Defence tech jobs in the United Kingdom: software, data and engineering roles

717 open technical roles at 49 defence and security companies in the United Kingdom: Software engineering (130), Embedded and hardware (159), Data and AI (71), Cloud, networks and IT (86), Cyber security (41), Product and engineering leadership (103), Graduates and early careers (110). 292 of them are open to candidates of any nationality; the rest ask for citizenship or a government security check. 102 mention relocation support.

Rebuilt 25 Oct 2026
open technical roles
717
companies
49
open to any nationality
41%
median stated pay
$71k

Companies hiring

CompanyOpen rolesAny nationalityRelocation
Leonardo1742%1
Thales Group7086%8
MBDA UK5696%9
RTX4183%
Babcock International400%5
BAE Systems2814%1
Palantir Technologies2692%
QinetiQ250%1
Northrop Grumman240%24
Boeing1650%16
Leidos1457%
General Dynamics130%1
Shield AI1392%
Anduril Industries1225%6
Airbus1283%

Newest roles

Revealtech

revealtech.ai
revealtech.ai • HQ: Bozeman, United States • Computer Vision • Defense AI • C4ISR • 51-200 employees • Hiring 5, 2 new
HQ: Bozeman, United States • Computer Vision • Defense AI • C4ISR • 51-200 employees • Hiring 5, 2 new
Reveal Technology, a veteran-founded U.S. defense technology company, delivers AI-powered 3D modeling, computer vision, and biometric solutions for advanced situational awareness and decision dominance.
No named decision-maker yet.
No careers mailbox known
Verified live · 2 hours ago 3 days ago Hiring now · 86%

Forward Deployed Engineer - UK

≈ $86k – $178k per year (Estimated) • Senior • 5+ years exp • United Kingdom • Remote (United Kingdom) • Full-Time • TS/SCI • Senior
C++
Python
DevOps
gRPC
Rest API
Apply

MBDA UK

mbdacareers.co.uk
mbdacareers.co.uk • HQ: Stevenage, United Kingdom • Air Defense • Defense Manufacturing • Missiles • 1001-5000 employees • Est. 2001 • Trust B • Hiring 213, 25 new
HQ: Stevenage, United Kingdom • Air Defense • Defense Manufacturing • Missiles • 1001-5000 employees • Est. 2001 • Trust B • Hiring 213, 25 new
MBDA UK is the British arm of the European missile systems group MBDA, headquartered in Stevenage, England, designing, developing and manufacturing missiles and missile systems for all branches of the UK armed forces and allied nations. MBDA was formed in 2001 from the merger of European missile businesses and is owned by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo; the UK company has primary sites in Stevenage, Bristol and Bolton, corporate offices in London and smaller sites such as Henlow. It recruits systems, software, test and manufacturing engineers, project managers, procurement and security staff, and runs graduate, apprenticeship and placement programmes.
No named decision-maker yet.
No careers mailbox known
Visa sponsor 3 days ago Likely open · 57%

Software Modelling Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship 2026

≈ $35k – $54k per year (Estimated) • Intern • In office (Stevenage, United Kingdom) • Internship • Intern • English
Fortran
MATLAB
C++
Kotlin
Kotlin
StateFlow
MATLAB
Simulink
Management
Agile
Apply
Visa sponsor 3 days ago Likely open · 57%

Software Engineering Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship 2027

≈ $31k – $47k per year (Estimated) • Intern • In office (Bristol, United Kingdom) • Internship • Intern • English
C++
Java
DevOps
Windows
Apply
gd.com • HQ: Reston, United States • Aircraft Manufacturing • Armored Vehicles • Naval Systems • C4ISR • 5000+ employees • Est. 1899 • NYSE: GD • Hiring 97, 13 new
HQ: Reston, United States • Aircraft Manufacturing • Armored Vehicles • Naval Systems • C4ISR • 5000+ employees • Est. 1899 • NYSE: GD • Hiring 97, 13 new
General Dynamics is an American defence and aerospace group whose predecessor built submarines from 1899, and it is unusual among primes for owning a large commercial business alongside its military ones. Its four segments are Marine Systems, which builds Virginia and Columbia class submarines and Navy destroyers, Combat Systems, which makes the Abrams tank and armoured vehicles, Aerospace, which builds Gulfstream business jets, and Technologies, its government IT and mission services arm. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, its submarine programmes carry a backlog measured in decades.
No named decision-maker yet.
No careers mailbox known
Verified live · 1 hour ago Visa sponsor 3 days ago Hiring now · 90%

Principal FPGA Engineer (VHDL)

$87k – $114k per year • Lead • Hybrid (Hastings, United Kingdom) • Relocation • Full-Time • Citizenship or vetting required • Senior
VHDL
Python
DevOps
Git
Chips/EDA
Xilinx Vivado
Siemens QuestaSim
SpaceTech
DO-254
SysML
MBSE
Apply
Verified live · 1 hour ago Visa sponsor 6 days ago Hiring now · 90%

FPGA Design Engineer

$48k – $60k per year • Hybrid (Hastings, United Kingdom) • Full-Time • Citizenship or vetting required • Senior
Verilog
VHDL
Defense
TEMPEST
Apply

