Software Engineer Ref. 2255

SIS – also known as MI6 – is the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service.  Our people work secretly at home and abroad to help make the UK safer and more prosperous.  We work closely with MI5, GCHQ, HM Armed Forces, law enforcement and a range of international partners.

We have three core aims: stopping terrorism, disrupting the activity of hostile states, and giving the UK a cyber-advantage.

Who are we?
We are the software engineering section of SIS.  We work alongside our colleagues in the intelligence community to develop and maintain software solutions which support our core aims.

Our engineers have rewarding and fulfilling careers spanning multiple technology areas.  We integrate existing solutions, create products and services using agile methods, innovate and apply our own unique skills.  We embrace a DEVOPs culture, ensuring a consistent level of service for our customers across the globe.  Our focus is on achieving the greatest mission value.

Each of us sets aside a proportion of our time for continuous professional development and innovation activities.  We coach and mentor our colleagues, sharing our skills, learning from each other, and helping to raise our engineering standards.

SIS is an inclusive organisation.  Some of our engineers work either part-time or adapt their working patterns around family life.  We give you flexibility so you can operate at your best.

Our engineers work in diverse, multi-disciplinary teams.  Each team is organised so that it brings value to our customers in the most efficient and effective way.  Our teams build the products that users need to enable them to gather, process, analyse diverse datasets and disseminate intelligence.

Our software, data and test engineers use the most appropriate technology for the problem at hand.  We have teams working with many popular modern programming languages (e.g. JavaScript, Python, C#, Java) and technologies (e.g. cloud tech stacks, Elastic, Jenkins, Hadoop, MongoDB).

Who are you?
You’re looking for a software, data or test engineering role.  You have a relevant degree or equivalent experience in industry.  You want to be part of a motivated and diverse team, developing systems and services which help keep our country safe.

You are keen to develop your own skills and actively seek learning opportunities.  You are willing to coach, mentor and develop your colleagues.  You value being part of a learning organisation.

You:
-    Can communicate well with customers (both technical and non-technical).
-    Are keen to work within an agile team.
-    Have experience of programming/scripting in any modern language (appropriate to your profession), with an aptitude for learning others.
-    Have an awareness of modern standards/patterns. and how to implement them.
-    Understand the benefits of DEVOPs and have worked with CI/CD.

If you meet some of the criteria above, but not all, we will still welcome your application.  People are the most important aspect of our organisation and we will work with you to bridge any knowledge gaps you may have.
 
What will you do?
As you can imagine, a large portion of what we do, we cannot tell you about until you join us.  However, we can guarantee that you will share our responsibility to keep our country safe and prosperous.  You will work with teams across the organisation to ensure we are delivering the software required by our mission customers to enable them to achieve intelligence advantage.  You will communicate at all levels to both technical and non-technical audiences.

As a graduate engineer you will:
-    Spend time working with a variety of our teams in order to build up your skills and experience.
-    Undertake learning and development opportunities with experts from the intelligence community and wider industry.
-    Work with our software profession to conduct a skills baseline and map out a career pathway in the community
-    Support the products you and your team have delivered, continually iterating on the product to bring the biggest mission value to our teams
-    Embrace the full testing and review lifecycles at each stage of the delivery process, automating where necessary to increase efficiency
-    Support, develop, coach and mentor junior colleagues and use your own experiences and skills to grow our engineering community
-    Work with our colleagues in other organisations to achieve the greatest value

SIS and IT
SIS exists to collect secret foreign intelligence that helps protect the UK’s security and prosperity.  This intelligence is gathered all over the world and reported to the Government - informing policies that counter threats to this country including weapons proliferation, terrorism, cyber-attack and regional instability.  We offer flexible working including part-time/compressed hours, shared parental and adoption leave, an interest-free season ticket loan and 25 days paid annual leave.  

SIS could not operate without its technology teams.  They ensure the security and effectiveness of an international communications network that operates around the world.  We are everyday people doing extraordinary work, and despite popular belief, we recruit people just like you.

To join us you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality and be aged 18 or over at the time you join, so you can apply within 6 months of your 18th birthday.

Please do not discuss your application with anyone other than your partner or a close family member, who must also have British nationality. They should also be made aware of the importance of discretion.

Benefits
-    Pension
-    Interest-free Season Ticket loan
-    Cycle to Work scheme
-    Financial support for learning and development
-    Subsidised gym