IT Infrastructure Engineer

apetito business operates 24/7 providing a vital service to our customers. IT is central to the success of the business and the IT team supports the infrastructure and services vital to its operation. We are embarking on a period of exciting change, and this role will be a key appointment in its delivery.

We are looking for an IT Infrastructure Engineer to be part of our team as we undertake a significant transformation to modernize our IT services across the apetito group. Our team is committed to delivering world-class services to the business and supporting its continued growth. This role will play a pivotal part of our service delivery offering and will lead the way in primarily supporting our network and server infrastructure on-premise at our office locations as well as our datacentre infrastructure. You will play an important role in significant projects for the business, including as Technical Lead for internal projects with on-premise/datacentre infrastructure. This role is based at our Head offices in Trowbridge, Wiltshire with hybrid working from home up to 2 days per week. The role may require travel to other locations.

Who we are

apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings. Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness. Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

Responsibilities

• Estate Management
• Administer Active Directory/Azure AD (Entra ID).
• Manage and maintain the server hosting environments (Datacentre, Azure, etc.)
• Technical lead for internal projects with on-premise/datacentre infrastructure.
• Ensuring the on-premise infrastructure adheres to the latest best security practice, implementing robust security controls.
• Understanding environment demands to scale resources and link capacities efficiently and proactively.
• Working with the Head of Service Delivery, Cloud & Infrastructure to properly budget for resource trends.
• Manage and implement patching schedules, ensuring timely updates and security compliance.
• Review configurations with 3rd party support to ensure they adhere to best practices.
• SME for on-premise infrastructure (servers, network, etc.), maintaining & monitoring these environments alongside support partners.
• Monitoring & Reporting
• Generate system and service-level reporting for performance and security metrics.
• Proficiently identifying, monitoring, and resolving issues to a successful conclusion.
• Provide regular reporting on patching states across the infrastructure.
• Document & Design
• Develop high and low-level designs to meet challenging infrastructure requirements.
• Maintaining meticulous technical documentation.
• Maintain the CMDB and ensure infrastructure documentation is accurate.
• Day-to-day
• Responsible for the daily operations & continued development of the on-premise environments.
• Work on complex systems and their connecting network platforms which support critical infrastructure.
• Provide high-level technical support for operational technology used across the business.
• Ensuring backups and data continuity – including maintaining back and restore processes and frameworks.
• Collaborating with team members, providing knowledge exchange, and assisting more junior members where necessary.
• Resolving escalated issues within the on-premise/datacentre infrastructure.
• Work with the IT Service Desk to support on-premise/datacentre services.
• Stay up to date on the latest technologies and trends.
• Other duties as assigned by Management.

About you

• Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate, or other industry equivalent is essential.
• Essential Experience:
• Managing on-premise servers & networks for at least 3 years in an infrastructure role.
• Infrastructure engineering within a dynamic business environment.
• Working with 3rd party support partners and being able to manage them effectively.
• Server and network management and maintenance; including patch schedules and reporting.
• Creating highly accurate technical service documents.
• Vendor agnostic experience.
• Forward thinking with experience and interest in automation & efficiency.
• Supporting RDS farms ERP software such as Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, etc.

Essential Skills and Knowledge:

• An understanding of priorities and SLAs within a ticketing system.
• Server hardware & data centre maintenance (Dell, HPE, Lenovo, etc.).
• Storage solutions & SAN/NAS administration.
• Communication and collaboration.
• Time management and methodical approach to prioritising a complex workload.
• Logical troubleshooting approach to challenges & incidents.
• Strong understanding of:
• Windows Server Operating Systems.
• Active Directory.
• WSUS.
• Linux Operating Systems.
• IP Addressing and subnetting.
• IP Protocols (ICMP, UDP, TCP).
• IP Access-lists & Firewalling.
• Create and support VPNs.
• Knowledge on best practice for security focused environments.
• Knowledge on IP Networking and the OSI model is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of Cisco Meraki is beneficial.
• Knowledge of Fortinet products is beneficial.
• Knowledge of Cisco ISE is beneficial.

Desirable Certifications

• Azure Fundamentals or higher.
• CompTIA S+ or other industry equivalent.
• Cisco CCNA or other industry equivalent.

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer.
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays.
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year.
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme.
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%.
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary.
• Subsidised canteen.
• Free parking.
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas.
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts.

Our Values

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of. We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers. We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people. We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040. Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.