At a Glance
- Tasks: Ensure our applications are reliable and secure while mentoring other engineers.
- Company: Join DWP Digital, the UK's largest government department focused on digital transformation.
- Benefits: Competitive pay, generous holidays, flexible working, and a strong pension scheme.
- Other info: Award-winning culture with excellent career progression and a commitment to diversity.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on services used by millions every day with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Experience in reliability engineering, cloud applications, and CI/CD pipelines required.
The predicted salary is between 80664 - 80664 £ per year.
Is this the role you are looking for? If so, read on for more details, and make sure to apply today.
Pay up to £80,664 plus 28.97% employer pension contributions, hybrid working, flexible hours, and a truly great work-life balance.
DWP. Digital with Purpose.
We have a fantastic opportunity to join our community of experts at DWP Digital as a Senior Site Reliability Engineer, within one of our SRE teams at the heart of Digital Transformation. We're using fresh ideas and leading-edge tech to build and maintain digital solutions that will be used by nearly every person in the UK, every day and at key moments in their lives. DWP is the UK's largest government department. We help people into work and make payments worth over £195bn a year to support and empower millions of people. The scale of what we do is extraordinary, and our purpose is unique. We'd love you to join us.
What skills, knowledge and experience will you need?
- Demonstrable experience of reliability engineering including capacity and performance management through monitoring, logging, and alerting.
- Demonstrable experience of supporting a Live Service, including live operations, incident management, and continuous improvement.
- Demonstrable experience of developing and supporting cloud-based applications in AWS.
- Demonstrable experience of building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
- Demonstrable experience communicating effectively with stakeholders at multiple levels to provide feedback and support.
- Demonstrable experience using automation to remove toil with scripting, infrastructure, and configuration as code.
You and your role
Your day will be all about making sure our applications and infrastructure are reliable, secure and ready for scale. You'll work closely with development teams from the design stage, helping them build systems that follow best practices and meet department standards.
You'll lead by example, mentoring other SREs, guiding teams and driving improvements. A big part of your role will be creating and maintaining detailed runbooks so incidents can be resolved quickly and efficiently. You'll also automate repetitive tasks, reduce toil and make sure monitoring is in place so issues are spotted before they become problems.
When major incidents happen, you'll take the lead in coordinating the right people and restoring services fast. You'll manage error budgets, review high-priority incidents and push a culture of engineering ownership across the organisation.
Details
Location: You'll join us in one of our brilliant digital hubs in Birmingham, Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle or Sheffield, whichever is most convenient for you.
Hybrid Working: We work a hybrid model - you'll spend some time working at home and some time collaborating face to face in a hub.
Pay: We offer competitive pay of up to £80,664.
Pension: You'll get a brilliant civil service pension with employer contributions worth 28.97%, worth over £16,000 per year.
Holidays: A generous leave package starting at 26 days rising to 31 days over time. You can also take up to 3 extra days off a month on flexi-time. You'll also get all the usual public holidays.
We have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:
- Flexible working including flexible hours and flex-friendly policies.
- Time off volunteering and charitable giving.
- Bring your authentic self to work with 'I Can Be Me in DWP'.
- Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more.
- Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it's even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference.
- Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities.
And we have an award-winning environment and culture:
- DWP have been recognised as 2024 Diversity Employer of the Year at the Computing Women in Tech Excellence awards.
- Diverse and Inclusive Leadership at Digital Leaders Awards 2024.
- Commended as Best Place to Work in Digital category in the Computing Digital Technology Leaders awards 2025.
- Recognised as one of the Best Public Sector Employers at 2025 Women In Tech Employer Awards.
Process: We know your time is valuable, so our application and selection process are just two stages:
- Apply: complete your application on Civil Service Jobs. There'll be full instructions when you click through.
- Interview: a single stage interview online.
CLICK APPLY for more information and to start your application.
Senior Site Reliability Engineer in Sunderland employer: DWP Digital
DWP Digital is an exceptional employer, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful digital transformation that impacts millions of lives across the UK. With a strong focus on work-life balance, flexible working arrangements, and a generous benefits package including a civil service pension and professional development opportunities, DWP fosters a supportive and inclusive work culture. Join us in one of our vibrant digital hubs, where you can thrive in a collaborative environment while making a real difference in public service.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Site Reliability Engineer in Sunderland
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at DWP Digital on LinkedIn. A friendly chat can give you insider info and might even lead to a referral, which is always a bonus!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for the interview by brushing up on your technical skills. Make sure you can talk confidently about your experience with AWS, CI/CD pipelines, and incident management. We want to see that you can walk the walk!
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your problem-solving skills! Be ready to discuss past incidents you've managed and how you improved processes. DWP loves candidates who can demonstrate continuous improvement and reliability.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining our team at DWP Digital.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Site Reliability Engineer in Sunderland
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your application to highlight how your experience aligns with the role of Senior Site Reliability Engineer. Use keywords from the job description to show that you understand what we're looking for.
Showcase Your Skills:Don’t just list your skills; provide examples of how you've used them in real-world situations. Whether it's incident management or cloud-based applications, we want to see how you’ve made an impact in your previous roles.
Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application straightforward and to the point. We appreciate clarity, so avoid jargon and make sure your achievements stand out. This will help us quickly see why you're a great fit for our team.
Apply Through Our Website:Remember to apply through our website for a smoother process. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to us directly, and you'll find all the details you need to get started!
How to prepare for a job interview at DWP Digital
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in reliability engineering concepts, especially around monitoring, logging, and alerting. Brush up on your experience with AWS and CI/CD pipelines, as these will likely come up during the interview.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare to discuss specific incidents you've managed in live services. Be ready to explain how you coordinated responses and what improvements you implemented afterwards. This will demonstrate your ability to handle pressure and lead effectively.
✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently
Since you'll be working with various stakeholders, practice articulating your thoughts clearly. Use examples from your past experiences to illustrate your points, showing that you can communicate complex ideas simply and effectively.
✨Emphasise Automation and Efficiency
Be prepared to talk about how you've used automation to reduce toil in your previous roles. Share specific tools or scripts you've developed, and how they improved efficiency. This aligns perfectly with the role's focus on continuous improvement.
