Systems Administrator

What if you could work with remarkable people on extraordinary things? What if the end result was something a little bit special? What if your role was mission critical?



For nearly 70 years, AWE has been at the forefront of nuclear weapons research and development. We have a critical mission: to provide the warheads for the UK’s ultimate deterrent – Trident. We also use our unique skills to provide wider UK government with counter-terrorism and nuclear threat reduction solutions



It takes a special sort of person to work at AWE. What if that person was you?



Information Services and Security have a vital role to play in a crucial national mission. We’re here to enable the organisation to deliver through the use of technology. As AWE transforms itself to meet the needs of the UK’s next-generation nuclear deterrent, we need to adapt to deliver data-driven decision making, flexible and future-proofed IT services, adaptable cyber security, support to a multi-billion Pound building programme, and many more


The scale might be daunting to some, but you’ll find it stimulating. We’ve got a long journey that we’ve only just started and we’re looking for motivated people who can take us in the right direction. Your role will contribute directly to that shared mission. We won’t deceive you, in some areas we’re starting from a low base, but within ten years this organisation will look very different, and you can help make that happen. This is a role where you’ll contribute to a legacy of national security for decades to come. So come and join us


We are recruiting for an Application/Systems Administrator to work with IS teams to ensure the support, upgrade, deployment and day to day maintenance of high-availability and mission critical software applications



Location – Reading area


Salary - from £35,840 - £45,000



AWE (one of the best 25 big companies to work for in the UK) offers an attractive array of benefits which include:

• Market leading contributory pension scheme


• Generous holiday entitlement (270 hours a year including bank holidays, plus every other Friday off)


• Flexible working hours


• Salary sacrifice scheme


• Consideration for either full time or part time hours. Just let us know on your application if you wish to work part time


• Relocation package available (terms and conditions apply)

Key Accountabilities:

• Escalation of significant issues to the IS Technical Services Manager or Team Lead.


• Maintain and promote high personal standards in environment, safety, health, security and quality and be a great team player.


• Additional accountabilities for this job profile may be defined and appointed through the Chief Engineer Management Arrangements, with appointees listed within the Company Design Authorities and Technical Authorities, as held in the company management system.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide resilient applications to the business and ensure these are in support, upgraded and deployed in the correct manner.


• Core Server Support - Build, maintain and manage the provisioning of Server environments to AWE, in keeping with current SLA’s, through effective processes, KPI’s and problem management.


• Be responsible for diagnosing and following through to resolution any problems, escalating to team members or other teams and vendors when required.


• Ensure that IS Change requests are completed and processed in timely manner to enable service improvement.


• To ensure that all users are supported in their day to day activities with resolutions to problems and issues.


• Build relationships with other teams within IT Operations to enable better support and communications.


• To maintain technical skills to allow us to benefit from new and emerging technologies in order to make supportive decisions


• Attend technical briefing / support groups.


• Understand and develop support system road maps.


• The Company may require you to fulfil any other reasonable duties aligned to your position from time to time in line with business needs.

You Will Have:

• Experience of call and change management systems, troubleshooting tools and root cause analysis. (ITIL)


• Experience in a proactive IT operational role in a modern IT environment


• Good understanding of IT and Information related principles, standards, and requirements when operating within MoD and UK legislative environments.


• Able to provide comprehensive reports for operations and write and update technical documentation.


• Good understanding of network principles


• Good understanding of Cloud Technologies (Azure, AWS)


• Familiar with Oracle Databases and/or SQL


• Strong experience with Windows 2016/2019/2022


• Familiar with Citrix & VM


• Some experience in Scripting (Powershell)

All Candidates must be willing and able to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role



Please note that you must be a British Citizen to apply for a role with us



Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide us will be used to encourage and support you through the application process and will be held only for this purpose in accordance with GDPR.