Lead Platform Engineer Ref. 920

Engineering
£66,812 Recruitment and Retention allowance: £5,720 per annum

This is a full-time position for 37 hours per week Monday to Friday, part-time or flexible working pattern applications welcome.

World leading software is nothing without world leading infrastructure to run it...

You’ve got the skills to lead teams that build and support the platforms and infrastructure to allow systems to thrive. Working closely with our software developers and DevOps engineers, you’ll develop new skills and grow your expertise as you build and maintain the platforms and environments to boost their deployments. More importantly, you’ll build your own systems to deliver value to your customers in direct support of the national security mission.

Working as an integral part of a diverse engineering team, you’ll build and maintain the infrastructure to ensure delivery systems run seamlessly. You’ll collaborate with a team of developers, engineers, and stakeholders to ensure that infrastructure is reliable, scalable, and capable of handling the needs of our systems over time. As an experienced lead infrastructure engineer, you will define the way in which the team works and set strategy for the engineers you will work with. You’ll work closely with customers and senior stakeholders to turn requirements into reality.

You’re the person that makes ideas become real. You’ll design, develop, deliver, and support the platforms needed to deploy on, from Windows and Linux builds to physical switches, firewalls, and virtual networks, and we’ll support you as you grow and learn your skills. You’ll work on systems that make a difference to the safety of the UK, and your infrastructure will be critical. You’ll enjoy coming up with creative solutions for global systems that contribute to national security.

Technical Skills

Our role is based on the DDaT Infrastructure Engineer, that means you will already have:

•    Proven experience designing, developing, deploying and maintaining / supporting infrastructure across a range of different platforms and systems.
•    Proven experience working with senior stakeholders to define the infrastructure build.
•    Proven experience leading infrastructure teams.

To strengthen your application, it would be beneficial if you have knowledge of one of the following areas (but these are not essential):

•    Cloud
      o    i.e., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, PaaS / IaaS solutions
•    Automation and Infrastructure as Code
      o    i.e., Terraform, Ansible or Puppet; PowerShell, Bash or Python
•    DevOps/Software Tools
      o    i.e., Jenkins, Bamboo, or GitLab; Automated testing; Docker, Kubernetes or OpenShift
•    Enterprise Software and Tools
      o    i.e., Securing Windows or Linux; Active Directory and Group Policy; Hyper-V or vSphere)

With our training and support, your career as a Software Infrastructure Engineer could lead you to learn any of the other areas (Cloud, Automation, DevOps and Enterprise), either specialising in one, or becoming a generalist.

Your Personal Skills

You will be the type of person who:

•    Enjoys coming up with creative solutions.
•    Can manage your own workload and adapt to changing demands.
•    Puts plans in place to make improvements. 
•    Enjoys being part of a team. Helping others to deliver or being guided by them yourself.
•    Can go with the flow. Change is a big part of our organisation. You will be able to adapt with the support of your team and management.
•    Is keen to continually improve both technical and non-technical skills.
•    Putting plans in place and seeing them through to implementation, taking responsibility for seeing this through.
•    Can delegate work to a team to derive the most value from our engineers.
•    Can identify service improvements and influence teams to implement change.

Putting your skills to use

You’ll get involved in the complete process. You’ll use your skills and experience to create a wide range of systems whilst working with a variety of customers, stakeholders, and engineers. You’ll bring your creativity to work in your own way to deliver on your projects.

Your day involves:

•    Designing, developing, and documenting systems to the highest standards.
•    Verifying designs by creating and implementing functional and integration tests.
•    Supporting systems and investigating reported defects.
•    Contributing to project planning and meetings.

You’re probably wondering about the tech stack? You can use whatever’s best to get the job done, some frequently used options include:

•    Virtualization, containerisation (i.e., Docker), with AWS, Azure, VMware, and Hyper-V hypervisors.
•    Infrastructure as Code (Ansible, Terraform).
•    Scripting tools (Python, Bash, PowerShell).
•    Atlassian (Jira, Bitbucket, Confluence).
•    Hosting applications written in Java, JS, C#, C++, or Python.
•    Deploying to Windows or Linux.

What we Offer

Now that we’ve explained a bit about what you will we be doing, here’s what we can offer you:

•    25 days annual leave, rising to 30 after 5 years’ service.
•    8 Bank Holiday days off in addition to your annual leave. 
•    2 ½ additional days leave (set dates through the year).
•    Paid overtime or time off in lieu.  Your salary is for your contracted hours.  If you work more, we believe you should be rewarded for that.
•    Training.  Lots and lots of training.  This can be anything from a ½ day internal course to a distant learning degree.  If it’s relevant to your career, we will aim to support you.
•    Pension.  Our Pension scheme is Alpha.  It’s competitive.
•    Sports & Social Society.  Whether its classic cars or baking, golf or crafting, we have a society for you.
•    On site nursery (subject to availability).
•    3 days paid leave a year to support a registered charity of your choice.
•    Free parking.
•    Free onsite gym, open 24 hours a day
•    Relocation Package*
•    Affinity Groups – whether you are disabled, LGBTQ and/or from an Ethnic Minority.  We provide an inclusive environment and support for everyone.

About HMGCC

We are HMGCC, the engineering specialists at the heart of the UK’s national security.

We work with the national security community, UK Government, academia, private sector partners and international allies to bring engineering ingenuity to the national security mission, creating tools and technologies that drive us ahead and help to protect the nation.

We invest in our people, not only with training but also support throughout your career with us; to allow you to reach your full potential at work, as well as enjoy the work/life balance many aspire to.

To find out more about us and if we’re right for you, please visit our website.
 
Equal Opportunities

Inclusion and Diversity really matters to us. It's not just about numbers or visible differences.

HMGCC are committed to providing equal opportunities and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and those with disabilities or who are neurodiverse.

We’re not looking for any one type of person. We’re looking for talent from all different backgrounds to join our organisation, where we genuinely respect and value each other's differences, as well as our similarities. It makes us even better at what we do. 

We are proud to offer candidates the opportunity to apply through the Offer Of Interview Scheme. The scheme ensures eligible candidates are selected for an interview as long as their application meets the minimum criteria for the role. To find out more and how you can apply under this scheme, please see the inclusion and diversity information on our website.

Apply Now

Discover more by clicking ‘apply’.  

Our Recruitment Team will process your application once the role has closed and everyone will get a response.

Please note dependent on the recruitment requirements, we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date.  

*if you are relocating to the area then we can discuss the possibility of a relocation package 

This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.