Senior Software Engineer - Ref 1039

Stonewall Top Employer AwardSocial Mobility Foundation AwardThe Times Top 100Disability confident leader

Technology Roles
Greater Manchester, Central London
Permanent
Full Time
Central London: £46,898 - £50,412 / Greater Manchester: £44,206 - £47,486

Technology sits at the heart of everything we do at MI5, enabling us to disrupt serious threats to UK security. We’re currently looking for talented software engineers to work within our pioneering IT department.


The Role

This is your chance to join a dynamic team where you’ll play a key role in keeping the country safe. We’re looking for experienced software engineers to build, maintain and enhance a wide variety of in-house software applications. Our systems are considered world-class and range from multi-million pound intercept and intelligence processing systems to extremely rapidly written software to answer urgent intelligence questions for the highest priority investigations.

You’ll play a leading role in delivering technical analysis, high quality code, testing and documentation to enable us to solve a wide range of complex and demanding problems using some of the latest technology. As well as ensuring our core IT functions are working effectively you’ll get the opportunity to develop existing and new analytical technologies to drive our investigations and intelligence collection operations forward. You can be assured that whatever projects you’ll be working on your work will be unique, varied, and your efforts will have a direct and rewarding impact on the success of MI5.

Working in a fast paced environment you will deal with some of the most advanced technology around, and have the opportunity to regularly move between projects with different challenges and technology. You’ll also have the chance to contribute to the strategic vision and future success of our large software engineering community.

We’ll give you all the support and training you need for a rewarding career, including investing in your technical skills through attending technical training courses and conferences. We also run programmes to allow accreditation of your skills and knowledge through completion of British Computing Society qualifications or professional registration as a Chartered Engineer or Incorporated Engineer.

Our software engineering staff are on a 36 hour per week contract, eligible for flexi-time and often make use of flexible working to compress their hours. To find out more about the benefits of working at MI5, click here


Key Responsibilities

  • Act as a developer within a wider team to help tackle both minor and major projects, in one of four main areas (experience only required in ONE area):
  • Object Oriented Programming – Java or C# .NET
  • Database Engineering – Oracle
  • Web User Interfaces – JavaScript, React, HTML5, CSS
  • Big Data Technology – Hadoop & related technologies
  • Work with Project Managers to ensure delivery of accurate project documentation and designs
  • Follow a fast, iterative, agile development approach
  • Produce detailed technical design specifications and documentation
  • Potential opportunities to line manage or mentor a small number of software engineers



Who We’re Looking For

We are looking for individuals with strong problem solving skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of technical colleagues and non-technical customers.  Due to the constantly changing nature of our working environment, you will have a flexible approach and a willingness to grasp new tasks and projects at short notice. A good team player, you will thrive when working under pressure.

You will have a proven track record in delivering complex projects on time, to cost and specification. You must also be experienced in taking ownership of significant development work across coding, testing and documentation.

You’ll be familiar with common best practices such as TDD, Agile and Scrum. Although not essential, experience using the Atlassian tool suite, Crucible, JIRA and Confluence would be valuable.

Ideally you will have a 2:2 degree or equivalent formal qualifications in a relevant technical subject. Alternatively you must have a demonstrable background/experience of working at this level. You will also need experience in ONE of the following areas: Object Oriented Programming, Database Engineering, WEB user interfaces or Big Data Technologies.



Recruitment Process

The first thing we will ask you to do is complete our pre-screening questions to find out if you meet our initial criteria. If you do meet these criteria we will then ask you to begin an application.

You will need to create a login and provide your full name, email address and a memorable password. Once you have successfully created a personal account, you will be required to complete an initial registration form, providing contact details and equal opportunities monitoring information.

You will then be invited to upload your CV and complete an online application form. Our recruitment team will conduct a sift of your application. Successful applicants will be invited to a telephone interview, which will include some competency based questions and will explore your motivation to work for MI5. You will also be required to complete an online assessment, comprising of two coding related tasks. Successful candidates will then be invited to attend an assessment centre at MI5. This will be followed by a security interview with a vetting officer.

You should read about the vetting process and satisfy yourself that you meet the criteria outlined in the vetting pages of the How to Apply section prior to submitting an application.

Giving misleading information or omitting or concealing information during the recruitment and vetting process is viewed very seriously. You should ensure that you follow our guidance from when you apply.



Guaranteed Interview Scheme

As a Disability Confident employer we offer an interview to all candidates with a disability who meet our minimum criteria for the job vacancy that they are applying for. This is known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS).

Along with the standard eligibility requirements for this post, you application will be assessed on how far you meet the job requirements. Your application, must score the minimum amount of points set. On successful completion of this stage, you will be invited to interview. This will normally be a telephone interview and is our guaranteed interview.



Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must meet our residency criteria. You must be a born or naturalised British citizen and one of your parents must be a British citizen or have substantial ties to the UK.

Candidates must normally have been resident in the UK for nine out of the last ten years. This is particularly important if you were born outside the UK. However, we will still consider you if you’ve served overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of Her Majesty’s Government, studied abroad, or lived overseas with your parents.

Due to vetting requirements you will need to be 18 years old, or above, to apply. Your application may take around six months to process.

Owing to the sensitivity of our work, we do not publicly disclose the identities of our staff. Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

The Security Service is committed to reflecting both equal opportunities and the society we protect.

This Program / Vacancy is closed to applications.