We’re looking for a highly capable, hands-on infrastructure engineer to join our IT Operations team at The National Archives. This is a role for someone with strong technical depth who is comfortable operating across complex environments and taking ownership of real production services.
You’ll be diagnosing issues, restoring services, leading infrastructure change, and contributing to the design and improvement of the systems we rely on every day. If you take pride in understanding systems properly, solving problems thoroughly and building reliable infrastructure, you’ll fit well here.
Job overview
You will work across a broad production environment, supporting and maintaining infrastructure that underpins critical services. This includes cloud, network and on prem systems, where you will investigate issues, identify root causes and restore service with minimal disruption.
Alongside operational work, you will lead and implement infrastructure change, ensuring that changes are introduced in a controlled and deliberate way. You will monitor systems proactively, identifying risks and opportunities for improvement, and contribute to strengthening security, resilience and overall service reliability. You will also work closely with colleagues, stakeholders and suppliers to deliver and improve services, bringing a practical and informed technical perspective to decisions.
This role also includes contributing to the ongoing development of the environment, providing input into technical design and helping shape improvements over time.
Our environment: You will be working across a varied and evolving technical estate that includes Microsoft 365, Azure, cloud and on prem infrastructure, networking, virtualisation, and enterprise storage and backup platforms.
We are actively improving our infrastructure, with a clear focus on strengthening resilience and service recovery, improving security and reducing risk, and modernising core services in a controlled and sustainable way.
Person specification
We are looking for an engineer who is technically strong, credible and able to operate at depth across complex infrastructure.
This is not a role for someone building their foundational skills. You should already be comfortable working in environments where systems are interconnected, business-critical and not always straightforward, and where issues require structured investigation, sound judgement and a clear understanding of impact. You will bring strong experience designing, supporting and maintaining enterprise infrastructure across cloud and on prem environments, and a solid understanding of infrastructure, networking and security fundamentals and how they interact in practice.
You will be comfortable diagnosing complex issues, identifying root cause and implementing fixes that address the underlying problem rather than the symptom. You will also have experience delivering change in live environments, with a clear appreciation of risk, dependencies and the need for control.
You do not need to have experience in every technology we use, but you do need a strong technical foundation and the ability to apply it confidently in unfamiliar or evolving situations.
This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department. A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.
SC clearance/willingness to obtain SC clearance will be required for this role. This requires candidates to have been resident in the UK for at least the past three years. Please do not apply if you have been resident in the UK for less than three years as your application will be rejected. We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.
Application Process
As part of your application, you will be asked to provide a summary of your relevant work history and experience and respond to a scenario-based question.
Your work history should include the following:
- Highlight roles where you have worked with infrastructure operations, support or delivery
- Include the technologies and environments you have worked with (e.g. cloud, networking, Microsoft platforms, enterprise systems)
- Show the scale and complexity of the environments you have supported.
Both elements will be assessed against the essential criteria below. We are particularly interested in how you apply your experience in practice and the judgement you bring to real technical situations. Responses should reflect your own work and understanding.
Essential Criteria
- A strong background and broad hands-on experience in managing, supporting and developing infrastructure services in a complex enterprise environment, including cloud and on-premise networking, Microsoft 365 and Azure, Hyper-V, server hardware, data domain backup, EMC storage, TCP/IP, DNS, firewalls, networks, Microsoft Active Directory, SCCM, service management and ITIL service management processes.
- Proven experience of designing infrastructure services and leading projects to time and budget, using structured project management techniques and methodologies to deliver high-quality, innovative and value for money services and systems.
- A strong working knowledge of IT security processes, government security policy and practice, and the implementation of supporting systems such as IPS, firewalls, proxy, management and monitoring services.
- Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot and resolve issues logically and independently, using appropriate techniques to identify root cause.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues clearly and concisely to both technical and non-technical audiences, provide technical assurance to projects and developments, and produce clear and accurate documentation.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and a strong customer focus, with the ability to build effective working relationships across the organisation, work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate with and manage third-party suppliers, and meet individual and team objectives.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £50,569, The National Archives contributes £14,649 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development. Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers.
This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience.
Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.
Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
Reasonable adjustments
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
- Contact The National Archives via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
- Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window).
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact
Recruitment team
Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: [email protected].
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/.
