At a Glance
- Tasks: Manage and improve critical applications that support services for the people of Scotland.
- Company: Join Social Security Scotland, a Disability Confident Employer committed to inclusivity.
- Benefits: Permanent position with opportunities for professional growth and development.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with a focus on innovation and continuous improvement.
- Why this job: Make a real difference by ensuring reliable digital services for communities.
- Qualifications: Experience in application operations and strong problem-solving skills required.
The predicted salary is between 49500 - 60500 £ per year.
Social Security Scotland is looking for a Senior Application Operations Engineer to join our Digital Services Branch. In this role, you will support and improve a portfolio of enterprise applications that are critical to the delivery of benefits and services to the people of Scotland. Working within a complex enterprise environment, you will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of business-critical applications, acting as a technical subject matter expert for assigned services.
You will lead incident and problem resolution activities, coordinating support teams, technology specialists and suppliers to ensure issues are investigated and resolved within agreed service levels. Through effective troubleshooting and root cause analysis, you will help ensure systems remain secure, reliable and resilient. You will develop a detailed understanding of the applications you support, their underlying technology stacks and their dependencies across the wider digital estate.
Using this knowledge, you will investigate complex technical issues, identify factors affecting application availability and performance, and support the delivery of effective solutions. As well as supporting live services, you will proactively review application performance and capacity to ensure services continue to meet business needs. You will identify opportunities to improve reliability, availability, security and operational efficiency, working with colleagues and suppliers to deliver improvements and maintain application roadmaps.
You will also contribute to the assessment of application changes and support the introduction of new or enhanced services into live operation. The role includes working closely with architects, engineers, suppliers, business owners and end users to resolve issues, improve service performance and ensure applications continue to meet organisational standards. You will support application patching, certification and compliance activities, working with Information Security colleagues and suppliers to ensure services remain aligned with technology, security and governance requirements.
This is an opportunity to work across a diverse and evolving application landscape, helping to deliver trusted and effective digital services that support the people of Scotland.
Main Duties
- Manage application services and components to ensure they meet business requirements, service levels and performance targets.
- Assess, document and implement change requests, evaluating impacts and ensuring effective change management.
- Identify opportunities to improve processes, contributing to the design and delivery of optimisation initiatives.
- Diagnose, prioritise and resolve incidents, taking ownership through to resolution, mitigation or handover.
- Investigate recurring issues, monitor trends and implement preventative measures to reduce future incidents.
- Collaborate with technical specialists and stakeholders to determine and implement appropriate solutions.
- Translate technical and business requirements into practical, scalable frameworks and solutions.
- Utilise management systems (such as JIRA), monitoring tools (such as Kibana) and logical data models to investigate issues, analyse performance and produce reports.
- Install, configure, maintain and reconfigure application platforms and related technologies.
- Monitor, optimise and forecast application performance, capacity and resource requirements.
- Understand core technical concepts related to this role and apply them with guidance.
- Review requirements and specifications, define test conditions, identify risks, and analyse and report testing outcomes.
- Engage users and stakeholders to gather requirements, conduct user-focused research, and use qualitative and quantitative insights to deliver user-centred outcomes.
Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post.
Senior Application Operations Engineer (5320) employer: Social Security Scotland
Social Security Scotland is an exceptional employer, offering a supportive and inclusive work environment that values diversity and innovation. As part of the UK Civil Service, employees benefit from competitive pay, flexible working options, and opportunities for professional growth while contributing to meaningful public services that impact lives across Scotland. With a focus on collaboration and continuous improvement, this role provides a unique chance to shape cloud-native solutions in a dynamic team setting located in either Glasgow or Dundee.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Application Operations Engineer (5320)
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Social Security Scotland or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Social Security Scotland.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Social Security Scotland.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Social Security Scotland that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Application Operations Engineer (5320)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Social Security Scotland.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Social Security Scotland and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Social Security Scotland
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Social Security Scotland uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
