
• Interest in emerging technologies and current security challenges.
• Embedded software/firmware experience is beneficial.
• A STEM degree or equivalent experience.
• British citizen or dual UK national due to security clearance.
• Comfortable working across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Lead security aspects of product development across the full lifecycle.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance to software teams.
• Advise on security requirements, architecture, coding standards and best practices.
• Support technology and framework evaluation and selection for software projects.
• Conduct security assessments and risk analysis, identify vulnerabilities and define mitigations.
• Drive continuous improvement by refining processes, tools and methodologies.
• Maintain clear security documentation, processes and guidelines.
• Produce security reporting and metrics on activities, vulnerabilities and remediation.

Skills

Software security

Technical leadership

Communication

Security standards

Emerging technologies

Team collaboration

Education

STEM degree

Job description

Salary: £45,000 - 65,000 per year

Requirements

• Experience developing complex software products in regulated or safety- and security-conscious sectors such as defence, automotive, aerospace, telecoms, or similar.
• Practical software security experience with knowledge of relevant standards and best practices.
• Strong collaboration and technical leadership skills with good communication and influencing abilities.
• Interest in emerging technologies and current security challenges.
• Embedded software and/or firmware experience is beneficial but not essential.
• A STEM degree or equivalent experience.
• Comfortable working across disciplines.
• Must be a British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship due to security clearance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead and guide the security aspects of product development across the full lifecycle from concept and design through delivery and in-service support.
• Provide hands‑on technical guidance to software development and wider project teams.
• Advise on security requirements and techniques, software architecture and design patterns, coding standards, trade‑offs, and best practice.
• Support technology and framework evaluation and selection for software projects.
• Conduct security assessments and risk analysis for technologies and software systems, identifying vulnerabilities and threats and defining mitigation strategies.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying process improvements and contributing to the development and implementation of engineering methodologies, tools, and frameworks.
• Maintain clear and current security documentation, including processes, procedures, and guidelines.
• Produce security reporting and metrics to track activities, vulnerabilities, and remediation.

Technologies

• Embedded
• Firmware
• Support
• Security

More

We are a software engineering function with broad exposure to our product portfolio and a team that actively adopts modern and innovative technologies. Engineering is central to our business, and this role offers scope to grow technical leadership and deepen understanding of complex software systems. You will work within a supportive and expanding software engineering team in a multi-disciplinary engineering environment. The role uses a dynamic hybrid working model, requiring 3 to 5 days per week on site due to workload classification.