Job Description
Job title: Infrastructure Field Engineer
Location: London, with travel to other UK locations expected on a weekly basis.
Salary: £51,588 (includes £3,375 concessionary payment)
Flexible Working: This role is office-based due to the nature of the work however we do offer a range of flexible working patterns including full-time, part-time and compressed hours. You can find out more about what this means on our work-life balance page.
About Us
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing, and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats. Through our protective security arm, we provide advice and guidance to government, businesses and other organisations about how to keep themselves safe. A role in MI5 means you'll do unique and challenging work in a supportive and encouraging environment, making a real difference to UK national security.
The Role
As an Infrastructure Field Engineer, you’ll work as part of a team responsible for designing, installing and maintaining the intelligence-gathering solutions we rely on. You’ll support a number of mission areas at MI5, as well as MI6 and GCHQ, and identify bespoke solutions for a variety of high-priority requirements. Whether you’re working out how to retrieve data from large, intricate networks or building relationships across our business, you’ll help the team deliver against an exciting, expanding remit – and help us keep the UK safe.
Day-to-day, you might be installing, configuring and managing remote infrastructure (including firewalls, routers, switches and servers) or investigating technical issues. You’ll work closely with our customer base to understand and meet their unique requirements. And, you’ll assist with the development and implementation of automation systems, as well as taking responsibility for the administration of our multi-vendor environment. Alongside your role, you’ll have opportunities to explore individual project work on a technical aspect you find interesting, so long as it directly relates to our team remit.
Upon completion of all relevant training, you’ll also have the opportunity to join our on-call rota. However, this is optional and for the majority of the time, work outside of core hours is voluntary. On the rare occasion the team is short-staffed, you may be required to act as cover. There is also the potential opportunity to attend international events such as conferences once or twice a year.
About You
No specific qualifications are required for this role, however, you will already have experience working in network engineering. You’ll also be comfortable applying network configuration in any GNU/Linux-based system. Importantly, you’ll have a genuine interest in cyber and global datacentre interconnection and be keen to bring your enthusiasm to a new environment. You might already have your Red Hat accreditations; if not, we’ll support you in gaining these once in the role. The drive to continuously learn, grow and develop skills is key.
As someone comfortable working on projects in cross-functional teams, you’ll demonstrate proven problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to translate concepts regarding internet infrastructure to both technical and non-technical audiences. A major part of this role will be working with the team, customers, external partners and stakeholders. So, you’ll be a confident communicator able to build working relationships at all levels.
You’ll also need to be able to carry out the physical requirements of this role, which may include carrying and moving equipment. Please note that there will be a fitness assessment carried out by occupational health as part of the application process.
Training and Development
Upon joining, you’ll receive an induction and have opportunities to shadow more experienced members of the team, as well as subject matter experts (SMEs) from other technical teams. You’ll also be assigned a ‘buddy’ to help you settle into life at MI5. And of course, you’ll be introduced to the key partners, customers and stakeholders you’ll work closely alongside.
You’ll be encouraged to join the Cyber Technical Framework (CTF), a network developed to help assess the knowledge, skills and attributes of our cyber tech specialists. Through the CTF, you’ll get the support you need to progress your career in a direction that reflects your experience. For example, it might be leadership training or help becoming an SME. Membership of the CTF is via an application and skills-based assessments.
In addition to the CTF, you’ll have access to multiple training courses with focus on key areas such as management and leadership, and equality, diversity and inclusion. You’ll also have the option to specialise by taking on a technical project that suits your skillset. And, we’ll support you with ongoing technical training to further your abilities and work towards achieving relevant professional qualifications such as your Red Hat certifications.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary from £51,588 plus other benefits including:
* 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
* Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
* Dedicated Development Budget
* Interest-free season ticket loan
* Excellent pension scheme
* Cycle to work scheme
* Facilities such as a gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
* Paid parental and adoption leave.
Equal Opportunities
At MI5 diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website:
https://www.MI5.gov.uk/careers/diversity
We’re Disability Confident
MI5 is proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident Leader we aim to ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who best meet the essential minimum criteria for this position, will be offered an interview, if it is practical for us to do so. (This is known as Offer of an Interview.) To secure an interview for this role, the minimum criteria (to be assessed at application form sift) are:
* A working knowledge of Network Engineering
* Demonstrate the ability to work as part of a team and build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders
There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, see our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.
What to Expect
Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:
* Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation
* If successful, you’ll be invited to an initial online interview where you will be asked questions relating to your motivation and our core competencies
* If successful, you’ll be invited to an ‘in-person’ technical skill-based interview
* If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment, subject to vetting.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 - 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.
Before You Apply
To work at MI5, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. Read about our eligibility criteria.
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.
Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.
Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you to manage your application with us more securely.
The role is based in Central London, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application. An interest-free loan is available to assist with relocating into privately rented accommodation to take up the offer of employment.
Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Right to Withdraw Statement:
Please be aware that we withhold the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.