Red Team Operator; Cyber Resilience

We have a hybrid approach to working here at Starling - our preference is that you're located within a commutable distance of one of our offices so that we're able to interact and collaborate in person. In Technology, we're asking that you attend the office a minimum of 1 day per week. Here at Starling we are growing, and our first line Technology Risk (ITRM) Team is looking for an experienced, and talented Red Team Senior Operator to join our Cyber Resilience team to join our efforts in proactively identifying vulnerabilities within our systems and digital infrastructure to ensure continuous improvement in Starling's resilience.

Reporting to the Technology Risk Adversarial & Cyber Resilience Testing Director, you will have responsibility for designing and executing red team operations and cyber resilience testing against Starling Bank. Operations will emulate real threat actors and target cutting edge technology in Starling Bank's platform as well as ranging across the endpoint estate. You will use emerging threat intelligence to inform and develop effective attacks.

• Lead the design and execution of red team operations against Starling Bank (including scoping, planning, payload/infrastructure development, execution, reporting and workshops)
• Identify complex vulnerabilities and build advanced exploits
• Continually improve the methodology and capability of the team
• Mentor junior team members and share expertise
• Develop and document reusable attack components using realistic TTPs
• Lead purple team exercises and collaborate with the SOC team to enhance detection capabilities
• Translate red team tactics into actionable intelligence for blue team operations
• Develop advanced threat models and 'worst case scenario' playbooks based on emerging global risks (APTs, insider threats, supply chain compromise) and simulate complex real-world scenarios

• Lead cyber resilience testing initiatives to assess the Bank's ability to withstand and recover from cyber attacks, including controlled attack scenarios (ransomware, DDoS, data corruption) to evaluate resilience and recovery capabilities
• Drive identification of vulnerabilities, improve defence strategies and validate recovery processes
• Analyse complex test results, validate breach scenarios, document findings and provide strategic actionable recommendations
• Coordinate multi-stage testing scenarios and lead cross-team activities

• Experience leading red team operations and deep understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of different adversarial techniques
• Ability to define rules of engagement and demonstrate strong discipline and steady judgement, working both independently and as part of a team
• Experience conducting advanced security testing against cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Advanced security testing certifications (e.g. OSCP, CRTO, OSMR, OSCE, OSEP, cloud security or similar)
• Deep familiarity with the cyber risks faced by Starling Bank and other financial institutions
• Expert-level network and operating system fundamentals (MacOS, Linux and Windows)
• Proficiency with modern software engineering paradigms (CI/CD, Infra as Code)
• Leadership and mentoring experience
• Capability to manage risk and controls around red team activities

• Expertise in AI/ML systems security, including LLMs, transformers and model interpretability
• Advanced certifications such as CSSAS, CSSAM, CCT or similar
• Extensive experience in incident response, threat intelligence, or ethical hacking at an enterprise level
• Strong background in regulatory environments (e.g. ISO 27001, SOCII, GDPR or AI Act compliance)
• Software engineering expertise (Java, Kotlin, Go...) or advanced reverse engineering expertise
• Proven track record in blogging and speaking both internally to educate staff and externally at conferences
• Experience developing innovative security testing methodologies

Starling is the UK's first and leading digital bank on a mission to fix banking! Our vision is fast technology, fair service, and honest values. All at the tap of a phone, all the time.…