High-Performance Computing (HPC) Security Engineer

Job Title: High Performance Computing (HPC) Security Engineer
Employment Type: Contract (Freelance)
Clearance Required: SC-Cleared OR DV-Cleared (preferred)
Duration: 12 months initial → 2-3-year extensions already budgeted
Start Date: ASAP
Location: United Kingdom

Role Summary

This is a "Tier 1" National Security High-Performance Computing (HPC) Contract. Build, optimise and performance-tune exascale-class GPU clusters that run the countries most sensitive workloads (think cryptanalysis, nuclear stockpile modelling, real-time ISR processing, and sovereign AI training). Lock those same systems down to the strictest UK government security standards so they survive and remain auditable in a full zero-trust, high-side environment, doing it all on hardened Linux at extreme scale.

IMPORTANT

This is not a "Linux admin with some CUDA experience" role.

This is not a "Cyber analyst who once logged into a cluster" role.

This role is for UK-Cleared SMEs who have had experiences at the intersection of raw High-Performance Computing (HPC), deep Linux systems mastery, and genuine National-Security-grade Cyber Defence.

Day-to-day you will:

Profile and refactor classified codes to hit 85-95 % of roofline on H100/H200/B100 and MI300X/MI350 GPUs.
Design and enforce security controls that survive NCSC penetration tests at supercomputing scale.
Write or approve the actual SELinux policies, audit rules, and secure boot configurations that get deployed across thousands of nodes.
Lead incident response and forensic analysis if (when) something anomalous appears on a high-side cluster.
Automate secure DevSecOps pipelines that work behind cross-domain guards and data diodes.
Brief 1-4-star officers and SCS/SES civilians on performance gains, risk posture, and future roadmap.
Influence multi-billion-pound future procurements (you will see the requirements documents before most of industry does)
Explain (in plain English) why your latest kernel patch or CUDA kernel optimisation just delivered a 38 % real-world speedup on a workload that directly affects national security outcomes.
Prove that the system is still fully compliant with NCSC CPF and JSP 604.

Essential Requirements

Active UK SC or DV Clearance (DV-Cleared Preferred).
Proven overlap of High-Performance Computing + Cyber Security + Linux.
Ability to work onsite 3-4 days/week in secure facilities.
High-Performance Computing (HPC):
- Large-scale GPU/CPU cluster optimisation (SLURM, PBS Pro, Bright Cluster Manager, NVIDIA Base Command).
- Code tuning with CUDA, HIP/ROCm, SYCL, Kokkos, OpenMP 5.x+ offload, MPI.
- Delivering >80-90 % of theoretical peak on classified workloads
Cyber Security:
- Hardening HPC environments to NCSC CPF, JSP 604, HMG IA standards.
- Zero-trust implementation, STIGs, CIS benchmarks, secure boot, audit at supercomputing scale.
- Vulnerability management and secure patching strategies in air-gapped networks.
Linux Systems Mastery:
- Expert-level RHEL 8/9, AlmaLinux, Rocky or hardened Ubuntu in restricted environments.
- Kernel tuning, filesystems (Lustre, GPFS, BeeGFS), security-enhanced Linux (SELinux mandatory profiles).
- Secure containerisation with Apptainer/Singularity on high-side networks.

Highly Desirable (fast-tracks you to interview)

Active DV Strap or Enhanced Developed Vetting.
Recent/relevant experience at Raytheon, DSTL, GCHQ, NCSC, Porton Down, Boscombe Down or relevant programmes.
Certifications: CISSP, CISM, CCP (any level), RHCE, CompTIA Security+.
Background in cryptanalysis, hydrocodes, SAR processing or large-scale secure AI training.

Next Steps

If interested, please send your most recent CV to my email so that we can speak in more detail.

I will put a 15-minute meeting into our diaries as a reminder. Feel free to suggest a different time/day if the one I have selected does not suit you.

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