Apply before: 09/11/2025, 23:55
Job Reference number: 258
Salary (Per Annum): £55,575
London weighting allowance (Per Annum): £4218
RRA – Recruitment and Retention Allowance (Per Annum): £3000
Role grade: NCA Grade 3 / Inspector / Chief Inspector / Senior Executive Officer
Contract type: Permanent, Loan, Secondment
Length of employment: 24 months
Please note that the Length of Employment does not include those hired on Permanent contracts.
Command: Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT)
Business Area: Enterprise Services
Type of role: Information Technology
Working pattern: Full time, Flexible working
Number of roles available: 3
Location(s): Birmingham, Bristol, Calder, Leicester, London*, Warrington
*For roles based in London, your contractual place of work will be Stratford. While the Stratford site is expected to become operational from November 2025 – March 2026, you will be required to carry out your contractual duties from Vauxhall or another reasonable location on a temporary basis during the interim period. Please note that, as Stratford will be your contractual place of work, any subsequent move from a temporary location will not entitle you to payments for travel time or costs under the Relocation and Excess Travel Policy.
Role Description
Digital, Data & Technology (DDaT), supports NCA operational commands with how we exploit data and to ensure the NCA uses the best technology platforms with the right tools and applications to further enable the NCA to protecting the public from serious and organised crime. We are responsible for defining and delivering our data and technology strategy, policy and architecture, and building and sustaining
resilient services which are critical to our mission success. The pace of change within the digital and tech world means we need to be agile and innovative in how we respond to threats while exploiting the opportunities this presents.
The purpose of the Senior Applications Operations Engineer role is to ensure critical digital forensic and intelligence collection applications are delivered and maintained effectively to ensure they meet the NCAs evolving operational demands. Working in a small team of highly enthusiastic IT professional staff, transferring skills within the team will ensure we are better placed to look after the SOS networks to provide full critical support, upgrades, development and maintenance.
The role is responsible for: Delivering 1st, 2nd and mainly 3rd line support of technical systems to a professional standard, adapting to and meeting user requirements; installing new hardware, installation and configuration of a mixture of Operating Systems including Windows Server 2019, 2019, 2022 and Windows 10, 11, virtual hardware (VMWare and Hyper-V) and the use of containerized technologies; maintaining and upgrading systems in line with technical requirements for business area. An understanding of network protocols would be beneficial.
Security is extremely important for all the services that SOS maintain, therefore systems must be maintained to ensure these systems are accreditable. This includes updating system high – and low – level designs and associated documentation. This role aligns to Senior Application Operations Engineer within the Government Digital and Data career framework.
Please note, due to the nature of this role, regular international travel will be required.
***This post requires SC clearance as a minimum, with a possibility to gain DV within 12 months of being in post.***
On-call working:
Please note, staff within DF Engineering will form part of an on-call rota. The post holder may be required to participate in an on call 24/7 Rota. If you do perform on-call duties, you will be entitled to an On-Call allowance, for each session you are on-call, aligned to renumeration policy.
Essential Criteria
You must meet the essential criteria and evidence this within your application to be considered for the role.
Entry Requirements
Applicants should possess strong level of expertise in working at 3rd line level, for the following essential entry requirements:
· A basic knowledge of Servers including the configuration & installation
· Experience of maintaining software and applications on servers or end user devices
· Experience in the configuration of Active Directory, Group Policies and certificate management
· Experience of maintaining and fault finding within an infrastructure which includes multiple physical and virtual servers
Any applications from candidates not meeting this eligibility criteria will not progress.
Desirable Criteria
Desirable criteria are only used for assessment in the event of a tie break.
ITIL V3 or V4 Foundation or higher Degree in Computer Science or Information systems Microsoft Certified Professional VMWare Understanding or knowledge or vSphere, vSan and horizon/omnissa A full, clean, UK Driving Licence
Virtual Open Evening Event
To find out more about the role and the application process we will be holding a virtual opening evening via MS Teams on Wednesday, 22 October 2025 at 6:00 p.m. This event is by invitation only. To register, please click on the following link
DDat Enterprise Services Engineers – Virtual Event
Please note, you will be asked for your name and email address. The registration will close on Sunday, 19 October 2025 at 11:00 p.m. You will not be able to register after this date and time.
Follow the link below for more information about the vacancy and to apply for the position: Senior Applications Operations Engineer – Civil Service Jobs – GOV.UK