Vulnerability Researcher

National Physical Laboratory; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

National Physical Laboratory is offering a challenging role in Birmingham focused on telecom security research. You will explore telecom systems to identify vulnerabilities, innovate new tools, and collaborate with experienced colleagues to enhance telecom security.

The ideal candidate is driven by curiosity and a solid understanding of cryptography and network protocols. Successful applicants must be able to commute to the Birmingham office at least twice a week and have or be able to obtain a DV clearance.

Qualifications

• Drive to uncover how complex systems work and can be improved.
• Experience in security research and understanding vulnerabilities.
• Ability to learn and apply structured research methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Explore telecom systems for vulnerabilities and improvement.
• Innovate by designing and prototyping tools for better security.
• Collaborate with a team to enhance telecom security and systems.

Skills

Curiosity

Technical problem-solving

Understanding of network protocols

Cryptographic algorithms

Linux internals

Reverse engineering

Ethical exploitation techniques

Tools

IDA Pro

Ghidra

Job description

What You’ll Be Doing

Step into the front line of telecom security research.

• Find new vulnerabilities Together – Take a deep dive into our carrier‑grade telecom systems, exploring how complex technologies really work in practice. You’ll discover vulnerabilities in a thoughtful, research‑led way, with the time and support to carry out meaningful work that contributes to stronger, more secure systems.
• Innovate – you’ll work within broad problem spaces with the autonomy to follow your curiosity and pursue the most exciting discoveries. Design, prototype, and experiment with your own tools—whether that’s advanced fuzzers, custom software radio solutions, or something entirely new.
• Learn Relentlessly – Develop a deep understanding of telecom systems by exploring how they behave, where they can fail, and how they can be improved. Each project is an opportunity to grow your expertise, supported by a team with a wide range of experience. You’ll learn from colleagues, share knowledge, and collaborate with trusted partners to drive long‑term improvements in telecom security.
• Work, Build & Experiment in a World Class Lab – you’re trusted to explore freely: to take systems apart, understand them deeply, and build them back better. You’ll have the freedom to push boundaries, learn through experimentation, and make a genuine impact—breaking things to improve them, not just to test them. Alongside this, you’ll design, build, and evolve the infrastructure that supports your research, creating bespoke environments that enable meaningful, hands‑on technical discovery at scale.

If you’re driven by curiosity, thrive on solving complex problems, and want to make a real impact in telecom security—this is where you belong.

Successful Applicants must be able to commute to the UKTL offices in Birmingham at least twice a week.

About You

• Curious, driven, and passionate about uncovering how things work—and how they break.
• Thrive in complex technical environments and enjoy pushing boundaries to discover vulnerabilities others overlook.
• Comprehend what protocols are doing beneath the surface and can break down how systems communicate.
• Apply structured research methodologies to explore novel technologies and uncover hidden risks.
• Bring applied knowledge of cryptographic algorithms—encryption, authentication, signatures—and know how they can be misused.
• Comfortable with data structures, distributed systems, and modern infrastructure like virtualisation and containerisation.
• Understand network protocols and how software works—from low‑level assembly to high‑level interpreted languages.
• Familiar with memory corruption bugs and know how attackers bypass protections like ASLR, stack canaries, and heap guards.
• Know your way around Linux internals and can pick up any programming language when given the right resources.
• Used ethical exploitation tools and techniques across both low‑level software and web platforms.
• Got reverse engineering experience and confident using tools like IDA Pro, Ghidra, or even just source code analysis.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in this specific area means that nationality, residency and security requirements are more tightly defined than others. To work in this role, you will need to have a DV clearance with no restrictions, or you must have the ability to obtain a DV clearance.