Vacancy Reference Number
21333
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Number of Vacancies
1
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(B) OCU
MO3 Covert Policing
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Location
Southwark
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Band
Band M
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Part/Full Time
Full Time
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Hours per Week
36 hours per week
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Type of Contract
Permanent
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Job Advert
Job Title: Higher Research Technologist
Salary: The starting salary is £63,409, which includes allowances totalling £3,009.
The salary is broken down as £60,400 basic salary, which will increase annually until you reach the top of the scale £65,886. Plus, a location allowance of £2,009 and a non-pensionable allowance of £1,000.
Location: Southwark
Seeing is believing - and that’s the only way you’ll really get to know about our sophisticated technologies and how we’re using them to fight crime in the capital. We don’t say much, for obvious reasons, but suffice to say that we’re leading advancements in emerging technologies to deliver bespoke electronic, mechanical and IT solutions in specialist areas to make London safer.
This is an outstanding opportunity for you to work in an exciting engineering and science environment offering excellent employee benefits and to work with some of the UK’s top academics to deliver operational technology solutions.
The Technology, Research and Innovation (TRI) team strives to keep the Met at the cutting-edge of tech. Its work is highly innovative; no two projects are ever the same. Some initiatives involve undertaking research with academia or exploring new off-the-shelf technologies. Others involve modifying commercially available products or creating a whole new solution from scratch.
Delivery of these solutions involves the complete lifecycle from developing requirements with customers, producing design solutions and turning these designs into a fully functional product or system for operational use.
As a Higher Research Technologist, you’ll be taking the very best of emerging technologies within UK academia and helping to turn these into new operational capabilities. This is a unique and exciting role for you to work at the forefront of police technology.
What you will be doing
Fundamental to this role is the ability to find solutions to complex operational problems in an innovative way. You will draw upon a wide range of science and engineering related disciplines to address the needs of frontline officers and staff. You will take their operational requirements, identify academic & industry partners to collaborate with and be the technical lead responsible for the development and delivery of research projects.
As a Higher Research Technologist, you will be working with a wide range of stakeholders and will need to assess and adapt to each type of audience. You will be someone who can readily engage and win support of others. You will be working with some of the UK’s prominent academics & industry partners, so you will need to be able to communicate at their technical level.
Close partnership working with our operational teams means you will need to maintain momentum when delivering research projects. This enables us to deliver elements of the operational solution quickly to maximise beneficial outcomes for policing and the public.
A typical week for a Higher Research Technologist may include any of the following:
Identifying potential technology research opportunities suitable for policing and TRI
Identifying relevant technology specialisms within UK academia & industry and creating & maintaining professional and positive working relationships with academics & industrial partners
Managing and working with academics, research institutes, external innovators, TRI staff & other colleagues in the MPS and sometimes nationally to deliver technology research projects for TRI
Being responsible for the entire lifecycle of research projects, including technically leading and project management
Organising handover of prototypes for operational design and delivery
Supporting TRI staff and projects in technical areas of the role holder’s expertise and line management
Developing test strategies
Conducting the appropriate level of rigorous testing necessary for both validating external testing results and determining the viability of transitioning research outputs at TRL 4-5 into operational solutions at TRL 6-7
Performing scientific comparative studies on potential technology solutions at TRL 6-8
Conducting in-house research for smaller research projects at TRL 4-5
Assessing the feasibility of research proposals including technical and non‐technical factors, e.g. human factors which may impact upon the success of a research project
Managing stakeholders, gathering customer requirements and documenting both technical and non-technical factors
Gathering, presenting and articulating information to a diverse audience both internally and externally
Co-ordinating and managing the procurement process for technology research projects ensuring the MPS is getting value for money from a technical and delivery perspective
Attending trade shows, conferences & government events relating to policing or relevant technology themes
Employee Benefits:
The starting salary is £63,409, which includes allowances totalling £3,009.
The salary is broken down as £60,400 basic salary, which will increase annually until you reach the top of the scale at £65,886. In addition to the basic salary, you will receive a location allowance of £2,009 and a non-pensionable allowance of £1,000.
