Senior Infrastructure Field Engineer Ref. 3745

Job Description

Central London, with travel to other UK locations expected on a weekly basis

This role qualifies for a specialist capability-based pay approach, which recognises and rewards cyber technical expertise. Based on an assessment of skills and experience at interview, candidates may be eligible for an additional skills payment, potentially increasing the salary to £62,599.

To retain the higher salary, individuals will need to demonstrate and accredit their skills against our Cyber Technical Framework within the first years of employment. If the required skills cannot be evidenced initially, support and an opportunity to address any gaps will be provided. However, if this is not achieved by the end of the first year, it may result in a return to the lower end of the stated pay range.

As skills develop and are maintained, there will be opportunities to progress further within the pay range at this grade. Employees can apply for recognition of increased skills levels at regular intervals, in agreement with their line manager.

Flexible working: This role is primarily office-based due to the nature of the work. However, flexible working arrangements are supported, including flexitime with flexible start and finish times, as well as the option to work compressed hours.

About us
MI5 keeps the country safe from serious threats, such as terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people, and its way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing, and assessing intelligence, and 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 on 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
If you enjoy tackling complex technical challenges that genuinely make a difference, this role offers the opportunity to see the impact of your work every day. As a Senior Infrastructure Field Engineer, you’ll be part of a specialist team responsible for designing, installing and maintaining the intelligence-gathering solutions we rely on. Leading a core workstream, you’ll support multiple mission areas across MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, delivering bespoke solutions for a range of high-priority requirements. Whether you’re enabling data retrieval from large, intricate networks or building relationships across the organisation, you’ll help drive an expanding remit and play a vital role in keeping the UK safe.

Day-to-day, the role involves designing, installing, configuring and managing remote infrastructure such as firewalls, routers, switches and servers as well as investigating technical issues. Close collaboration with internal stakeholders is required to understand and meet their unique requirements. Responsibilities include contributing to the development and implementation of automation systems and supporting the administration of the multi-vendor environment. Opportunities are also available to undertake individual project work in relevant technical areas, subject to alignment with the team’s work and priorities.

Upon completion of all relevant training, you’ll also have the opportunity to join our on-call rota. Participation is optional, and for the majority of the time, work outside of core hours is voluntary. On the rare occasion that the team is short-staffed, you may be required to act as cover.
The role also offers a unique opportunity to work with colleagues in industry, often at the cutting edge of networking technologies. There may also be opportunities to attend international events, such as conferences, once or twice a year.

This role attracts specialist capability-based pay in recognition of cyber technical expertise. Based on skills and experience assessed at interview, appointment may be made at a higher salary point within the stated range. Retention of any higher salary is subject to demonstrating and accrediting the required skills against the Cyber Technical Framework within the first year of employment. Support will be provided to achieve this. As skills develop, there are opportunities to progress further within the pay range.

About you
While no specific qualifications are required for this role, you will already have extensive experience working in network engineering within a technical industry environment. You’ll bring a solid foundation in designing network solutions, with the confidence to operate across large-scale, mission critical infrastructure. In particular, you’ll be able to demonstrate expertise in several of the following areas:

• Network design, architecture and transmission technologies, supporting resilient and high-performance network solutions.
• Layer 2 and Layer 3 technologies, including protocols, MAC and IP addressing, BGP and VPNs.
• Fibre optic networking, with practical experience of wavelengths, multiplexing (MUX), transponders and long-haul transmission technologies.
• Automation, scripting and systems administration, including use of GNU/Linux operating systems at the command line, automation tools such as Ansible, and at least one scripting or programming language (for example, Bash or Python).

Alongside this, you’ll have practical experience configuring and managing network devices within live environments, applying charges safely and effectively, and supporting the ongoing operation and evolution of complex network infrastructures.

Importantly, you’ll have a genuine interest in cyber and global datacentre interconnection and a desire to bring your enthusiasm to a new environment. You might already have industry accreditations such as from Red Hat, Arista, Juniper, Cisco; if not, we’ll support you in gaining these once in the role. A commitment to ongoing learning and professional development is essential.

As someone comfortable working on projects within cross-functional teams, you’ll demonstrate proven problem-solving skills and the ability to clearly communicate internet infrastructure concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Given the collaborative nature of the role, you’ll be an effective and confident communicator, able to build good working relationships with colleagues, customers, partners, and stakeholders at all levels.

You’ll need to meet the physical requirements of the role, which may include lifting, carrying, and moving equipment. Please note that a fitness assessment will be conducted by occupational health as part of the application process.

Training and development
When you join the team, you’ll take part in an induction and have opportunities to shadow more experienced members, as well as subject-matter experts (SMEs) from other technical teams. A ‘buddy’ is assigned to support the settling-in process at MI5, alongside introductions to key partners, customers, and stakeholders with whom you’ll work closely.

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 receive the support needed to progress your career in a direction that reflects your experience. This could include leadership training or support in becoming a subject-matter expert (SME). Membership of the CTF is available through an application process and skills-based assessments.

In addition to the CTF, you’ll have access to multiple training courses focused on key areas such as management and leadership, and equality, diversity and inclusion. There will also be opportunities to specialise by taking on a technical project aligned with your skillset. We’ll support you with ongoing technical training to further develop your abilities and work towards achieving relevant professional qualifications.

Rewards and benefits
You’ll receive a starting salary of £53,267 plus other benefits including:

• 25 days annual leave, automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• a dedicated development budget
• an interest-free season ticket loan
• an excellent pension scheme
• a 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.

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 (in order of application process) are assessed at the application sift:

• You will be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which assesses your ability to problem solve
• A proficient knowledge of Network Engineering
• Practical experience of managing network devices
• Demonstrate familiarity and understanding of cyber and global datacentre interconnection
• 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:

1. You will be required to reach the minimum pass mark for the Organisational Situational Judgement Test which looks at your ability to problem solve. If you meet this criterion, you will be directed to complete an application form
2. Application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation
3. 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
4. If successful, you’ll be invited to an ‘in-person’ technical skill-based interview
5. 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 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. 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 must not 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.

We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in-person appointments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation.

Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hardcopy receipts for reimbursement.

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 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.