Senior Data Engineer Ref. 3730

Central London with some occasional wider UK travel.

£63,823, with an opportunity to qualify for additional allowances and a skills-related payment under the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability (GDDPC) Framework - formerly known as DDaT.

We support full time, part-time, compressed, job share and other flexible working patterns. Due to the nature of our work this is an office-based role, therefore opportunities for remote working and/or working from home are not possible.

We're MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Our mission is to protect the security and economic wellbeing of the UK from overseas threats such as regional instability, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. Working across the globe and in close partnership with MI5 and GCHQ, we help the Government to counter these threats through the provision of secret intelligence. A role in MI6 will see you providing vital support to this work, within a supportive and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

Enhancing how we operate today will better prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow. That's why we're creating dedicated teams focused on bringing Artificial Intelligence (AI) into some of our most mission critical areas. As a Senior Data Engineer, you'll join a mission-focused team to tackle datasets that are often complex and imperfect.

Day to day, you'll build, refine, and maintain the data pipelines that enable our teams to make fast, informed decisions. You'll be hands on with the technical delivery - onboarding sensitive data and ensuring it is handled within strict legal and ethical boundaries. You'll work alongside Software Engineers and Applied AI Scientists to operationalise models and integrate APIs, turning technical possibilities into reliable, real world tools.

While your main focus will be delivering high quality technical work, you'll also play a key part in the wider engineering community. You'll share knowledge, guide peers, and help us evolve our engineering best practices. You'll have the space to experiment with new tools, ensuring our technical capabilities stay cutting edge.

You're a curious, adaptable, and motivated person who enjoys solving problems in unstructured environments where no two challenges look the same. You're comfortable working independently, building data pipelines and developing robust data models, with strong core technical skills in areas like data modelling or Python based ecosystems rather than low code tools. You bring a creative, inquisitive mindset and a habit of learning by doing - prototyping, experimenting, and continuously building on your understanding.

You feel confident engaging with both technical and non technical audiences, translating complex ideas into clear actionable insights, and you enjoy shaping solutions collaboratively.

At this level, you'll bring deep technical expertise and experience with modern AI and LLM enabled workflows, including testing, evaluation, and ethical considerations.

We take professional development seriously, and you'll be joining a community that invests in helping people grow their skills. You'll have access to a broad mix of learning opportunities, including in house and online training, technical deep dives and development pathways shaped around your interests and the needs of the organisation. This includes support to strengthen your capability across modern AI techniques and wider security practices, with a variety of courses on offer.

We use the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (formerly known as DDaT) as a compass to provide guidance and tools to support you. You'll also have opportunities to work with external professional bodies and training providers who offer routes to specialist accreditation, advanced AI training or broader professional recognition. Whether you choose to deepen your expertise in a specific technical area or broaden your capability across new domains, you'll have the guidance and support you need to progress.

Alongside formal training, you'll benefit from mentoring, peer support and a collaborative community that shares knowledge openly. You'll have opportunities to rotate across different teams, explore emerging technologies, and contribute to shaping how MI6 evolves its AI and data science capability.

You'll receive a starting salary of £63,823 plus other benefits including:

• 25 days annual leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• Interest free season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on site coffee bars (at some locations)
• Paid parental and adoption leave

At MI6 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neuro divergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio economic backgrounds.