DV Application Support Engineer - Contract (outside of IR35)

TwinStream

About Us  In 2019, the founders were working as engineers solving complex cross-domain problems within government organisations.  TwinStream was formed to bring together their collective expertise and experience into a single business, focused on delivering technical excellence and high-quality service to clients.  Since then, the company has grown to over 100 team members across the UK, with colleagues working both on-site with clients, hybrid and remotely from home.    Day Rate: £500 - £650 Location: Hybrid working in Cheltenham (3-4 days) with possible 24/7 call out when on rota  Security Clearance: Must have live DV Clearance     About the role:  Our cross-domain services are used in high-profile government organisations. The demand for these services continues to grow in both scope and scale. We are seeking an experienced Site Reliability Engineer to help satisfy that demand. As an SRE you will be responsible for ensuring the availability, performance and cost effectiveness of these services. You will be working with multiple feature development teams and the BAU/Support team to define and evolve our cloud & on-prem infrastructure & delivery pipelines, improving system observability, demonstrating performance and capacity improvements and proactively identifying and mitigating reliability risks.      Key Responsibilities of the Site Reliability Engineer:  * Designing and maintaining reliable, scalable physical and virtual infrastructure   * Monitoring system performance and proactively resolving issues   * Automating processes using tools such as Ansible to improve efficiency and consistency   * Collaborating with engineers and stakeholders across the business   * Supporting continuous improvement of systems, tools, and practices   * Operating across the full infrastructure stack, from bare metal systems through to virtualised deployments and the applications running within them.      Skills & Experience Required:  * Experience using modern configuration management tools (such as Ansible, Chef or similar)  * Experience working with Terraform  * Experience working with docker containers & container orchestration tools (such as Kubernetes, OpenShift or Docker Swarm)  * Experience both using and maintaining CI / CD tools (such as Jenkins or similar)   * Experience with monitoring tools such as InfluxDB, Prometheus or Grafana.  * Experience of event-driven integration with MQ messaging (RabbitMQ or similar AMQP solution)  * Good understanding of relational databases and SQL  * Linux command line, administration and shell scripting  * Working knowledge of network security protocols  * Experience using, developing with and maintaining cloud hosting services (ideally AWS EC2, RDS, S3, Lambda)      Desirable Skills:  * Industry experience writing well-tested code in one of our platform languages (Java, Go, Python or similar)  * Knowledge of cross domain principles & technologies  * Experience of working in a service management environment  * Practical applications of using observability patterns in previous systems  * Creating and monitoring system availability metrics and using those to drive work that reduces downtime  * Experience in Azure     Diversity & Inclusion  We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities.  If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. We’re here to support you    Further Information:  Due to the nature of the work and the sectors we support, any offer of employment will be subject to the successful completion of the relevant security screening and clearance process. This role requires eligibility for [BPSS / SC / DV] clearance. As part of the vetting process, candidates must meet the UK Government's residency and right-to-work requirements associated with the required level of clearance.

Aker Systems

Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations.  We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations. In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track.  The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories.  We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.  We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work. Company Aker Systems designs, builds & operates advanced, ultra-secure data infrastructure, delivering data modernisation at enterprise scale to enable AI-driven transformation and seamless sharing of trusted data at scale, predominantly for highly regulated and Central Government clients in the UK. Aker has proven tech-enabled service offerings - covering the entire client lifecycle through strategic cloud & data capability leadership, secure cloud and data infrastructure modernisation, managed services in client environments and data & platform engineering. Aker powers AI digital transformation through trusted, enterprise scale data modernisation with proven mission critical, secure, trusted and real-time expertise & solutions. With deeply trusted relationships and influence, innovative technology and excellent delivery track record. Client Focus You will be working for national security and defence clients in the Southwest, across both short and long-lived programmes of work, as part of an Agile team of likeminded individuals that thrive on solving real-world problems, keeping the UK safe. Due to the nature of the work and the customers, you must hold enhanced DV Security Clearance. As a Lead DevOps Engineer, you will help lead the development and implementation of secure cloud environments hosting data and batch/real-time analytical platforms for National Security and Defence clients, leveraging the latest commercial and open-source technologies and techniques. This also involves building automated deployments using configuration management technology, deploying new modules, upgrades and fixes to test and production environments. Duties & Responsibilities * Build, test and deploy cloud-based infrastructure and applications using CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code * Contribute to the coding of custom test automation frameworks * Perform script maintenance and updates due to changes in requirements or implementations * Assist with setup/maintenance of environments for both manual and automated testing * Assist in production support through the investigation and resolution of incidents * Perform ongoing routine application maintenance tasks * Assist in conducting gap analysis, identifying feasible alternative solutions, and assisting in the scope of modifications * Participate in the contingency planning, including reliable backup and restore procedures * Document functions and changes to new or modified modules and test activities/results * Mentoring and driving the team to deliver our customer's requirements Core Experience & Competencies The successful candidate will have at least 5 years professional experience delivering production grade cloud solutions. * Experience working in DevSecOps environments and Zero Trust Architecture * Commercial Experience in deploying and operating infrastructure (network, servers, services) and applications on AWS and other public and private cloud (hybrid) environments * Developing and operating using open source and commercial software within a cloud-centric environment * GitHub/GitLab/Atlassian Suite for source control and performing code reviews as part of the build and deployment cycle * CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code technologies, e.g. Terraform and Ansible * Test Driven Development with appropriate tools and frameworks * Experience of cloud orchestration and containerisation technologies, such as Kubernetes, Docker, ECS/EKS & AKS * Knowledge of distributed event streaming technologies, such as Kafka and Flink   Aker Systems Attributes At Aker we work as a team; we are collaborative, hardworking, open, and delivery obsessed. There is no blame culture here: try things, and take responsibility for the outcomes. You are always part of the wider Aker. We help our colleagues and take pride in successfully achieving difficult tasks. We run towards problems and help to solve them. Communicate always, do so accurately and in a timely fashion. In return, we offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, company paid medical insurance and life assurance, pension scheme, annual training allowance, wellbeing allowance, virtual GP, Employee Assistance plan and more. Equal Opportunities Aker Systems fosters a diverse environment that encourages openness in its communications and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status or other personal characteristics. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity because they help challenge us and find new groundbreaking technical solutions.

