Infrastructure Engineer

Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

Home Office Digital, designs, builds and develops services for the rest of the department and for government. Every year our systems support up to 3 million visa applications, checks on 100 million border crossings, up to 8 million passport applications and deliver 140 million police checks on people, vehicles and property.

Job description

An Infrastructure Engineer supports and maintains infrastructure solutions and services as directed and according to departmental policy and Home Office strategy.

You will work in a team of Infrastructure Engineers ensuring services are delivered and supported as required. You will work with and support third parties to provide infrastructure services and with technical architects to translate architectural designs into operations.

Key Responsibilities

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Building, configuring, transitioning, administering, and supporting enterprise toolsets used for monitoring the health and performance of the Home Office compute, storage, networking, physical and cloud infrastructure using commercial off the shelf (COTS) and open-source packages and solutions.
• Implementing and supporting event management solutions, toolsets, and methods of event aggregation from multiple sources and integrations with the IT Operations Management Solution.
• Proactively managing alerts & thresholds for monitored infrastructure and services, ensuring that technical solutions continue to meet business requirements.
• Responding to and supporting the resolution of incidents, problem analysis, root cause identification and fix; monitor resolution activities and progress updates to users.
• Using logical designs created by technical architects and required standards, methods & tools (including prototyping tools where appropriate) to build and implement enterprise tooling solutions.
• Working in cooperation with testing to ensure the integrity & quality of enterprise toolsets and solutions.
• Create, update, and maintain technical documentation, work instructions and guidance notes for supported toolsets.
• Build and test simple interfaces between systems or work on more complex integration as part of a wider team.

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, compressed hours are available.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

You’ll have a demonstrable passion, skills, knowledge, or some experience in:

• Understanding of core technical concepts, techniques and methods related to enterprise tools and ability to implement and support tooling solutions and offerings.

• Implementing and supporting event management solutions, toolsets, and methods of event aggregation from multiple sources.

• The use of IT Operations Management (ITOM) suites such as ServiceNow for supporting Event, Incident, Problem and Change Management.

• Troubleshooting and resolving issues involving technologies across a variety of platforms.

• Awareness of emerging technologies and how they could be applicable to the current business.

• Effectively communicating at different levels, across support and engineering, business users, architecture, and suppliers.

• Working within an ITIL Framework.

The essential criteria listed above are reflective of the Home Office Government Digital and Data Profession Career Framework (based on the industry standard SFIA framework).

The six technical skills for this role align to Infrastructure Engineer. Use the SFIA levels of responsibility to understand what would be expected for each technical skill listed.

Please see below the relevant six technical skills for Infrastructure Engineer:

• Development and implementation
  • Systems Development
    • Systems design (DESN) - Level 3
    • Testing (TEST) - Level 2
• Delivery and operation
  • Technology Management
    • Systems installation and removal (HSIN) – Level 2
    • IT infrastructure (ITOP) – Level 2
  • Service Management
    • Incident management (USUP) - Level 2
• People and skills
  • People Management
    • Organisational facilitation (OFCL) - Level 3

Desirable Skills

Ideally you will have knowledge and/or experience of:

• Networking concepts, switching, routing, firewalling, load balancing, hybrid cloud, virtualisation, compute, and storage technologies.

• Maintaining focus on the whole life cycle of service delivery from design, development, and implementation through to operation and support.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Systems design (DESN) - Level 3
• Testing (TEST) - Level 2
• Systems installation and removal (HSIN) – Level 2
• IT infrastructure (ITOP) – Level 2
• Incident management (USUP) - Level 2
• Organisational facilitation (OFCL) - Level 3

Benefits

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.
• The advertised role is eligible for a Digital Capability Allowance. Successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience may apply for a Recruitment and Retention Allowance.
• The allowance values are set by the Home Office, subject to remaining in a qualifying role. This allowance is non-contractual, non-pensionable, subject to an annual review and could be withdrawn at any time. Please see the Home Office Digital Recruitment and Retention Allowance Careers page for more information.
• For both new entrants and existing civil servants, the total compensation offer is a combination of base salary and, if applicable, a capability-based allowance.
• See more of our benefits on our careers website.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.

1. Application by - 2nd November 2026

• CV
• Personal Statement (maximum 1000 words).

Your CV should consist of your career history and skills and experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

2. Sift commencing 4th November 2026

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement and CV.

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift that will consist of all the remaining elements submitted (CV).candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the initial sift will not have their remaining submitted elements scored and will only receive a sift score for that assessed at the initial sift.

3. Interview commencing - 25th November 2026

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be Behaviours (as listed in the job advert) and Technical Skills based questions. All Behaviours listed in the selection process will be scored at the interview.

The interview will take place via Ms teams.

For guidance on the Technical skills, please refer to the SFIA 8Levels of responsibility — English

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Do not create or attempt to submit another application, online test or use a different Civil Service Jobs account to proceed as this would be in violation of the candidate declaration.

Location Preference:

You can select up to two locations in order of preference. Please ensure that these are locations you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at one of your preferred location(s) and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.

Reserve List:

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.

Reserve lists will be held for each location. Candidates will be appointed in merit order by location.

Breaking Tied Scores

The behaviours, technical skills, experience, and strengths have been ranked in order of importance to enable us to differentiate between candidates with tied interview scores.

Candidates judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised without the need to go through a further selection process, providing the role has the same Success Profiles elements and essential skills. There is no guarantee that further such vacancies will arise.

Standards:

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Additional Security Checks

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, candidates will be subject to a range of additional checks. The range of checks carried out will depend on whether you are a current Home Office employee, existing civil servant or an external new entrant as well as the role requirements. Further details are included in the Notes to Candidates.

Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV)

You should currently hold, or be willing to obtain, Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV) Level-3 vetting (including financial checks). This is essential for the role. For further information visit About the Police National Vetting Service , Warwickshire Police.

Formal offers of employment will not be made until successful candidates have obtained both NSV clearance and NPPV3 clearance.

For existing Civil Servants: Please note that failure to obtain NPPV3 Clearance may trigger a formal review of your National Security Vetting Clearance (NSV). Depending on the nature of the information identified, this could result in your NSV being revoked.

Further information

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct.

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs

• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).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.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Home Office Resourcing Centre
• Email : HORCCampaignTeamHSGPSGandMBG@homeoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. and you wish to make a complaint, then contact the Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

candidate_information_v18_July_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 8MB)2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)