Infrastructure Engineer Ref. Department: Engineering
Salary: £36,408, plus a recruitment bonus of £2,000, dependent on skills assessed during the interview. Additionally, there is an opportunity to obtain a skills bonus of £4,513, based on a skills review during your first year in the role.
Flexible Working: This role is primarily office-based, with most of the work undertaken in the office and a small proportion of time working outside of the office. We offer flexible working hours, including options for compressed and part-time shifts. While working from home isn't guaranteed, it might be possible on occasion, based on personal and business needs. Once you're fully trained, you may also be required to join an on-call rota.
GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks and espionage. At GCHQ you'll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.
As an Infrastructure Engineer, you'll become part of a friendly and skilled team dedicated to finding end-to-end solutions that optimise our systems and support our mission. Tailored Acquisitions
Platform Engineers
Network Engineers
DevOps Engineers
Web Technology SMEs
Work in both big and small teams, depending on the project and engage with a range of customers. Additionally collaborate with analysts across varied missions and the wider technical community to develop customer-driven infrastructure. In doing so, meet unique requirements, develop pioneering solutions and help enable the success of our mission.
Are you passionate about IT and technology? GCSE grade 4/C or above, or an equivalent Level 2 qualification in Maths. You might have a background in STEM, experience working in a small company with exposure to end-to-end products, or simply a passion for IT and technology. You analyse problems and are willing to explore different approaches to find creative solutions. Training and Development
When you start, you'll be assigned a "buddy" and a mentor to help you settle into the role and life at GCHQ. You'll engage in a mix of formal and on-the-job training and be given ownership of tasks early in your role. At the beginning, you'll collaborate with your team and line manager on initial responsibilities to develop your skills and ease into the types of projects you'll be working on. As an Infrastructure Engineer, you'll rotate through each of the three areas of our large team, spending 6 months in each area. This will help you gain comprehensive knowledge and a well- rounded experience. Please note that the rotation and training programme described is specific to our Samlesbury location. Manchester will have its own tailored training programme.
Technical risk management: Learn to identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks.
• Gain expertise in protecting systems and data from threats.
• Domain services (Windows/Linux): Master the management of domain services across different operating systems.
• Operating system administration and security (Windows/Linux/Android/iOS): Enhance your skills in administering and securing various operating systems.
• Web technologies (Tor/VPNs/Proxies/CDNs/Cloud): Dive into the world of web technologies and learn to navigate complex networks.
• Scripting languages (Python/PowerShell/Bash): Develop proficiency in scripting languages to automate tasks and improve efficiency.
• Networking (Cisco, Juniper, NSX): Build your knowledge in networking with industry-leading technologies
• Monitoring and analysis (ELK, Splunk): So, you'll get experience of a wide variety of tech tools and programming languages, and as your skills develop, we'll support your applications for specialist skill payments that recognise your abilities. We'll also encourage you to pursue external training when necessary to enhance your knowledge of new technologies and provide opportunities to gain relevant funded qualifications.
25 days of annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years of service, plus an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays.
• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme.
• Interest-free season ticket loan (travel and parking)
• 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. At GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. 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:
We're Disability Confident
GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP's Disability Confident scheme. This initiative encourages employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain, and develop disabled people. As a Disability Confident employer, we aim to offer a fair and proportionate number of person-to-person interviews to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:
• You must hold a GCSE or Level 2 qualification in Maths at Grade 4/C or above. Demonstrate a strong motivation for applying to work for GCHQ as an Infrastructure Engineer. See our website for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer:
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It's something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Please note we have a strict drugs policy. This is good practice and will help you manage your application with us more securely.
Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.
If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application.