Job Description

On behalf of FCDO, we are looking for a Cyber Security Engineer (Inside IR35) for a 6 month contract based Hybrid in East Kilbride or Milton Keynes.



The Cyber Security Engineer will play a key role in supporting the FCDO's Cyber Transformation Programme by enhancing threat detection, response, and onboarding of digital services into the Cyber Operations Protective Monitoring capability. The role involves defining, developing, and embedding onboarding standards and processes to ensure operational excellence and consistency across FCDO's digital estate.



This position is central to improving FCDO's cyber resilience, addressing growing threat complexity, and supporting the transition of secure digital services into steady-state operational monitoring.



DV Clearance is an essential requirement for this role. As a minimum you must be willing & eligible to undergo checks. Please note, due to the exceptional requirements of this position (short-term nature of this role and speed at which we require a postholder in situ) preference may be given to candidates who meet all of the essential criteria and hold active DV clearance.



As a Cyber Security Engineer your main responsibilities will be to:

Define minimum requirements for onboarding digital services into Cyber Operations' protective monitoring. Identify, define, and support the generation of standard use cases for digital service onboarding. Develop logging and monitoring standards aligned with operational use cases. Create and maintain onboarding input requirements, forms, and questionnaires. Define and establish Operational Acceptance Criteria (OAC) for digital service onboarding. Develop and document the Digital Service Onboarding Process. Pilot onboarding processes and ensure effective implementation. Handover and embed onboarding processes into ongoing operational service. Support the design and delivery of cyber threat detection and response capabilities. Collaborate with technical, operational, and governance teams to ensure compliance with cyber security standards and policies.

Essential:

Proven experience working in cyber security engineering, operations, or monitoring environments. Strong understanding of SIEM tools, logging standards, and protective monitoring frameworks (e.g., Splunk, Sentinel, ELK). Experience with Azure cloud security and secure onboarding of cloud services. Working knowledge of security controls, incident response, and threat detection methodologies. Ability to write and maintain technical documentation, including procedures, standards, and onboarding templates. Strong understanding of security operations best practices (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001, CIS Controls). Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills. Ability to work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams in a complex environment.

Desirable:

Experience within UK Government or critical national infrastructure (CNI) cyber environments. Familiarity with Government Security Classifications and Protective Monitoring (SOC) capabilities. Knowledge of cloud security architectures (Azure, AWS) and secure onboarding of cloud services. Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CEH, GIAC, CompTIA Security+, or Splunk Certified Engineer. Understanding of Digital Service Management (ITIL) and Service Transition principles.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.



Disability Confident



As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, FCDO guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.



Armed Forces Covenant



FCDO guarantees to interview?veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we?will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.



In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".