Operations Technician - Electrical/Cyber in Bishop Auckland

Salary: £42,813 to £50,368 plus up to 6% bonus, overtime and standby allowance

Locations: Wooler & Bishop Auckland (Daily site travel)

About The Role

We’re looking for a Cyber Technician (known internally as an ICA Technician) to join our Scotland and North 4-5 Operations Team, supporting the security and resilience of the National Gas Transmission System. This role is ideally suited to an Operations Technician from an Electrical, Instrumentation, Control or Automation background who is looking to progress their career into cyber security within an operational environment. This is not a traditional IT or corporate cyber role. Instead, it is a hands‑on, site‑based position working directly with Operational Technology (OT) assets that underpin the UK’s critical gas infrastructure. The role will cover our Wooler and Bishop Auckland Compressor stations as well as remote sites across the area. Daily travel to sites is required.

You’ll be part of a specialist team maintaining critical systems such as control systems, industrial PCs, firewalls, managed switches, and other OT assets across a range of operational gas sites from large gas terminals to smaller, unmanned locations. In addition to day‑to‑day operational responsibilities, we will invest fully in your personal and professional development, providing training and support to help you build cyber capability and excel within this evolving technical discipline.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Placing health and safety first, demonstrating safe working practices to protect yourself, colleagues, contractors, and site visitors
• Acting as a technical subject matter expert, bringing specialist operational and instrumentation knowledge into day‑to‑day activities across the Scotland and North 4-5 area
• Working with the planning team to effectively organise, prioritise and deconflict work, including routine maintenance, investigations and defect management
• Completing routine maintenance of ICA and Cyber/OT assets across operational gas sites
• Working closely with the central cyber security team to ensure asset compliance, readiness, and resilience, while remaining embedded within the area operations team
• Supporting cyber assurance visits, site access coordination, and upgrade programmes
• Responding to asset failures and fault investigations, engaging third‑party contractors when required
• Protecting critical assets from cyber threats by:
• Configuring and backing up OT systems
• Maintaining asset data and credentials
• Completing malware sweeps
• Carrying out upgrades to meet vulnerability management requirements
• Supporting capital project delivery, installation of new OT/Cyber assets, and secure disposal of retired equipment
• Participating in a one‑in‑four standby rota once training is complete (with additional remuneration)

About You

You’ll be a practical, hands‑on technician with a strong operational mindset and a desire to develop deeper cyber and OT security skills. You’ll take ownership of your work, apply a methodical and safety‑focused approach, and feel comfortable working independently across multiple sites.

You’ll bring:

• A proactive attitude and willingness to learn
• Strong problem‑solving and analytical skills
• The ability to organise, prioritise and manage your workload effectively
• A commitment to high technical and safety standards

This role is particularly well suited to someone who has worked in operations, E&I, instrumentation, or controls, and now wants to build a long‑term career in OT cyber security.

Key Requirements & Experience

• BTEC National Certificate (or equivalent City & Guilds, NVQ/SVQ Level 3) in:
• Instrumentation
• Electrical / Electronic Engineering
• Automation, Control or a related technical discipline
• Time‑served apprenticeship (or equivalent recognised training scheme) in a relevant engineering discipline
• Experience working with Operational Technology (OT), including:
• Instrumentation
• PLCs
• SCADA or control systems
• Industrial communications
• Experience following maintenance procedures and completing fault investigation and remediation
• Proven ability to organise, prioritise and schedule maintenance activities
• Ability to interpret and work from engineering drawings
• Full UK driving licence (essential for site travel)

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held.

What we offer

• Annual bonus of up to 6% based on personal and company performance
• 26 days’ holiday plus statutory holidays - option available to buy extra holiday day
• Generous double-match pension scheme - for every £1 you put in, we'll add £2 (max company contribution 12%)
• An optional flexible benefit scheme, including private healthcare, dental insurance, technology plans, travel insurance
• Death in service 10x your basic salary
• Financial protection if you're unable to work due to long term illness or injury
• Excellent family friendly provisions – maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental leave
• Professional development and career progression
• Employee assistance programme offering free confidential professional counselling 24 hours per day
• Financial support to help you cover the cost of professional membership subscriptions, relevant to your role

Inclusive recruitment

At National Gas, we are disability confident and signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant. We are committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and encourage you to let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may need.