31 Oct 2025
31 Oct 2025
Birmingham, United Kingdom
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UK Telecoms Lab
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Not Specified
Permanent

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Vulnerability Researcher

About the Role
What You’ll Be Doing

As a Vulnerability Researcher in Telecommunications, you’ll be at the forefront of security innovation, exploring the unknown and uncovering weaknesses in complex systems. This is your opportunity to shape the future of telecom security through deep technical research.
- Deep Dive into Telecom Systems - You’ll have the freedom and time to investigate our carrier-grade telecom infrastructure, uncovering vulnerabilities that others might miss. Your work will be thorough, precise, and impactful.
- Work Within Flexible Frameworks - Rather than rigid tasks, you’ll operate within broad themes and scopes—giving you the autonomy to shift focus as new insights emerge and opportunities arise.
- Prototype Your Own Tools - You’ll build and experiment with custom tooling—like novel fuzzers or software radio interfaces—often using obscure frameworks and languages to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
- Learn Continuously - You’ll dissect systems to understand how they fail and what it takes to secure them. Every project is a chance to grow your expertise and contribute to long-term security advancements.
Successful Applicants must be able to commute to the UKTL offices in Birmingham at least twice a week

We strive to offer a great work life balance - if you are looking for full time, part time or flexible options, we will try to make this work where business possible. This will be dependent on the kind of role you do and part of the business you work in.
About You
About You

You’re curious, driven, and passionate about uncovering how things work—and how they break. You thrive in complex technical environments and enjoy pushing boundaries to discover vulnerabilities others overlook.

You comprehend what protocols are doing beneath the surface and can break down how systems communicate.

You apply structured research methodologies to explore novel technologies and uncover hidden risks.

You bring applied knowledge of cryptographic algorithms—encryption, authentication, signatures—and know how they can be      misused.

You’re comfortable with data structures, distributed systems, and modern infrastructure like virtualisation and containerisation.

You understand network protocols and how software works—from low-level assembly to high-level interpreted languages.

You’re familiar with memory corruption bugs and know how attackers bypass protections like ASLR, stack canaries, and heap      guards.

You know your way around Linux internals and can pick up any programming language when given the right resources.

You’ve used ethical exploitation tools and   techniques across both low-level software and web platforms.

You’ve got reverse engineering experience and are confident using tools like IDA Pro, Ghidra, or even just source code analysis      in vim.
Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as practical.

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.
About Us
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is a world-leading centre of excellence that provides cutting-edge measurement science, engineering and technology to underpin prosperity and quality of life in the UK. Find out more about what it is like working here - The measure of us - Overview

NPL and DSIT have strong commitments to diversity and equality of opportunity, and welcome applications from candidates irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or age, providing they meet the required criteria. Applications from women, disabled and black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates in particular are encouraged. All disabled candidates (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) who satisfy the minimum criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme.

At NPL, we believe our success is a result of the diversity and talent of our people. We strive to nurture and respect individuals to ensure everyone feels valued by treating everyone on the basis of their own individual merits and abilities regardless of their own or perceived identity, as part of our commitment to diversity & inclusion, we ensure we’re creating an environment where all our colleagues feel supported and welcome. More about this on our Diversity & Inclusion page.

We offer a wealth of above industry standard benefits, such as enhanced pension scheme, flexible working, and more that can be found here rewards, benefits and recognition. Our values are at the heart of what we do, and they shape the way we interact, develop our people and celebrate success. To ensure everyone has an equal chance, we’re always willing to make reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss, please contact us.