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Careers at Blackout Intelligence
Work with us.
Blackout Intelligence provides intelligence, investigations, protective security and accountable technology. We recruit to specific needs. There is no live vacancy list on this page, but you can tell us the work you do.
Why work here
What the work involves, and how it is done.
We work for boards, legal teams and security leaders. The same working rules apply whichever area you join.
Findings that can be checked
Sources are documented, and judgement is kept separate from what is known. Each assessment states its confidence, its limits and its gaps.
Scope agreed before collection
We agree the question, the lawful purpose and the boundaries of the work before any collection starts.
Lawfully public sources only
The work draws on public and official sources, and never on stolen material. The lawful purpose is settled before anything is collected.
Services and technology together
The Blackout OS platform collects, organises and checks. An accountable analyst makes and records the conclusions, whichever service the work sits in.
Day to day
How a job runs, from scope to report.
Most of the work is careful, and written down. Each job follows the same four stages, whichever discipline it sits in.
Scope
The question, the lawful purpose and the boundaries are agreed and written down before anything is collected. The scope can be checked later.
Collect
Material comes from public and official sources. Each item is logged with where it came from and when it was read.
Assess
Each source is weighed. The confidence, the limits and the gaps are stated, and judgement is kept separate from what is known.
Report
The finding is written for the person who commissioned it. Every conclusion can be traced back to its source, and the report can be reviewed.
Disciplines
Disciplines we recruit into.
A discipline is an area of work, not a vacancy. Roles are recruited to specific needs within these areas.
- 01
Investigations
Discreet, proportionate enquiries into fraud, identity and disputes, with a written scope, a chronology and a reviewable report.
See investigations - 02
Open-source intelligence and analysis
Research from public and lawfully accessible sources, with an assessment that states its confidence, its limits and its gaps.
See intelligence - 03
Technical security and countermeasures
Technical surveillance countermeasures and RF and emissions assessment, under an agreed and authorised scope, with remediation and re-assessment.
See technical security - 04
Protective security and CCTV planning
Protective planning for people and premises: risk assessment, CCTV specification and deployment, and access-control assessment.
See protective security - 05
Platform engineering
Building and running Blackout OS, the platform that collects, organises and checks material for our analysts. Conclusions stay with an accountable analyst.
See the platform - 06
Data and AI assurance
Audit-oriented AI assurance: traceability of agent actions and approvals, control design and audit evidence.
See AI governance - 07
Client operations
Scoping, collection planning and the written deliverables of commissioned work, from the agreed scope through to a reviewable report.
See our services
Not on this list?
Tell us the work you do.
Say where you have done it. We will tell you whether it fits a need we have now.
The people and the standards
What we look for, and what we will never ask of you.
Judgement
Telling what is known apart from what is only suspected, and saying which is which.
Clear writing
Reports a client can act on, and a reviewer can check, without needing the author in the room.
Discretion
Handling sensitive material and sensitive people with care, and only as far as the work requires.
Method
Following a lead, and recording how it was followed, so that someone else can follow it too.
Composure
Staying accurate when a case is urgent, or when the answer is not the one anyone wanted.
Precision
Keeping dates, figures and sources exact, and correcting them the moment they are wrong.
We will never ask you to
- Obtain material unlawfully, or use anything that was stolen.
- Access a system, account or device you are not authorised to use.
- Report a finding you cannot source.
- Hide a mistake from the record. Correct it, and say what changed.
Training and certification
We will put you through the relevant certifications.
Each role comes with the certifications its work needs. We explain each one, what it covers and what it asks of you, before you are asked to do the work it covers.
Licensing, where the work needs it
Where the activity is licensed, such as an SIA licence for security or CCTV work, we arrange the licence and the training it requires.
Evidence handling
How material is logged, kept and handed on, so that a finding can stand up to scrutiny.
Report writing
How to set out a finding, its confidence and its limits, for a reader who was not there when it was gathered.
Lawful basis and data protection
The purposes that justify collection, and the rules that limit it, applied to each job.
Open-source method
How to search, how to record what was searched and when, and how to grade a source.
Blackout OS
The platform the work runs on, taught on the job by an experienced analyst.
Security vetting, where a role needs it, is explained in its own section further down this page, before any offer.
Progression and support
Where the work goes next, and who checks it with you.
Progression
Your development is agreed with you against the work you do and the certifications you hold. We say what the next step looks like, and what it asks of you.
Hours and travel
Hours, travel and location are set by the role. We give them for a specific role when we reply to your interest, not in advance.
Supervision
Sensitive work is reviewed with a supervisor. You can say when a task is more than you should take on, and saying so is part of the job.
How recruitment works
Four steps, and the timing is set when we reply.
The timing depends on the role and on any checks it needs, so we give it for a specific role when we reply.
Register an interest
Email us the discipline you work in, what you have done, and any security vetting you already hold. We reply to say whether we have a need that fits.
A short conversation
Where we have a need, we arrange a short conversation about the role and your experience. If we have no need that fits, we say so.
A scoped assessment
Where a role calls for one, we set an assessment scoped to that role, and tell you beforehand what it covers.
Vetting, where the role needs it
If a role needs national security vetting or a security check, we explain the level and what the check involves before any offer.
Vetting and clearance
The level is set by the role, and explained before any offer.
Some roles require national security vetting or a security check. The level is set by the role, not by the person applying.
Before any offer, we explain which level applies, why the role needs it and what the check involves, so you can decide with the facts in front of you.
Nothing on this page says which level, if any, Blackout Intelligence or any individual holds.
What we will tell you
- Whether the role needs vetting, and at what level
- What the check involves
- What happens if a check is not completed
Our values
Four principles we work to.
Say what is known, and how well
Each source is named and dated. Where a source has not answered, the gap is shown, not smoothed over.
Keep judgement with people
The platform collects, organises and checks. Conclusions, and anything that affects a person, are for an accountable analyst to make and record.
Use only what is lawfully public
The work draws on public and official sources, and never on stolen material.
Make the picture legible
The same evidence can be shown on a map, a list or a timeline, so that someone can see what is happening and check why.
Equal opportunities
If you need an adjustment at any stage of recruitment, tell us when you register an interest.
Register an interest
Tell us the work you do.
Email us the discipline you work in, what you have done, and any security vetting you already hold. We recruit to specific needs, so we will tell you whether we have one that fits.
This page takes none of your details. Your email is sent from your own mail app.
Register an interest by email
Or write to support@blackoutintelligence.co.uk with the subject “Careers enquiry”.
Prefer to ask a question first? Use the contact page.