Location: Leeds

Permanent 

Job Description 

This is an opportunity to join the Bank of Englands Pentest Team as a Junior Penetration Tester and build your career in offensive security. Youll gain hands-on experience in penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and support for red and purple team activity, working alongside experienced colleagues to help strengthen the Banks security across a wide range of systems and services. You will also have access to training to help with your technical and personal development goals. 

 
Flexible Working Options  

This role is open to flexible working patterns as follows: 

• Flexible start and end time to each day 

• Flexibility to adapt your calendar as needed, for example around the school run, the gym, or appointments 

• A 50% in-office attendance requirement, which can be spread across the month to support different working patterns 

• Working from abroad policy (subject to approval and policy within the team) 

Opportunities in Leeds 

Were excited to be growing our presence in Leeds, a city weve been connected to for nearly 200 years! Our modern, accessible office in the City Centre offers a supportive, flexible working environment. The majority of roles, including this one, are now available in Leeds, giving you the chance to build a meaningful career outside of London while contributing to our mission from a dynamic and growing location. Youll work collaboratively with London-based colleagues in a hybrid model, with regular opportunities to travel into the London office to meet and connect together in person. 

Want to learn more? Discover what makes our Leeds office such a dynamic place to work by visiting our Leeds page for more details. 

A day in the role: 

No two days in this role are exactly the same. You might start the day with a team catch-up, then spend time supporting a penetration test, researching a new technique, or helping to review findings and draft clear reports. Along the way, youll work with experienced teammates who will support your development and help you build confidence across different technologies and testing approaches. The role also offers flexibility in how you organise your day, with flexible start and finish times and hybrid working between the Leeds office and home. 

Role Requirements: 

You may already have some hands-on penetration testing experience, or you may be looking to deepen your skills in areas such as infrastructure, cloud, or web application testing. If you enjoy problem-solving, are keen to keep learning, and are excited by the opportunity to grow in a supportive team, wed be keen to hear from you. 

Minimum Criteria  

We recognise that strong candidates may not meet every requirement in exactly the same way. If you can demonstrate a solid foundation across the areas below and are ready to continue developing your skills, wed still encourage you to apply. 

• Hands-on penetration testing experience, ideally around two years or more 

• A recognised penetration testing certification, or clear progress towards one, such as: 
  OSCP, OSWA, GPEN, GWAPT, GCPN, CREST (CRT or CCT INF/APP), CSTM or CPTS 

• Some practical experience in infrastructure, cloud, or web application pentesting 

• Experience using standard offensive security tools 

• A good understanding of common operating systems 

• A basic understanding of networking concepts, including IP addressing, TCP/IP, and UDP 

• An understanding of enterprise infrastructure technologies 

• An understanding of cloud technologies 

• Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to contribute to technical reporting 

Essential Criteria 

The experience below would help you succeed in the role. If you bring some of these already and are keen to continue developing in others, wed still encourage you to apply. 

• Some experience or growing capability in cloud security pentesting 

• Scripting skills, or a willingness to build them, in Python, PowerShell, or Bash 

• Some exposure to Governance, Risk and Compliance processes, or an interest in learning how they support security work 

• A high level of integrity, organisation, self-motivation, and a genuine commitment to learning and continuous improvement 

How this role fits into the wider Bank 

As part of the Cyber Division, youll join a penetration testing team where you can build your skills through hands-on work identifying vulnerabilities, assessing risk, and supporting remediation across the Banks technology and infrastructure. 

Working closely with colleagues across Technology and the wider organisation, youll learn from experienced teammates while helping to protect the critical systems and information the Bank depends on. This gives you the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution from the start. 

• Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year.  The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.   
• 26 days annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits. 
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance.  As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited.  The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful.  Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.