Platform Engineer
Job summary
If you have significant experience in developing, managing and supporting environments in the AWS platform, are passionate about delivering digital solutions and are interested in a role that can make a difference, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) have the opportunity for you! We are looking for Platform Engineers to join our highly experienced team in Newcastle.If you are highly motivated, have significant recent practical experience with the use of cloud technologies and extensive knowledge of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery concepts and tools in an AWS cloud environment then you have what this role needs! You will join the Platform team, working collaboratively alongside Solution Designers, Developers and Automation Testers to ensure that hosting environments are delivered to a high standard. You will be responsible for delivering, supporting and continually enhancing the cloud environment within AWS for hosting NHSBSA services. You will need to be driven, innovative and work with a high degree of autonomy.What do we offer?o 27 days leave (increasing with length of service) plus 8 bank holidayso Flexible working (we are happy to discuss options such as compressed hours)o Flexi timeo Hybrid working model (we are currently working largely remotely)o Career developmento Active wellbeing and inclusion networkso Excellent pensiono NHS Car lease schemeo Access to a wide range of benefits and high street discounts!
Main duties of the job
o Responsible for assuring designs, implementing and supporting system infrastructure in AWS to support NHSBSA serviceso Responsible for producing time and resource estimates to contribute to the planning processo Monitors and reviews the efficient and effective running of hardware, software and system tier serviceso Analysing complex business and technical requirements to gain a clear understanding of the system environmento Creating automated processes for building and configuring of server platforms and the releasing and deploying of softwareo Working within a multi-disciplinary team supporting the delivery pipelineo Proactively identify and resolve systems issues to ensure system availability and capacityo Use initiative to make decisions on complex technical matters and make recommendations to influence key decisionso Identify opportunities for improvement of existing processes using automation and new technologieso Develop proactive relationships with key stakeholders and other delivery teamso Provide technical support and training for more junior colleagues and non-platform staff in the use of cloud platformso Examining, recommending and implementing changes to procedures, policies and services to improve customer serviceo Install, configure and test new versions of system tier offerings, ensuring that all products are within the NHSBSA End of Life strategy and minimise impact to the business
About us
Here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), what we do matters.
We manage the NHS Pension scheme, process prescription payments and much more. Our services are used by NHS organisations, contractors and the public: we're proud to be part of something meaningful, that touches millions of lives.
We design our services around customer needs and place people at the heart of our organisation. That's why when you join us, you'll be empowered and supported to help your career grow.
As one of the UK's Best Big Companies to work for, we're connected to our values: Collaborative, Adventurous, Reliable and Energetic. We care about our people, our purpose, and your progress.
We strive to offer a fantastic colleague experience, where every colleague is heard, supported and respected. Wellbeing, diversity and inclusion is at the centre of this, and you can join our Lived Experience Networks who help us bring our authentic selves to work.
We're committed to being a flexible employer and we try to offer a working pattern that suits you where possible, through hybrid working, flexible hours and more.
Alongside a competitive salary with pay progression, we offer a people-centric benefits package, connecting you to the rewards and benefits you value most!
Ready to join us in delivering business service excellence to the NHS, helping people live longer, healthier lives? Apply today and see where the NHSBSA can take you.
We are people connected to care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
In this role, you are accountable for:
1. Designs, develops, tests, implements and supports the system Infrastructure to meet challenging deadlines, quality standards, business targets and customer requirements.
2. Analyses a wide range of complex business and technical issues in order to gain a thorough understanding of the system environment and proactively identifies and resolves system issues to ensure system availability and capacity for the business.
3. Responsible for the 24/7 system support, of business critical applications in both production and non-production environments.
4. Monitors and reviews the efficient and effective running of hardware, software and system tier services.
5. Evaluates tools including open source products to ensure that the NHSBSA is running products that are most appropriate and in line with the ICT strategy to deliver against the business needs.
6. Install, configure and test new versions of system tier offerings, ensuring that all products are within the NHSBSA End of Life strategy and minimise impact to the business.
7. Produces departmental and project documentation - operating instructions, user guides and reference material at an appropriate level; for technical and a non-technical audience.
8. Works within a multi-disciplinary project team supporting the delivery pipeline creating user stories to document and plan tasks.
9. Plans and manages time effectively, frequently working on a number of systems/tasks in parallel, escalating and managing expectations as appropriate. Responds quickly to change and is able to re-prioritising workload as required.
10. Analyses a wide range of data e.g. technical manuals, business process documentation, system specifications and statistical performance data and resolves conflicting requirements, taking responsibility to update processes and documentation where changes are made.
11. Uses initiative to make decisions on complex technical matters and make recommendations which influence key decisions to project and DevOps team.
12. Communicates effectively at all levels, verbally and in writing to establish and maintain communication with individuals and groups, internally and externally. Explains complex concepts and technical issues in a manner that is appropriate for the target audience.
13. Conducts and participates in meetings, workshops and quality reviews with customers and colleagues in relation to all responsibilities and duties.
14. Contributes towards the development of future work plans and requirements. Assists the planning process by producing time and resource estimates.
15. Operates in a quality-oriented environment and continually seeks to improve customer service by examining, recommending and implementing changes to procedures, policies and services.
16. Carries out research and development work to support future business needs e.g. pilots, evaluation and trials of new technologies, hardware and software.
