Data, Cloud & Software Engineers (DV / eDV Cleared)

Location: Opportunities across all compass points, including South West, North West and London hubs
Hybrid: Secure-site working patterns vary by programme
Salary: £60,000 – £120,000+ depending on experience and SFIA grading
Clearance: Active DV / eDV clearance preferred

The Opportunity

If you’re operating in the National Security space and quietly wondering what else is out there, this is a good place to start.

We work across a curated group of engineering-led SMEs, specialist consultancies and secure-side technology teams delivering cloud, data, software and AI capability across the UK’s National Security ecosystem.

The common thread across the organisations we represent is not size or brand name. It’s the quality of the engineering environment.

Modern stacks. Stronger cultures. Better progression. More ownership. Less red tape than many traditional prime environments.

A number of the teams we support are scaling secure data and cloud capability right now, with work spanning AWS, DevSecOps, AI-ready data platforms, geospatial data, analytics, secure software and modernisation of complex legacy estates.

Some are long-standing specialists. Some are fast-growing SMEs. Some sit closer to R&D. Others are deeply embedded delivery partners.

The point of this advert is not to push you towards one role. It’s to give cleared engineers a discreet route into the parts of the market that are often never properly advertised.

The Roles

We are interested in speaking with engineers across:

• Data Engineering
• Platform and DevOps Engineering
• Cloud Engineering
• Software Engineering
• Data Architecture
• Solution Architecture

Across the market, typical environments include:

• AWS cloud services and cloud-native architecture
• Kubernetes, Docker and secure container platforms
• Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, CloudFormation and automation tooling
• CI/CD, DevSecOps and secure software delivery practices
• Python, Java and modern backend engineering
• Distributed data platforms, ETL pipelines and streaming architectures
• Analytics, AI-ready data services and operational data platforms
• Geospatial and secure data environments

The exact stack will vary by client and programme.

What matters most is that you have strong engineering fundamentals, can work well in secure environments and want to understand where your experience could be valued.

Who This Is For

This is aimed at engineers who are already operating in Defence, Government or National Security environments and want a better view of the market.

You might be:

• Actively looking for a move
• Passively exploring options
• Benchmarking your current salary or progression
• Frustrated by siloed roles or slow-moving delivery structures
• Curious about smaller, more engineering-led employers
• Interested in secure data, cloud, AI, geospatial or software modernisation

You do not need to be actively applying to have a conversation.

For many candidates, the most useful starting point is simply understanding which organisations are hiring, what cultures are genuinely strong and which opportunities are actually worth your time.

Security Requirements

Due to the nature of the environments we support, active DV / eDV clearance is preferred. Candidates should typically be sole UK nationals and comfortable operating within secure National Security environments.

As an industry leading, nationwide Marketing, Digital, Analytics, IT and Design recruitment agency, we are continually receiving new assignments to work on, so keep a close eye on our website, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages for a full list of current permanent and interim opportunities as well as marketplace news and fun stuff.
Forward Role is operating as an employment agency.