Job Description
Job title: Infrastructure Engineers
Location: Belfast
Salary: £36,408, plus a Specialist Role Payment of between £4,000 and £9,812, dependent on your skills assessed during the interview.
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.
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
Our Infrastructure Engineers play a crucial role in maintaining our critical IT systems. We’re seeking enthusiastic and self-motivated individuals from all backgrounds to join our team. If you have technical skills and a passion for staying current with technology, this could be the role for you. You’ll be involved in a variety of tasks, from deploying mobile devices and laptops to supporting critical systems, including IT moves, adds, and changes involving desktop PCs and peripherals. You’ll face diverse challenges that are essential to our mission.
Initially, you’ll work alongside a deputy until you’re fully up to speed. Your responsibilities will include system management and maintenance, ensuring systems are up to date, and participating in business technology and system projects. Once you’re fully settled in and have a thorough understanding of the role and the organisation, there will be opportunities to focus on a specific technical area.
Your role will also involve essential tasks related to moving and handling of equipment. You’ll be responsible for performing numerous desks moves, replacing desktops, and reconfiguring desks. This includes patching IT systems under user desks and occasionally lifting floors to run cables. Given the physical nature of these tasks, candidates should be physically fit and capable of lifting and moving equipment safely.
In addition to collaborating with colleagues who share your passion for technology, you’ll build relationships with internal and external industry partners to ensure our infrastructure remains fit for purpose in an ever-evolving tech landscape. While we don’t expect you to know everything on day one, having some experience in these areas will be beneficial. We’ll provide comprehensive training and support to help you succeed.
About You
Are you passionate about IT and technology? Do you thrive in vibrant environments and love learning new skills? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you!
Whether you have a background in STEM, experience in a small company with end-to-end product exposure, or simply a passion for IT and technology, this role could be perfect for you. You only need one qualification: GCSE grade 4/C or above, or an equivalent Level 2 qualification in Maths. No other specific qualifications or deep technical background are required. You might have a background in STEM, experience in working in a small company with exposure to end-to-end products, or simply a passion for IT and technology. If you’re enthusiastic, self-motivated, and eager to learn, you’ll thrive in this role. You should be able to absorb technical information, apply it practically, and explain IT issues to both technical and non-technical audiences. You’ll be a great team mate, eager to contribute and share knowledge. With a positive and proactive approach to problem-solving, you’ll consistently seek opportunities for improvement and growth. This will allow you to put your knowledge and skills to use in an environment that welcomes fresh ideas and new ways of thinking.
Training and Development
When you join us, we’ll start with an induction to familiarise you with our organisation and your team. Our comprehensive training will ensure you feel confident in your role. And you’ll be welcomed into an inclusive, supportive environment that values open minds and attitudes, enabling you to make a significant impact on a national scale. From day one, you’ll be empowered to drive your career with access to plenty of development opportunities, both internally and externally, to help you thrive as part of our world-class engineering team.
We aim to develop your knowledge through exposure and using the right technologies for the problem. 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.
Please note that a full driver’s license is required for this role, as you’ll need to drive to our site. Car parking facilities are available for all.
Rewards and Benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £36,408, with the opportunity for additional skills payments, plus other benefits including:
• 25 days of annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years of service, plus an additional 12 days of public and privilege holidays.
• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme.
• Dedicated Development Budget
• Interest-free season ticket loan (travel and parking)
• Excellent pension 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 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 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 our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). 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. This will be assessed during the application sift.
• Demonstrate a motivation for applying to work for the intelligence agencies as an Infrastructure Engineer. This will be assessed during the application sift.
• Exhibit analytical and problem-solving skills. This will be assessed during the application sift.
• Show an awareness of up-and-coming technologies. This will be assessed during the application sift.
• Full driver’s licence required.
There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to help you perform at your best. See our website (Penna link to 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: We’ll review your motivation for the role and the organisation, as well as your essential skills.
• Online Interview: The interview will include a skills assessment, and there will be an opportunity to obtain a skills payment, although this is not guaranteed.
• Conditional Offer: If you’re successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment.
Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 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. You can read our full eligibility criteria here. (Penna link to appropriate website Eligibility sections)
This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here. (PENNA link to org website vetting page).
Please note we have a strict drugs policy. 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 set 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 manage your application with us more securely.
The role is based in Belfast, 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 via our benevolent fund 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 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 reserve 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.