17. Creates automated processes for the building and configuring of server platforms and the releasing and deploying of our software
18. Analyses our existing processes to identify opportunities for improvement using automation and new technologies
19. Creates dashboards and other tools for day-to-day monitoring and troubleshooting
20. Uses monitoring tools to find problems, and work with the relevant area to resolve them quickly.
21. Delivery of incidents, service requests, project work and associated work within SLAs and KPIsIn addition to the above accountabilities, as post holder you are expected to:1. Undertake additional duties and responsibilities in line with the purpose of your role and as agreed by your line manager.2. Demonstrate NHSBSA values and core capabilities in all aspects of your work.3. Encourage an environment where your own and colleagues safety and well-being is promoted.4. Contribute to a culture which values diversity and inclusion.5. Follow NHSBSA policies, procedures, and protocols as they apply to your role.6. Have SC clearance or willing to undergo clearance following appointment to postWorking relationships
Responsible to: Application Platform Manager
Key relationships and connections:1. Lead Platform Engineer2. Programme and Project Managers3. Operations Platform staff4. ICT Project teams5. Business Solutions and Service Operations staff6. Third Party suppliers7. Internal and external stakeholders
Person Specification
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
- Plans work within own area of responsibility to meet objectives and deadlines.
- Uses own initiative and is fully accountable for own work, with substantial personal responsibility and autonomy.
- Considers the impact of customers when making decisions
- Ability to absorb complex technical and business information
- Able to work with and communicate with a broad range of people both at all levels within and outside of the organisation and maintain positive working relationships with all them
- Able to formulate plans related to a broad range of work and re-prioritises workload or adjust those plans to meet business requirements
- Able to lead and capable of managing resources to deliver results, whilst having ability to respond quickly to change as required
- Able to review and produce complex and, at times sensitive reports utilising MS Office packages
- Able to analyse information to identify and assess a range of options and their potential impacts making recommendations
- Works collaboratively and cross functionally to achieve common goals
- Excellent Analytical skills with a systematic approach to problem solving
- Flexible approach in delivering consistently high quality products
- Able to learn new technologies and quickly grasp complex problems
Experience (FOR AWS CLOUD BASED ROLES)
- Programming skills within a system tier environment. The individual will have strong Unix/Linux administration and language skills: Shell scripting, Jython scripting
- Significant hands-on experience in the use of the following DevOps concepts and tools: Deploying and configuring servers in a cloud environment (Terraform, Fog); Configuration management (Puppet, Chef, Ansible); Continuous Integration Engine (Jenkins, Travis-CI); Continuous Inspection (SonarQube); Virtualisation (VMWare, Amazon EC2); Networking Concepts, technologies and protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, DNS); Monitoring (Sensu, Consul, DataDog); Penetration testing (OWASP ZAP)
- Recent significant hands-on experience with the following offerings within an AWS environment: ECS; RDS; S3; CloudWatch; EKS; ElastiCache
- Experience and knowledge of one or more of the following: GitLab, GitHub; JIRA; Docker
Experience (FOR ORACLE CLOUD BASED ROLES)
- Programming skills within a system tier environment. The individual will have strong Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) administration and language skills: SQL; OCI Cloud Shell
- Significant experience in the use of the following DevOps concepts and tools: Deploying and configuring services in a cloud environment (OCI); Configuration management (OCI); Networking Concepts, technologies and protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, DNS); Monitoring (Cloud Guard, Data Safe).
- Recent significant hands-on experience with the following offerings within an Oracle Cloud environment: Oracle Developer; Oracle Databases (RDBMS, OLAP, ExaData); Large Data Warehouses; ETL technology and Deployment practices
- Experience and knowledge of one or more of the following: Oracle IDCS; OAC / RPD; OCI Policies; Cloud Storage; Service Desk/Vendor Management; SVN / GitHub; Digital Assistant
Experience (FOR MIDDLEWARE BASED ROLES)
- Programming skills within a system tier environment. The individual will have strong Unix/Linux administration and language skills: Shell scripting; Jython scripting
- Significant experience in the use of the following concepts and tools: Networking Concepts, technologies and protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, DNS); Monitoring (M/Monit, DataDog); PKI (SSL Certificates); Unix administration commands
- Recent significant hands-on experience with: WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment; WebSphere MQ; IBM HTTP Server
- Experience and knowledge of installation and management of one or more of the following Open Source software products: JBoss Application Server; Apache Tomcat; Apache HTTP Server; Rabbit MQ
- Experience and knowledge of one or more of the following: IBM Security Verify Access; LDAP - Novell e-directory; MS Active Directory; SVN; RedHat Linux administration commands
Qualifications
- IT related degree or equivalent AND
- Demonstrable experience in developing and /or supporting IT systems
- Professionally recognised certification at appropriate level in area of specialism.
- Recent practical experience in development and administering system tier applications
Employer details
Employer name
NHS Business Services Authority
Address
Stella House
Goldcrest way, Newburn Riverside
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE15 8NY
Employer's website
https://careers.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/
- Company
- NHS Business Services Authority
- Location
- Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom NE15 8NY
Hybrid / WFH Options - Employment Type
- Permanent
- Salary
- £46148.00 - £52809.00 a year
- Posted
- Company
- NHS Business Services Authority
- Location
- Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom NE15 8NY
Hybrid / WFH Options - Employment Type
- Permanent
- Salary
- £46148.00 - £52809.00 a year
- Posted