About the job

Job summary

The Opportunity

Support the development of bespoke digital products that are helping to modernise the UK Parliament.  Joining the Product directorate of the Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS), you’ll work on a range of cloud-based products and services and ensure high-quality development processes. From managing tools and testing environments to maintaining development standards and writing software that automates systems, this is work of national importance, helping UK democracy function better, more efficiently and more transparently.  You can expect to:

• assist in developing knowledge and awareness of the technical architecture of products and services built by the team, including documenting, sharing and updating in accordance with the sprint cycle
• help to ensure automated pipelines are developed, maintained and supported
• work with colleagues across the organisation to ensure all environments and the systems deployed to them are managed and supported
• support the creation and management of accreditation processes for products and services under development
• participate in technical governance processes
• support and mentor junior colleagues

What You Need

We’re looking for a software engineer who can troubleshoot as well as build virtual infrastructure from the Windows perspective. Knowledge of Azure and PowerShell would be helpful but is not essential if you have transferable technical knowledge. You’ll have an analytical mindset and be calm under pressure. You will also:

• understand key principles of the modern standards approach
• have experience of using cloud technologies, including building and supporting infrastructure (IaaS and PaaS), monitoring and alerting, storage, backup and security
• be capable of designing, coding, testing, correcting and documenting programs and scripts independently
• be capable of fixing faults following agreed procedures, and carrying out infrastructure maintenance tasks
• be aware of how to integrate systems and conscious of the challenges of designing, building and testing interfaces between systems
• have an understanding of user experience analysis and its principles
• be a good team-player, able to communicate effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences

Job description

• Assisting in developing knowledge and awareness of the technical architecture of products and services built by the team is documented, shared, and updated in accordance with the sprint cycle
• Helping to ensure automated pipelines are developed, maintained, and supported to ensure delivery to all environments
• Working with colleagues across the organisation to ensure all environments and the systems deployed to them are managed and supported in accordance with the needs of the business
• Supporting the creating and managing of accreditation processes for products and services being developed
• Participating in the appropriate technical governance processes within the organisation
• Supporting and mentoring junior colleagues

The above list of key responsibilities is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and banding of the post.

Person specification

Criterion 1 – Cloud Technologies
Experience using experience across cloud technology (Azure). Able to build and manage secure and reliable infrastructure; including infrastructure as a service (IaS) and Platform as a Service (PaS) technologies.

Criterion 2 – Scripting and Automation
Experience in scripting languages (PowerShell). Able to identify opportunities for automation and design, code, test and document scripts of medium to high complexity using the right standards and tools.

Criterion 3 – Continuous Integration
Experience in implementing and managing continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines (GitHub/GitLab, TeamCity, Octopus) whilst demonstrating a breadth of understanding of service support. 

Criterion 4 – Modern Standards and Practice
Understanding and application of the most appropriate modern standards and practices as well as an ability to identify process optimisation opportunities with guidance to contribute to the implementation of proposed solutions, offering recommendations on the best tools and methods to be used.

Criterion 5 – Monitoring and Troubleshooting
Experienced in implementing monitoring solutions for applications and infrastructure. Experience with log management and analysis tools for troubleshooting and performance optimization. Including a knowledge of incident response and ability to set up alerting and notification systems.

Criterion 6 - Security
Excellent understanding of security best practices in DevOps processes and infrastructure. Including experience implementing security controls and measures within CI/CD pipelines and familiarity with compliance standards.

Criterion 7 – Collaboration and Communication
Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams. Demonstrated experience in mentoring and guiding junior team members. Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex issues in a timely manner as well as being able to communicate this information to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Benefits

Please refer to our Candidate Information Pack for a full list of our benefits which include:

up to 35 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays
generous maternity pay policy up to 6 months full pay
great pension scheme options (contributory and non-contributory)
on-site subsidised gym, nursery, catering, post office, travel office and GP
flexible options including hybrid working and family friendly policies

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Please refer to our Candidate Information Pack for a full list of our benefits which include:

• up to 35 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays
• generous maternity pay policy up to 6 months full pay
• great pension scheme options (contributory and non-contributory)
• on-site subsidised gym, nursery, catering, post office, travel office and GP
• flexible options including hybrid working and family friendly policies

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 (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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) (opens in a new window)
• 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. 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.