Details
Reference number
427543
Salary
£73,900 - £85,690
National £73,900 - £81,290
London £77,900 - £85,690
You may also be eligible for an additional non-pensionable allowance, pending a Capability and Skills assessment, with a value of up to £21,700
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Grade 6
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
HO - Digital Data and Technology - Engineering
Type of role
Digital
Information Technology
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Compressed hours
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
Croydon, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield
About the job
Job summary
Networks and Infrastructure (N&I) within the Home Office are responsible for delivering and maintaining the core infrastructure for all the Home Office. This post sits within the existing Core Infrastructure team.
The team handles a diverse range of systems, concepts, and technologies. This includes Windows and Linux servers, core Windows technologies such as Active Directory, DNS, DHCP and Certificate Authority. They also manage server and service monitoring, Infrastructure as Code, immutable infrastructure, automation and serverless compute as well as public cloud provided services across several major public cloud vendors. The team collaborates extensively with other traditional infrastructure teams for connectivity and services as well as application teams to move legacy workloads to the cloud.
Job description
A Principal Infrastructure Engineer is a technical leader, responsible for developing strategic and tactical engineering roadmaps for technologies and services, ensuring they are future proofed and maximise value of technology investments. You define engineering best practice within the Home Office and inspire others to adopt them.
You may be responsible for the operational relationships with suppliers, ensuring services and products are delivered and aligned to industry best practice, regulatory and contractual requirements.
Leading infrastructure teams, you oversee the building, managing, supporting, and maintaining solutions according to departmental policy and strategy. You will work with technical architects, ensuring continuous improvement to the service catalogue, future designs, and service operability. You will lead on overall management activities such as workforce planning, budgeting, technology roadmaps, projects, and tasks.
This post offers the opportunity for skilled, ambitious applicants to work with a range of these technologies to develop their skills and career in Infrastructure Engineering within a large enterprise environment.
Tools and Technologies we use:
We are keen for Engineers to continue learning new technologies, we have a large range in the Home Office including:
* Infrastructure: Windows, Linux, security hardening, Active Directory, Entra, cloud IaaS and PaaS, DNS, PKI
* Networking: Aviatrix, software defined networking, next generation firewalls, switching, routing, firewalling and load balancing
* Backend: PowerShell, GO, Python,
* Data: PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Mongodb, Apache Cassandra
* DevOps/Platforms: Azure, AWS, Kubernetes, Azure, Jenkins, Docker, Ansible, Terraform
* AI: Azure ML Studio, Python, Github Copilot, OpenAI
What you will do
Your main day to day responsibilities will be:
* leading teams and departments in the design, implementation, transition, administration and support of infrastructure solutions and services
* providing operational feedback to technical architects to ensure their designs meet the needs of the infrastructure engineers
* providing support to make sure that solutions and services are designed with security controls embedded, specifically engineered as mitigation against security threats
* ensuring that the right actions are taken to investigate, resolve and anticipate problems, coordinating teams to investigate problems, implement solutions and establish preventative measures
* establishing standards and procedures across a service lifecycle including the development lifecycle and ensure that engineers adhere to this. Managing resources to ensure that the systems integration function works effectively
* defining and helping shape engineering best practices and standards
Due to business requirements this post is available on a full time/flexible working basis. Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. Where this is the case, employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office.
This role is not suitable for part-time working due to the nature of the role.
UK residency and security requirements - You need to have lived in the UK for the past 5 years.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
As a Principal Infrastructure Engineer you will have experience of:
* Champion key engineering principles and standards, fostering a culture of technical excellence and encouraging others to adopt best practices.
* Lead the delivery of complex technology solutions, consistently meeting time, cost, and quality objectives.
* Ensure all solutions are robust, resilient, secure, thoroughly tested, and well-documented.
* Build strong, collaborative partnerships across diverse teams, technologies, and geographic locations.
* Provide strategic guidance on emerging technologies and innovations, shaping best practices for network evolution and information security.
* Demonstrate deep hands-on expertise in one or more of the following areas: AWS infrastructure, Azure infrastructure, public cloud networking, and identity and access management.
SFIA capability framework
Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) is the technical framework that sets the standard capability and development of all Engineering levels in the Home Office. This is a link to the capability framework: All skills A - Z English (sfia-)
We use set SFIA technical skills to form our interview questions and we will assess you against these technical skills during the selection process.
SFIA levels of responsibility – Use the SFIA Levels of responsibility to understand what would be expected for each Technical Skill listed below.
SFIA Technical Skills
The essential technical skills listed above are reflective of the Home Office Government Digital and Data Profession Career Framework. Please see below for the relevant skills required for your role.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Developing Self and Others
* Leadership
* Seeing the Big Picture
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
* Systems design (DESN) - Level 4
* Testing (TEST) - Level 4
* Systems installation and removal (HSIN) – Level 4
* IT infrastructure (ITOP) – Level 5
* Incident management (USUP) - Level 4
* Organisational facilitation (OFCL) - Level 5
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £73,900, Home Office contributes £21,408 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Why work for us...
* A highly competitive pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
* 25 days annual leave on appointment rising 1 day per year up to 30 days, plus 8 days public holidays and 1 day for the King's Birthday.
* Flexible working options to enable you to achieve the work life balance that is right for you including; Full time, part-time, flexi time, compressed hours and job sharing.
* Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid.
Maternity and adoption support leave (paternity leave) of 2 weeks full pay.
* A hybrid working model of a minimum 60% of your contracted hours in the workplace and 40% remote.
* Training and development opportunities tailored to your role, including access to technical and professional accreditations.
* Access to funded qualifications (subject to approval)
* A capability allowance reviewed annually.
* A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
* Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards.
This link is to a short guide to employee benefits: Benefits - Home Office Careers
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and 1000 word personal statement.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please note your CV and personal statement should include all relevant experience that relates to our essential skills criteria listed in the advert and role description. Use STAR format in your examples.
Remove information that identifies you (for example your name, age or place of education) so that you will be judged on merit alone and not your personal background, circumstances, race or gender.
(Do NOT include e-mail addresses or links to online profiles, resumés, or prior work, either personal or business. Active links or e-mail addresses will result in your application being rejected)
Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. All applications are screened for plagiarism, copying, and generating of examples/ answers from internet sources including Artificial intelligence. If detected, the application may be withdrawn from the process.
Further action, including disciplinary action, may be considered in such cases involving civil servants. Providing false or misleading information would be contrary to the core values of honesty and integrity expected of all civil servants.
Sift Stage
The sift will be held on the CV and Personal Statement. Please read the Essential skills for this position carefully. We will only consider those who meet the listed requirements.
In the event of a high number of applications received, an initial sift may be held on Personal Statement only. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift.
Interview Stage
Candidates reaching the required standard will then be invited to attend a final interview. The interview will assess your Technical Skills (SFIA Framework) and experience using technical and experience-based questions.
You will be assessed on the core behaviour skills listed above.
At the beginning of the interview, you will conduct a 5-minute presentation. The presentation topic will be provided closer to your interview date, and we will request that it is sent ahead of this date.
Sift and interview dates
Sift will be conducted week commencing 29th September 2025.
Interviews will be held week commencing 20th October 2025.(Subject to the Panel's operational requirements/priorities)
Interviews will be conducted remotely via MS Teams.
We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Serviceon your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct.
If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre- stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Reasonable Adjustments
If a person with disabilities is 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 Government Recruitment Service via 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
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Feedback
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 .
See our vetting charter .
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)
* 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code 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 .
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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans 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 :
* Name : AC Recruitment
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service recruitment principles and you wish to make a complaint, then contact the Government Recruitment Service via If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.