28 days holiday, rising to 33 at 5 years, plus bank holidays.
Contributory Civil Service Pension.
Long service rewards, paid overtime available and eligible for Blue Light Card.
Sponsored membership to a professional body
Vetting
This post requires access to the most sensitive intelligence material on a daily basis. Applicants must hold or be prepared to undergo National Security Vetting (NSV) Security Check (enhanced) (SC(e)) level before taking up the post
How to apply
To begin your career at the Met, please click the "apply button “. The application process requires a comprehensive CV, a Personal Statement, and an online application form. In your Personal Statement (2 sides of A4 max.), you should explain your interest in the position and illustrate how your skills and experiences meet what we asking for and how this makes you a suitable candidate. Please note that you should not submit two copies of your CV, and ensure that your documents are saved in either PDF or Word format, clearly labelled as CV and/or Personal Statement.
Completed applications must be submitted by 23:55 on 24/06/2026.
Once received, your application will be reviewed against eligibility criteria, following this, your application will be reviewed by the hiring manager.
Following application review, successful candidates will be invited to interview.
www.metpolicecareers.co.uk
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Essential For The Role
Essential For The Role, e.g. qualifications, licenses, languages, training
What you will bring along:
Honours Degree in an engineering or scientific related discipline with extensive industry/academic experience OR a post graduate qualification (MSc or PhD) in an engineering or scientific related discipline with relevant industry/academic experience
Good all-round technical acumen and with a proven ability to test, challenge and solve technical problems when conducting technology research
Proven experience in designing and undertaking rigorous, engineering and scientific evaluations and delivery of technology solutions
Ability to develop robust test strategies necessary for carrying out the appropriate level of testing to provide evidence for technology outputs and operational suitability
Proven ability to manage projects and where necessary identify where projects will not deliver the desired outcomes
Excellent written and oral and communication skills to gather, present and articulate information to a diverse audience both internally and externally
We’d like you to have any three of the following:
Working with/in academia to deliver technology research projects
Effective experience of assessing the feasibility of research proposals including technical and non-technical factors, e.g. human, safety, legal or ethical factors
Experience of successfully managing the entire lifecycle of research projects
Experience of line or technically managing staff to deliver technology solutions
Experience of effectively managing stakeholders and gathering customer requirements and documenting both technical and non-technical factors
We’d like you to have any of the following:
We use a wide range of technologies across our projects, so if you have any of the skills or experiences below, then do highlight them to us, as we would be interested to know
Mechatronics and systems, e.g. drones, robots, LiDAR
Communications and RF technology
General electronic based systems including sensor technology
AI and Machine learning algorithms
IT and software engineering
Audio, Video and CCTV based systems
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies show that women, and black, Asian and minority ethnic people are less likely to apply for a job unless they meet every qualification or already have every skill being requested. So if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with the job description we’d love you to apply anyway, you might just be the perfect person for the role or another role within the team, or we might be able to help you develop towards your dream role in the future.
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Required Languages
English
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Reports To
Head of Technology, Research and Innovation
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Additional Information
CVF Staff Band.pdf – 971KB Opens in a new window
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The following competencies will be tested against during sift:
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We analyse critically at level 3
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The following values will be tested against during sift:
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Courage
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Disability Confident Statement
The Met is committed to being an equitable (fair and impartial) and inclusive employer for disabled people, striving to have a diverse and representative workforce at all levels. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities and long-term conditions, ethnic minority groups and women.
As a Disability Confident Leader, the Met has committed to making disability equality part of our everyday practice. We ensure that people with disabilities and those with long term conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.
The Met is committed to making reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to ensure disabled applicants can perform at their best. If you need any reasonable adjustments or changes to the application and recruitment process, we ask that you include this information within your application form. All matters will be treated in strict confidence.
Please note, if you are applying for a police officer role or to become a police community support officer (PCSO) or designated detention officer (DDO), there is a minimum requirement that you must pass a job-related fitness test (JRFT) at point of entry. This does not apply to police staff roles. Find out more about police fitness standards.
Read our full disability confidence statement.
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