Junior OT Engineer (Early Careers)

Sword is a leading provider of business technology solutions within the Energy, Public and Finance Sectors, driving transformational change within our clients. We use proven technology, specialist teams and domain expertise to build solid technical foundations across platforms, data, and business applications. We have a passion for using technology to solve business problems, working in partnership with our clients to help in achieving their goals.

As a Junior OT Engineer, you will begin your career within a specialist OT and industrial control systems (ICS) environment, supporting the infrastructure that underpins critical operational systems. This is a hands‑on, structured development role where you’ll gain exposure to real‑world OT environments while building your knowledge across system infrastructure, cybersecurity, and industrial networks. You’ll work alongside experienced engineers, following established procedures to support system health, maintenance, and continuous improvement activities. Over time, you’ll develop the confidence and capability to contribute more independently across a range of OT engineering tasks. This role is ideal for someone at the start of their career who is curious, detail‑oriented, and motivated to learn within a safety‑critical and technically evolving environment.

Working within our OT & Industrial Systems Practice, our Industrial Automation & Control Systems capability is central to how we support clients operating complex, safety‑critical OT and IACS environments. As part of this community, you’ll be supported by experienced engineers and specialists who are committed to knowledge sharing, mentorship and continuous learning. You’ll have access to:

• Structured training and development pathways
• Hands‑on experience within live and simulated environments
• An IACS demo lab to apply learning in practice
• A collaborative network of OT and cyber professionals

This is an environment where learning is continuous, and support is always available.

As a Junior OT Engineer, you will:

• Support system monitoring and health checks
• Perform routine checks across IACS/OT infrastructure
• Monitor system logs, alarms and network activity
• Identify and elevate anomalies to senior engineers
• Follow cybersecurity best practices and highlight potential risk
• Assist with upgrades and maintenance
• Support software upgrades across IACS environments
• Follow structured procedures for patching and updates
• Carry out compatibility checks for hardware and software
• Assist in resolving issues related to upgrades and changes
• Contribute to reporting and documentation
• Maintain logs of system checks, incidents and resolutions
• Prepare regular performance and security reports
• Support the development of standard operating procedures
• Assist with maintaining network diagrams and asset inventories
• Provide support and troubleshooting assistance
• Respond to support requests and follow guided troubleshooting steps
• Assist with tasks such as user account management
• Support incident investigations and root cause analysis
• Work alongside engineers to diagnose and resolve issues
• Develop your technical capability
• Participate in training across OT, IACS and cybersecurity fundamentals
• Engage with vendor platforms and learning resources
• Learn directly from experienced engineers through mentorship
• Apply knowledge in practical environments, including lab‑based setups

We’re looking for someone early in their career who is motivated to build their technical capability within OT and industrial environments. You may be joining us as a recent graduate, or you might already have gained 1–3 years of relevant industry experience—for example in IT support, helpdesk, infrastructure, or networking roles. You’ll bring:

• A degree (or equivalent) in Engineering, IT, Cyber Security or a related field – or relevant hands‑on experience in a technical role
• Exposure to areas such as system infrastructure, networking or Active Directory (beneficial, not essential)
• Experience working in structured environments, following processes or supporting live systems (e.g. helpdesk, IT support, operations)
• A methodical and detail‑oriented approach to tasks
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset
• A genuine interest in developing a career in OT, industrial systems or cybersecurity

At Sword, our core values and culture are based on caring about our people, investing in training and career development, and building inclusive teams where we are all encouraged to contribute to achieve success. We offer comprehensive benefits designed to support your professional development and enhance your overall quality of life. In addition to a competitive salary, here’s what you can expect as part of our benefits package:

• Personalised Career Development: We create a development plan customised to your goals and aspirations, with a range of learning and development opportunities within a culture that encourages growth.
• Flexible working: Flexible work arrangements to support your work‑life balance. We can’t promise to always be able to meet every request, however, are keen to discuss your individual preferences to make it work where we can.
• A fantastic benefits package: This includes generous annual leave allowance, enhanced family‑friendly benefits, pension scheme, access to private health, well‑being, and insurance schemes.

At Sword we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and are proud to be an equal‑opportunity employer, ensuring that all applicants receive fair and equal consideration for employment, regardless of whether they meet every requirement. If you don’t tick all the boxes but feel you have some of the relevant skills and experience we’re looking for, please do consider applying and highlight your transferable skills and experience. We embrace diversity in all its forms, valuing individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Your perspective and potential are important to us.