Senior Software Engineers

Salary

£50,354 to £60,036. This includes a basic salary, skills payment, and a concessionary payment of £2,758. The final amount depends on your skills and experience. You'll also receive a one-off recruitment bonus of £3,500, split into two payments: £1,750 on arrival and £1,750 after successfully completing probation. In the future, there may be an opportunity to qualify for a higher skill level following a successful skills assessment, which could increase your salary by £9,766.

We recognise the importance of a healthy work‑life balance and offer a range of working patterns, including full‑time, part‑time, and compressed hours. Hybrid working, which refers to a combination of working on‑site and from home, may be more limited due to the nature of the work. Some homeworking may be available depending on business needs. We also support flexible start and finish times, where possible, to help you manage your personal and professional commitments.

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber, and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting‑edge technology, ingenuity, and partnerships to identify, analyse, and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners, MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber‑attacks, and espionage. At GCHQ, you'll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that emphasises teamwork.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll play a pivotal role in solving mission‑critical challenges. You'll contribute to the architecture and design of both new and existing systems, establish and promote best practices, and deliver high‑quality software solutions. Drawing on your expertise in various software engineering methodologies, you'll introduce fresh ideas and innovative approaches that make a real impact at the core of our mission: keeping the UK safe, both in the real world and online.

This is a practical, impact‑driven role with plenty of opportunities to develop yourself and others. You'll review pull requests, define code review, branching, and deployment strategies, and work across a variety of software engineering frameworks. Operating at a deep technical level, you'll apply your expertise in languages and frameworks such as JavaScript, Java, Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, and .NET.

We are looking for Data Engineers or Software Engineers with big data experience, alongside a working knowledge of cloud technologies.

You have expertise in modern programming languages and frameworks such as Golang, Java, JavaScript, .NET, Node.js, Python, Rust, along with experience working with cloud platforms AWS, Azure, and GCP. You have successfully led Agile project teams, evaluated customer business requirements, and delivered high‑quality software solutions that make a real impact. Strategic and self‑driven, you serve as a bridge between teams, communicating technical information with clarity and confidence.

You thrive in a fast‑paced, innovative environment where creativity is key to solving complex challenges.

We welcome experienced professionals from related fields, including software engineering, security, site reliability engineering, and data engineering. Your enthusiasm for software engineering, combined with your ability to mentor others, collaborate effectively, and stay ahead of emerging technologies, makes you a valuable contributor to a forward‑thinking engineering community.

From day one, you'll have access to mentors and subject matter experts to help you settle into the role. We invest in your development and adapt to the way you like to learn, providing support and encouragement every step of the way. Up to 30% of your time can be dedicated to personal development. You will have access to learning and development opportunities across a wide range of disciplines, including front‑end design, site reliability engineering, data engineering, solution architecture, machine learning operations, UX, Agile, cloud engineering, and security.

Formal qualifications are supported with dedicated funding; subscriptions to platforms such as Cloud Academy,…