UFORCE

uforce.com
uforce.com • London • Penetration Testing • Military • Cybersecurity • 51-200 employees • Hiring 26, 3 new
London • Penetration Testing • Military • Cybersecurity • 51-200 employees • Hiring 26, 3 new
Battle-tested UAVs, USVs and UGVs from UFORCE. 200,000+ combat missions, NATO red team validated, ready to deploy across air, land and sea.
No named decision-maker yet.
Careers mailbox is known
Verified live · 5 hours ago 3 days ago Hiring now · 90%

Senior/Staff SRE

≈ $99k – $206k per year (Estimated) • Staff+ • Hybrid (London, United Kingdom) • Full-Time • Staff
Platform Engineering
Terraform
Kubernetes
Cybersecurity
LDAP
Active Directory
Apply
Verified live · 5 hours ago 17 days ago Hiring now · 86%

Production Engineering Team Lead - Maritime

≈ $77k – $170k per year (Estimated) • Lead • Hybrid (United Kingdom) • Full-Time • Staff
Apply

Boeing

boeing.com
boeing.com • HQ: Arlington, United States • Aerospace Manufacturing • Combat Aircraft • Aircraft Manufacturing • 1001-5000 employees • Est. 1916 • Trust A • Hiring 683, 183 new
HQ: Arlington, United States • Aerospace Manufacturing • Combat Aircraft • Aircraft Manufacturing • 1001-5000 employees • Est. 1916 • Trust A • Hiring 683, 183 new
Boeing is a global aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor specializing in commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, and space systems. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States, the company operates across three main business divisions: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services. Through aircraft engineering, defense hardware production, and worldwide fleet support, the enterprise serves commercial airlines, armed forces, and government partners across more than 150 countries.
No named decision-maker yet.
No careers mailbox known
4 days ago Hiring now · 99%

Software Engineer

≈ $76k – $147k per year (Estimated) • Senior • 5+ years exp • Hybrid (Bristol, United Kingdom) • Relocation • Bachelor's Degree • Full-Time • Shift work • Citizenship or vetting required • Senior
Lua
C++
DevOps
Bitbucket
GitLab
Git
CI/CD
Management
Agile
SpaceTech
DO-178C
Apply
4 days ago Hiring now · 99%

Software Systems Engineer

≈ $77k – $149k per year (Estimated) • Senior • 5+ years exp • Hybrid (Lossiemouth, United Kingdom) • Relocation • Full-Time • Secret • Shift work • Senior
C#
C++
C#
.NET
DevOps
Git
CI/CD
Management
Agile
Apply

Lockheed Martin

lockheedmartin.com
lockheedmartin.com • HQ: Bethesda, United States • Military Satellites • Aerospace Manufacturing • Missiles • Combat Aircraft • Defense Manufacturing • 5000+ employees • Est. 1995 • NYSE: LMT • Trust A • Hiring 1874, 161 new
HQ: Bethesda, United States • Military Satellites • Aerospace Manufacturing • Missiles • Combat Aircraft • Defense Manufacturing • 5000+ employees • Est. 1995 • NYSE: LMT • Trust A • Hiring 1874, 161 new
Lockheed Martin is the largest defence contractor in the world, formed in 1995 by merging Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Its single most important programme is the F-35 Lightning II, the most expensive weapons system ever built, alongside the F-16, the C-130 transport and classified work at the Skunk Works advanced development unit. The company also dominates missile defence with THAAD and PAC-3 interceptors, supplies HIMARS and Javelin systems, owns the helicopter maker Sikorsky, and builds the Orion crew capsule and military satellites through its space division.
Evan Scott · Chief Financial Officer · decision-maker
James Taiclet · Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer · decision-maker
Marillyn Hewson · former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
No careers mailbox known
Verified live · 3 hours ago Visa sponsor 4 days ago Hiring now · 90%

Hardware Engineer - E2

$71k – $131k per year • Hybrid (Liverpool, United States) • Bachelor's Degree
Altium Designer
Cadence Allegro
Mentor PADS
Apply
Verified live · 3 hours ago Visa sponsor 26 days ago Likely open · 64%

Electrical Engineer Sr - E3

$85k – $158k per year • Senior • 5+ years exp • In office (Liverpool, United States) • Bachelor's Degree • Secret • Citizenship or vetting required • Senior
AutoCAD
Apply

Skills these roles ask for

Python 152C++ 134Agile 94Linux 85CI/CD 65Machine Learning 47SQL 44MATLAB 42Docker 42Verification & Validation 42Windows 41Kubernetes 41AWS 40Java 36JavaScript 35Scrum 34

Where the roles are

London 113Bristol 92Edinburgh 70Stevenage 39Luton 38Southampton 29Yeovil 26Gloucester 26Basildon 25Farnborough 23

Defence tech roles that fit you

Tell us your field once: new roles that fit it arrive in your matches every day.

Questions

Can a foreigner apply for these roles?

292 of the 717 roles here state no citizenship or security-check demand. A role that does - a citizenship, a national security vetting, a US clearance - says so in its advert, and the card marks it.

Which companies hire most?

Leonardo (174), Thales Group (70), MBDA UK (56), RTX (41), Babcock International (40).

Which employers count as defence companies?

Companies whose main business is defence and security - prime contractors, defence electronics, naval, land and air systems, defence software and the defence tech startups - and the defence divisions of diversified groups. Companies of Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, Iran and North Korea and companies under sanctions are left out.

How fresh is this?

Every role is re-checked on the employer's own careers board at least every 48 hours, and the page is rebuilt every night.

Source: 717 live postings on employers' careers boardsUpdated 25 Oct 2026MethodologyJSONCC BY-SA 4.0