Details
Reference number
428394
Salary
£57,701 - £71,942
GBP
Job grade
Grade 7
C1
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
SSS - Chief Digital Office
Type of role
Other
Working pattern
Full-time
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
Dundee, Glasgow
About the job
Job summary
Are you an experienced Cloud Engineer with the ability to adapt and thrive in a continually evolving cloud platform environment? Do you have a strong aptitude for problem-solving and service optimisation? Are your strengths rooted in leadership, shared ownership, collaboration, and a commitment to achieving and maintaining high-quality standards?
Social Security Scotland, are looking to recruit a Senior Cloud Engineer to help develop and maintain our Elasticsearch logging, monitoring and alerting platform which is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The Chief Digital Officer (CDO) division is responsible for delivering the infrastructure, capability and digital solutions that will support Social Security Scotland.
The Senior Cloud Engineer role will be within the Engineering and Cloud service branch - focussed on delivering a roadmap of observability requirements in our Elasticsearch and AWS estate. There will be regular interaction with colleagues in the CDO Architecture team, Cyber Security Team, Applications Development teams and a number of suppliers involved in the provision of the Division's software and infrastructure.
The ideal candidate will have a strong track record in leading a multi-disciplinary team that have responsibility for delivery and support of enterprise level services. You will be proactive in responding and anticipating sudden changes to business priorities, and addressing wider strategic priorities.
A lead infrastructure operations engineer (Senior Cloud Engineer) supports, manages and maintains the core infrastructure that underpins production services.
At this role level, you will:
* manage operational support of IT solutions and services
* manage workload, performance and development of a team of IT operations specialists by building capability to deliver services as required
* manage third party provision of IT operations services
* manage provision of expertise to programmes and projects
* manage the development of architectural solutions for IT operations solutions, throughout the service life cycle
DDaT Pay Supplement
This post is part of the Scottish Government Digital, Data and Technology (DDAT) profession and as a member of the profession you will join the professional development system. This post currently attracts a £5,000 annual DDAT pay supplement, applicable after a 3 months competency qualifying period. The payment will be backdated to your start date in the role. Pay supplements are reviewed regularly and there is one currently underway. Changes will be communicated when the review is concluded.
Job description
* Deal with high impact, complex change requests.
* Ensure that release policies, procedures and processes are applied.
* Interact with and read code.
* Carry out baseline repair activities.
* Identify process optimisation opportunities with guidance, and contribute to the implementation of proposed solutions.
* Lead the investigation and resolution of incidents.
* Take accountability for issues that occur and be proactive in searching for potential problems.
* Initiate and monitor actions to investigate patterns and trends to resolve problems.
* Effectively consult specialists where required.
* Determine the appropriate remedy and assist with its implementation.
* Determine preventative measures.
* Draft and maintain procedures and documentation.
* Identify process improvements and contribute to the definition of best practice.
* Offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use.
Person specification
Success Profiles
We use an assessment framework called 'Success Profiles' which lists the elements we test and provides detailed descriptions of each. Find out more about how we assess the Success Profile elements.
Essential Experience
* Able to provide business and technical leadership to a team of experienced technologists, evidencing a deep understanding of Cloud and DevOps platforms such as AWS, Jenkins, Terraform and Elasticsearch to define and deliver a roadmap of observability requirements.
* Evidence of delivering continual service improvement; willing to challenge established practices, using evidence to deliver a better service to the business as a whole. This will include a vision for streamlining processes and reducing costs to ensure focus on delivering support for new business critical technologies.
Behaviours
* Making Effective Decisions (Level 4)
* Leadership (Level 4)
You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here.
Technical / Professional Skills:
This role is aligned to Lead infrastructure operations engineer within the Digital, Data and Technology Profession.
These skills will be tested during the Technical Assessment if you are successful at sift stage. They will be not be assessed at application stage.
Please review the following to understand the skill expectations: Infrastructure operations engineer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework
How to Apply
Apply online, you must provide a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 750 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profiles above. Be sure to provide specific examples of work that you've done that showcase your relevant experience.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV and Supporting Statement on the first Experience criteria.
Candidates who pass the initial sift will have their applications fully assessed.
Candidates who are successful at sift stage will be invited to attend an Interview and Technical Assessment. The interview will further assess the Experience and Behaviours listed in the job advert and the Technical Assessment will evaluate the Technical Skills relevant to the role.
Candidates who pass the sift and are invited to the Interview and Technical Assessment stage will receive a Technical Assessment Candidate Pack, which will outline the skills to be assessed and the assessment methods to be used.
Following the application sift, there may be a telephone interview as part of the assessment process before the main interview.
We aim to provide feedback on request. However, if we receive a large number of applications it may not be possible for us to provide specific feedback on your application. We will provide feedback on request to candidates who attend an interview/assessment.
Benefits
Annual Leave - You will receive 25 days annual leave on joining us. This will increase to 30 days after four full years of service. You will also have 11.5 public and privilege days of leave every year. We also offer Flexi-time. Any extra hours you've worked can be taken as leave when suitable.
A Civil Service Pension - This job comes with a Civil Service pension. New joiners to the Civil Service will join a career average pension scheme as standard. Read more here -
Healthy work life balance - We can offer the possibility of full-time, part-time, term-time, and job shares. We also encourage flexible working.
Discounts - You can enjoy a vast range of retail, travel and lifestyle discounts through our benefit scheme.
Personal support for you - Our Employee Assistance Programme gives you confidential, independent information and guidance 24/7.
Volunteering special leave - Up to six days paid special leave a year for volunteering. We support our staff to help causes important to them.
Great locations - Our bright and modern offices in the heart of Dundee and Glasgow have been designed with staff in mind. Both locations are ideal for public transport.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Expected Timeline (subject to change)
Sift – w/c 6th October 2025
Interview – w/c 27th October 2025
Location – In Person in either Dundee or Glasgow
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
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.
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.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
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 : Resourcing Team
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information