Application Support - Service Engineer

Join us as an Application Support Engineer at Barclays, where you will play a key role in ensuring the stability, availability, and performance of critical business applications. The role will include monitoring and supporting business-critical applications, investigating and resolving production incidents in line with ITIL processes, and working with engineering teams to improve application reliability, performance, and operational resilience. You will also leverage monitoring and observability tools to proactively identify issues and minimise service disruption.

To be successful as an Application Support Engineer, you should have:
• Strong AWS knowledge from an application support and operational support perspective, including troubleshooting cloud-based applications and services
• Experience working with MS SQL, including query analysis, troubleshooting, and supporting database-driven applications
• Strong Unix/Linux administration and troubleshooting skills within production environments

Some other highly valued skills may include:
• Experience supporting APIs and understanding application integration concepts
• Exposure to CI/CD processes and tools such as GitLab pipelines, with an understanding of release and deployment practices
• Experience using monitoring and automation tools such as Kibana, AppDynamics and other observability platforms to support service performance and operational excellence

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in the role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking, and digital and technology capabilities, as well as job‑specific technical skills.

This role will be based in Knutsford.

Purpose of the role

To effectively monitor and maintain the bank’s critical technology infrastructure and resolve more complex technical issues, whilst minimising disruption to operations. 

Accountabilities

• Provision of technical support for the service management function to resolve more complex issues for a specific client of group of clients. Develop the support model and service offering to improve the service to customers and stakeholders.
• Execution of preventative maintenance tasks on hardware and software and utilisation of monitoring tools/metrics to identify, prevent and address potential issues and ensure optimal performance.
• Maintenance of a knowledge base containing detailed documentation of resolved cases for future reference, self-service opportunities and knowledge sharing.
• Analysis of system logs, error messages and user reports to identify the root causes of hardware, software and network issues, and providing a resolution to these issues by fixing or replacing faulty hardware components, reinstalling software, or applying configuration changes.
• Automation, monitoring enhancements, capacity management, resiliency, business continuity management, front office specific support and stakeholder management.
• Identification and remediation or raising, through appropriate process, of potential service impacting risks and issues.
• Proactively assess support activities implementing automations where appropriate to maintain stability and drive efficiency. Actively tune monitoring tools, thresholds, and alerting to ensure issues are known when they occur.

Analyst Expectations

• To perform prescribed activities in a timely manner and to a high standard consistently driving continuous improvement.
• Requires in-depth technical knowledge and experience in their assigned area of expertise
• Thorough understanding of the underlying principles and concepts within the area of expertise
• They lead and supervise a team, guiding and supporting professional development, allocating work requirements and coordinating team resources.
• If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others.
• OR for an individual contributor, they develop technical expertise in work area, acting as an advisor where appropriate.
• Will have an impact on the work of related teams within the area.
• Partner with other functions and business areas.
• Takes responsibility for end results of a team’s operational processing and activities.
• Escalate breaches of policies / procedure appropriately.
• Take responsibility for embedding new policies/ procedures adopted due to risk mitigation.
• Advise and influence decision making within own area of expertise.
• Take ownership for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work you own or contribute to. Deliver your work and areas of responsibility in line with relevant rules, regulation and codes of conduct.
• Maintain and continually build an understanding of how own sub-function integrates with function, alongside knowledge of the organisations products, services and processes within the function.
• Demonstrate understanding of how areas coordinate and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the organisation sub-function.
• Make evaluative judgements based on the analysis of factual information, paying attention to detail.
• Resolve problems by identifying and selecting solutions through the application of acquired technical experience and will be guided by precedents.
• Guide and persuade team members and communicate complex / sensitive information.
• Act as contact point for stakeholders outside of the immediate function, while building a network of contacts outside team and external to the organisation.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.