{"id":3354303,"url":"https://alion.io/job/ai-security-institute-offensive-security-engineer","title":"Offensive Security Engineer","company":{"id":40202,"name":"AI Security Institute","domain":"aisi.gov.uk","url":"https://alion.io/company/ai-security-institute","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":null},"role":"Security","role_family":"Security","seniority":null,"employment_type":null,"work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"posting_text","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["London, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":64000,"max_usd":145000,"period":"year","method":"role_country_seniority_unknown","sample_n":159},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AI Agents","optional":false},{"name":"AWS","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Red Teaming","optional":false},{"name":"Rust","optional":false},{"name":"Kubernetes","optional":true},{"name":"Linux","optional":true},{"name":"LLM","optional":true},{"name":"Proxmox VE","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-27T15:58:25Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-27","last_verified_at":"2026-11-01T23:43:35Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"About the AI Security Institute\nThe AI Security Institute is the world's largest and best-funded team dedicated to understanding advanced AI risks and translating that knowledge into action. We’re in the heart of the UK government with direct lines to No. 10 (the Prime Minister's office), and we work with frontier developers and governments globally.\nWe’re here because governments are critical for advanced AI going well, and UK AISI is uniquely positioned to mobilise them. With our resources, unique agility and international influence, this is the best place to shape both AI development and government action.\nThe deadline for applying to this role is Sunday 15th November 2026, end of day, anywhere on Earth.\nAbout the team\nSecurity Engineering at the AI Security Institute (AISI) protects our people, partners, models, data and the research infrastructure that AISI's work depends on. We build secure-by-design platforms, automated governance and intelligence-led detection. We work closely with research units and technology teams so researchers can get on with their work. \nWe're now building an offensive security team and have three roles available.\nAbout the role\nWe're looking for an experienced offensive security engineer who builds and breaks. You should be able to find and exploit vulnerabilities across cloud, infrastructure and application layers, and want to apply that work to containing and evaluating frontier AI models. \nOffensive security testing is one of the key controls behind AISI's model evaluations. You'll run engagements against our evaluation and research infrastructure. That includes the sandboxes, Inspect (our open-source evaluation framework), and the supporting cloud, identity and platform services. Alongside testing, you'll build and own agent-assisted red-teaming harnesses that test this infrastructure continuously. \nYou'll work directly with the engineers and with research teams on cyber ranges and evaluation tasks, and there's scope to publish and present your work externally. \nIf you want to attack the systems frontier AI is tested in, use AI agents for offensive work on real targets, and see your findings change how those systems are built, we'd like to hear from you. \nWhat you'll be doing:\nAttacking evaluation sandboxes. Testing the environments that contain frontier models during evaluations, including container and VM escape, egress controls, and attacking on the evaluation host from inside the sandbox.\nFinding vulnerabilities in Inspect. Finding vulnerabilities in our open-source evaluation framework and the infrastructure around it, and coordinating fixes and disclosure with maintainers and downstream users.\nBuilding and running agent-assisted harnesses. Building, operating and maintaining agent-assisted red-teaming harnesses end to end. Running them, along with manual testing, against every new sandbox and evaluation infrastructure release before evaluations depend on it.\nTriaging and proving findings. Separating real issues from noise in what the agents find and confirming the real ones with working exploits.\nComparing agents and humans. Running agent and human red-teaming against the same targets, and feeding what you learn back into the tooling.\nRunning wider engagements. Planning and running scoped engagements against our cloud, identity, model-access paths and research platform, including joint exercises with our detection team.\nWorking with researchers. Helping to build and harden cyber ranges, reviewing evaluation tasks for realism and scoring, and providing human baselines.\nManaging external testing. Scoping and reviewing external penetration tests.\nWorking within governance. Keeping model-assisted offensive work within AISI's internal safety governance and approval processes.\nSharing your work. Where appropriate, publishing research, writing blog posts and giving talks on sandbox security and AI-assisted offensive work.