Faculty

WHY FACULTY? We established Faculty in 2014 because we thought that AI would be the most important technology of our time. Since then, we’ve worked with over 350 global customers to transform their performance through human-centric AI. You can read about our real-world impact here. We don’t chase hype cycles. We innovate, build and deploy responsible AI which moves the needle - and we know a thing or two about doing it well. We bring an unparalleled depth of technical, product and delivery expertise to our clients who span government, finance, retail, energy, life sciences and defence. Our business, and reputation, is growing fast and we’re always on the lookout for individuals who share our intellectual curiosity and desire to build a positive legacy through technology. AI is an epoch-defining technology, join a company where you’ll be empowered to envision its most powerful applications, and to make them happen. ABOUT THE TEAM   Our National Security and AI Safety business unit is dedicated to advancing the responsible development and deployment of AI in support of national security and global stability. From strengthening mission-critical capabilities across national security and intelligence, to working with frontier labs to provide robust AI safety red teaming and evaluation, we work at the frontier of high-stakes, high-impact missions. We understand that powerful AI systems bring both transformative opportunities and complex risks and we are proud to partner with Government and the biggest tech organisations in the world to ensure AI is not just transformative but is also secure, trustworthy and safe for all. Because of the nature of the work we do with our Government clients, you may need to be eligible for UK Developed Vetting (DV) and willing to work on site with our clients from time to time. ABOUT THE ROLE   As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, we’ll look to you to lead development and deployment of cutting-edge AI systems for our diverse clients. You’ll design, build, and deploy scalable, production-grade ML software and infrastructure that meets rigorous operational and ethical standards.   This is an ambitious, cross-functional role requiring a blend of technical expertise, engineering leadership, and confident client-facing skills.   WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING:   * Leading technical scoping and architectural decisions for high-impact ML systems * Designing and building production-grade ML software, tools, and scalable infrastructure * Defining and implementing best practices and standards for deploying machine learning at scale across the business * Collaborating with engineers, data scientists, product managers, and commercial teams to solve critical client challenges and leverage opportunities * Acting as a trusted technical advisor to customers and partners, translating complex concepts into actionable strategies * Mentoring and developing junior engineers, actively shaping our team's engineering culture and technical depth   WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR:   * You understand the full ML lifecycle and have significant experience operationalising models built with frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch * You bring deep expertise in software engineering and strong Python skills, focusing on building robust, reusable systems * You have demonstrable hands-on experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), including architecture, security, and infrastructure * You've extensive experience working with container and orchestration tools such at Docker & Kubernetes to build and manage applications at scale * You thrive in fast-paced, high-growth environments, demonstrating ownership and autonomy in driving projects to completion * You communicate exceptionally well, confidently guiding both technical teams and senior, non-technical stakeholders   OUR INTERVIEW PROCESS   1. Talent Team Screen (30 minutes) 2. Pair Programming Interview (90 minutes) 3. System Design Interview (90 minutes) 4. Commercial Interview (60 minutes)   OUR RECRUITMENT ETHOS We aim to grow the best team - not the most similar one. We know that diversity of individuals fosters diversity of thought, and that strengthens our principle of seeking truth. And we know from experience that diverse teams deliver better work, relevant to the world in which we live. We’re united by a deep intellectual curiosity and desire to use our abilities for measurable positive impact. We strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, religions and sexual orientations. Some of our standout benefits: * Unlimited Annual Leave Policy * Private healthcare and dental * Enhanced parental leave * Family-Friendly Flexibility & Flexible working * Sanctus Coaching * Hybrid Working If you don’t feel you meet all the requirements, but are excited by the role and know you bring some key strengths, please don't hesitate in applying as you might be right for this role, or other roles. We are open to conversations about part-time hours.