Senior Security Innovation Engineer – Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Overview

In this role you will design, build and operate advanced security capabilities for Tesco’s retail ecosystem, leveraging AI, automation and modern development practices to strengthen cyber defence. You will lead technical direction and influence cross-functional security and tech teams with a customer-first focus. The position centers on accelerating Cyber Threat Intelligence and Detection Engineering, turning concepts into secure, production-ready services. You will partner with Security Automation Engineering to align on a shared roadmap and ensure delivery of impactful security outcomes.

Pay / Benefits

• up to 20% annual bonus
• 25 days holiday + personal day + bank holidays
• private medical insurance
• maternity/adoption leave 26 weeks + 13 weeks statutory pay, paternity leave 6 weeks
• 24/7 virtual GP
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Responsibilities

• Architect and deliver high-impact security capabilities from concept to production with measurable outcomes
• Embed AI-augmented security engineering to accelerate and improve security results while ensuring safety and operability
• Lead modern engineering practices for cyber defence emphasizing automation, experimentation, maintainability, and scale
• Champion secure engineering standards including test-driven development, automated testing, and disciplined release patterns
• Share knowledge to scale innovation beyond the team and build broader understanding
• Validate effectiveness and resilience through evaluation strategies and functional testing to demonstrate improvements
• Influence and enable change across teams by communicating trade-offs and fostering inclusive ways of working

Key requirements

• Demonstrable expertise in applied AI for cyber defence with ability to identify high-value use cases and deliver safe, accountable outcomes
• Experience designing and reviewing AI-enabled systems (data flows, model/tool selection, orchestration, controls) without compromising security
• Strong understanding of technical security architecture and threat-driven design considerations
• Proven programming capability with production-grade tools or services emphasizing maintainability and secure engineering hygiene
• Knowledge of secure and test-driven engineering, automated testing, and disciplined change control
• Ability to evaluate security solutions with clear requirements and validate against operational conditions
• Understanding of core cyber defence technology including telemetry, detection/response and automation ecosystems
• Strong data analytics skills to measure impact and prioritize work
• Strategic thinking and problem-solving in fast-moving environments
• Strong communication and influencing skills to align stakeholders
• Willingness to lead through change and foster inclusive, collaborative teams
• Curiosity and a learning mindset to translate new technologies into scalable improvements
• Commitment to inclusion and belonging

• communication and influencing
• strategic thinking
• curiosity
• applied AI for cyber defence
• AI architecture & implementation
• technical security architecture

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