\nKey competencies:\nFinding and exploiting vulnerabilities in complex, fast-changing systems\nBuilding tools that make offensive work repeatable\nJudging which findings are real and worth fixing, including findings from AI agents\nOperating safely and accountably under rules of engagement \nWho we're looking for\n Essential experience:\nYou may be a good fit if you have some of the following skills, experience and attitudes: \nSubstantial hands-on offensive security experience in red teaming, penetration testing, vulnerability research or exploit development, with findings you can talk through in depth\nDepth in at least two of:cloud and infrastructure (AWS preferred)\ncontainer, VM or sandbox escape\napplication security\nvulnerability research and exploit development\n\nStrong Python and/or another language such as Go, Rust or C, and a track record of writing tools that other people use and that you maintain\nExperience testing live systems safely\nClear written and verbal communication, including findings that engineers can act on, and the ability to get issues fixed in teams you don't manage\nA serious interest in where frontier AI is heading, and motivation to help make it safe \nDesirable experience:\nWe may also consider experience with: \nBuilding or using LLM agents, for security work\nLinux internals, kernel or hypervisor security, and isolation technologies such as Kubernetes, gVisor, Firecracker or Proxmox\nCTF challenge design, cyber range building or offensive training content\nPublished CVEs, research, conference talks or open-source security tools\nCoordinated vulnerability disclosure\nML evaluation frameworks and AI/ML platforms\nMentoring other engineers and raising the technical level of a team \nWe encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every point above. We care more about what you've broken, and how, than about certifications or job titles. \nSelection process\nThe interview process may varyfromcandidate to candidate,however, you should expect a typical process to include some technical proficiencytests, discussions with a cross-section of our team at AISI (including non-technical staff)and conversations with your team lead. The process will culminate in a conversation with members of the senior leadership team here at AISI. \nCandidates should expect to go throughsome or all ofthe following stages once an application has been submitted:\nInitial assessment\nInitial screening call\nTechnical assessment \nResearch interview\nBehavioural interview\nFinal interview with members of the senior leadership team\nSecurity Clearance\nAppointment is conditional on successfully completing UK Government SC clearance. Prior clearance is not required - we will sponsor and support you. You should normally have been resident in the UK for the past 5 years. More detail on clearance eligibility can be found on the UK Government website: National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK.\n\nWhat We Offer \nImpact you couldn't have anywhere else \nIncredibly talented, mission-driven and supportive colleagues. \nDirect influence on how frontier AI is governed and deployed globally. \nWork with the Prime Minister’s AI Advisor and leading AI companies. \nOpportunity to shape the first & best-resourced public-interest research team focused on AI security. \nResources & access \nPre-release access to multiple frontier models and ample compute. \nExtensive operational support so you can focus on research and ship quickly. \nWork with experts across national security, policy, AI research and adjacent sciences. \nGrowth & autonomy \nIf you’re talented and driven, you’ll own important problems early. \n5 days off and annual stipends for learning and development, and funding for conferences and external collaborations. \nFreedom to pursue research bets without product pressure. \nOpportunities to publish and collaborate externally. \nLife & family* \nModern central London office, or where applicable, option to work in similar government offices in Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Salford or Bristol. \nHybrid working, flexibility for occasional remote work abroad and stipends for work-from-home equipment. \nAt least 25 days’ annual leave, 8 public holidays, extra team-wide breaks and 3 days off for volunteering. \nGenerous paid parental leave (36 weeks of UK statutory leave shared between parents + 3 extra paid weeks + option for additional unpaid time). \nOn top of your salary, we contribute 28.97% of your base salary to your pension. \nDiscounts and benefits for cycling to work, donations and retail/gyms. \n\n*These benefits apply to direct employees. Benefits may differ for individuals joining through other employment arrangements such as secondments. \nSalary\nAnnual salary is benchmarked to role scope and relevant experience. Most offers land between £65,000 and £145,000 made up of a base salary plus a technical allowance (take-home salary = base + technical allowance). An additional 28.97% employer pension contribution is paid on the base salary. \nThis role sits outside of the DDaT pay framework given the scope of this role requires in depth technical expertise in frontier AI safety, robustness and advanced AI architectures. \nThe full range of salaries are available below: \n Level 3: £65,000-£75,000 (Base £40,850 + Technical Allowance £24,150-£34,150)\n Level 4: £85,000-£95,000 (Base £48,540 + Technical Allowance £36,460-£46,460)\n Level 5: £105,000-£115,000 (Base £63,165 + Technical Allowance £41,835-£51,835)\n Level 6: £125,000-£135,000 (Base £76,475 + Technical Allowance £48,525-£58,525)\n Level 7: £145,000 (Base £76,475 + Technical Allowance £68,525)\nAdditional Information\nUse of AI in Applications\nArtificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.\nUse of AI tools in recruitment \nWe may use AI tools to help our hiring team review applications, for example by summarising application materials and helping us prioritise them against the published criteria. We do not use AI tools to find information about you from other sources, including online. People make every decision. We do not make solely automated decisions about candidates. Find out more, including your rights, in our recruitment privacy notice: https://www.aisi.gov.uk/careers/privacy-policy.\nInternal Fraud Database \nThe Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to DLUHC as a participating government organisations. DLUHC then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented. For more information please see - Internal Fraud Register.\nSecurity\nSuccessful candidates must undergo a criminal record check and get baseline personnel security standard (BPSS) clearance before they can be appointed. Additionally, there is a strong preference for eligibility for counter-terrorist check (CTC) clearance. 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