Application Engineer

Spektrum supports apex purchasers (NATO, UN, EU, and National Government and Defence) and their Tier 1 supplier ecosystem with a wide range of specialist services. We provide our clients with professional services, specialised aerospace and defence sales, delivery, and operational subject matter expertise. We are looking for personnel to join our team and support key client projects.

Who we are supporting 

The NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for providing secure and effective communications and information technology (IT) services to NATO's member countries and its partners. The agency was established in 2012 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

The NCIA provides a wide range of services, including:

• Cyber Security: The NCIA provides advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect NATO's communication networks and information systems against cyber threats.
• Command and Control Systems: The NCIA develops and maintains the systems used by NATO's military commanders to plan and execute operations.
• Satellite Communications: The NCIA provides satellite communications services to enable secure and reliable communications between NATO forces.
• Electronic Warfare: The NCIA provides electronic warfare services to support NATO's mission to detect, deny, and defeat threats to its communication networks.
• Information Management: The NCIA manages NATO's information technology infrastructure, including its databases, applications, and servers.

Overall, the NCIA plays a critical role in ensuring the security and effectiveness of NATO's communication and information technology capabilities.

The program

Assistance and Advisory Service (AAS)

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is NATO’s principal C3 capability deliverer and CIS service provider. It provides, maintains and defends the NATO enterprise-wide information technology infrastructure to enable Allies to consult together under Article IV, and, when required, stand together in the face of attack under Article V.

To provide these critical services, in the modern evolving dynamic environment the NCI Agency needs to build and maintain high performance-engaged workforce. The NCI Agency workforce strategically consists of three major categorise's: NATO International Civilians (NIC)'s, Military (Mil), and Interim Workforce Consultants (IWC)'s. The IWCs are a critical part of the overall NCI Agency workforce and make up approximately 15 percent of the total workforce.

Role Duties and Responsibilities

• Review, implement and deploy configuration changes to the HRDS applications suite to meet specific requirements of NATO.
• Provide 1st and 2nd level support for the HRDS managed applications to investigate and troubleshoot it the issue is related to applications’ configurations which they can affect or open tickets for IT (infrastructure and related issues) or 3rd level support (applications development) to complete.
• Deploy and manage PowerShell scripts to automate routine tasks and streamline operations within Windows environments.
• Assist with development of PowerShell scripts with external applications and APIs to facilitate data exchange and process automation, and deploy and integrate in the environment.
• Manage Active Directory tasks through PowerShell scripting, including user provisioning, and system configuration.
• Provide frontline support for IT issues reported through ticketing systems such as ITSM, DevOps, or Jira, resolving incidents and service requests within agreed SLAs.
• Escalate complex issues to appropriate teams or vendors, tracking the resolution progress and ensuring timely communication with stakeholders.
• Analyse ticketing system data to identify trends and recurring issues, proposing solutions for continuous improvement of IT services.
• Support testing of the HRDS applications’ changes in the development, testing, and validation environments.
• Assist the IT service provider with any independent validation and verification testing requirements for the HRDS applications including, but not limited to, installation, configuration, and functional testing.

Essential Skills and Experience

• At least two years’ experience in the last five years as managing web applications, including both commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and custom-built applications. Strong understanding of web servers, networking, and troubleshooting techniques are required.
• At least three years’ experience in the last seven years as an MS SQL database administrator (DBA) with expertise in configuring and managing SQL Server in a high-availability (HA) configuration working with MS SQL 2019 or later to develop SQL objects including tables, views, and all forms of programmability objects. Experience must include using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and PowerShell scripts, and should also include SQL Job development.
• At last one year’s experience in the last five in installing, configuring, and managing SSRS Reports Server 2019 version 15.0 or later, or Power BI Server version 1.16 or later in a multi-frontend farm. Strong understanding of report development and visualization techniques are required.
• At least one year’s experience in the last seven as a SharePoint 2016 or later farm administrator including installation, configuration, and management of SharePoint farms. Expertise in SharePoint security, permissions, and content management are required.
• At least two years’ experience in the last seven years of hands-on experience in PowerShell scripting with a focus on automation and integration. Proficiency in manipulating data and calling application endpoints (APIs) for automation tasks. Experience in managing Windows environments and scripting for managing Active Directory tasks
• At least one year’s experience in the last five years with IT support roles, including experience with ticketing systems (ITSM, Devops, Jira). Strong communication and organizational skills are necessary.

Education

• University Degree in Computer Science or similar discipline; or Higher Secondary education and completed higher vocational training leading to a formal technical or professional certification with 2 years’ position-related experience; or a Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation in database administration with 4 years’ position-related experience.
• The above education requirements may be waived if a prospective incumbent can demonstrate one of the following:
  • A minimum three years of experience in the last five as a SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) with expertise in configuring and managing SQL Server in a highavailability (HA) configuration;
  • A minimum three years of experience in the last five years as SharePoint Farm and Site administration using SharePoint 2016 or above as primary job title and function;

Working Location

• Mons, Belgium

Working Policy

• Hybrid
• Note that different rates apply for On-site and Off-site work

Travel

• Some travel to other NATO sites may be required

Contract Duration

• Sep 2024 – Dec 2024

Security Clearance

• Valid National or NATO Secret personal security clearance