Senior Infrastructure Engineer (Database Development)

As a Senior Infrastructure Engineer (Database Development) at Companies House, you will support, maintain, and develop the organisation's current and future data services. Working primarily with Oracle and PL/SQL technologies, you will contribute to the delivery of both public-facing and internal services, while knowledge of PostgreSQL would be advantageous. You will be involved in database development, administration, and support across development, testing, and end-to-end environments.

The role offers the opportunity to play a key part in the ongoing transformation of Companies House services. Working within the Database Development team, you will develop and maintain data components, bulk data products, and Oracle PL/SQL packages that underpin customer-facing systems, including the Companies House Service (CHS). You will also support live production databases by investigating customer queries, producing data extracts and statistics, and creating data-fix scripts to implement bulk database updates.

Watch this video to find out more about working in Digital at Companies House

Companies House offers a flexible and welcoming culture that promotes a healthy work life balance as well as a proactive approach to wellbeing that allows us to be our best at work. We recognise that people are the key to our success so offer a fantastic benefits package including flexible working with no core hours, 30 days annual leave, 8 bank holidays and 1 privilege day as well as enrolment into the Civil Service Pension scheme with a contribution rate averaging 28%.

Find out more about what a great place Companies House is to work

Please note:

• Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.
• Security Clearance is an essential requirement for this campaign. You'll need to have been in the UK for at least 3 out of the last 5 years to be eligible to apply for SC.
• The team for this role is based in our Cardiff office, and a hybrid employment contract will be provided as the standard offering. You could also be aligned to our Edinburgh office if this is closer to you. However, remote contracts may be considered as an exception whereby commuting to one of these office locations is not reasonably practicable.

As a Senior Infrastructure Engineer (Database Development) you will:

• Use PL/SQL, database administration, and data development expertise to support and enhance the data platforms that underpin Companies House services.
• Collaborate with analysts, customers, developers, and support teams to deliver high-quality data solutions.
• Work in an Agile environment across multiple projects to support and improve core business systems.
• Install, configure, and maintain solutions in line with technical standards and Change Management processes.
• Develop and maintain automated deployment and release pipelines using Concourse CI/CD to support the reliable delivery of database and infrastructure changes.
• Investigate, diagnose, and resolve incidents within agreed service targets.
• Perform root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions to improve service reliability.
• Support the migration of on-premises services to public cloud platforms and contributing to the wider technology transformation programme.
• Promote Infrastructure as Code, automation, and DevOps best practices to improve operational efficiency and system resilience.

This role combines database development, database administration, CI/CD automation, operational support, and cloud transformation work, providing opportunities to influence the evolution of critical public services.

We are looking for an experienced Senior Infrastructure Engineer, who meets the technical specifications outlined here: Infrastructure engineer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework

You can read more about a career in Digital and Data within the Civil Service in the Government Digital and Data Candidate Information Pack.

About the team:

The Database Development team is part of the Infrastructure Engineering profession and plays a key role in delivering the data platforms and services that support Companies House's critical systems.

The team develops and maintains Oracle databases, PL/SQL solutions, data integrations, and bulk data products that underpin both internal services and customer-facing systems, including the Companies House Service (CHS). Working in Agile teams, you'll collaborate with engineers, analysts, architects, and service specialists to deliver secure, reliable, and scalable solutions.

As part of our digital transformation programme, the team is modernising legacy platforms and increasing automation through CI/CD pipelines, providing opportunities to work with modern engineering practices while supporting business-critical national services.

We foster a collaborative and supportive culture that encourages knowledge sharing, continuous learning, and innovation. You'll have the opportunity to influence technical decisions, develop your skills, and contribute to services used by millions of people across the UK.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

What will the process look like?Stage 1 – Sift An initial sift of applications will be carried out to create a shortlist. This will be based on the evidence provided for the following Success Profile elements: Experience.

In your application form we’d like you to:

Write a CV: tell us about your employment history, including key responsibilities and achievements.

Write a Personal Statement of 1000 words: tell us, using examples, how you meet the following criteria:

• Has proven experience working within a multidisciplinary technical team, delivering database and infrastructure solutions in complex enterprise environments.
• Significant commercial experience developing Oracle database solutions using PL/SQL, including stored procedures, packages, functions, triggers, performance optimisation, and data modelling.
• Can troubleshoot and resolve complex database, application, and infrastructure issues, using a structured and analytical approach to problem solving.
• Has experience working effectively in distributed teams, utilising collaboration tools and technical documentation to diagnose and resolve issues remotely.

We'd encourage you to use the full word count, and to give us clear examples and evidence of the different elements of the essential minimum criteria.

We’re committed to being diverse and inclusive, so please make your application anonymous by removing all identifying personal information (such as your name and age) from your personal statement.

Once the advert has closed, we will sift applications - this involves reading through them all, please bear with us as this can take some time.

We may raise the score required if we receive a high number of applications.

At sift we may choose to take through the highest performing candidates to the next stage. If, after the final stage is completed and roles are unfilled, we will proceed to invite lower scoring candidates to interview.

Stage 2 - Interview Companies House uses a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you. We use the Success Profile framework and at interview we will use Success Profiles assessing the Behaviours AND Technical Skills listed in the advert.

Successful candidates from the sift stage will be invited to a virtual interview, which will be conducted using Microsoft Teams.

There will be an activity as part of the interview process. This will be a scenario-based task assessing the Technical Skill: PL/SQL experience. Candidates who are invited to interview will be provided with further details.

The lead criteria to distinguish between tied candidates will be Technical Skill: PL/SQL experience.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

If after the interview you are not found appointable at the advertised grade, you may be offered the lower grade role if you are considered to meet the skills, experience and behaviours for the lower level. The benchmark for appointing to the lower grade is set at the start of each campaign.

All offers will be made in merit order.

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of recruitment based on fair and open competition with decisions made on the basis of merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.

Dates (dates are indicative only and could be subject to change)

• Closing date: 7th September 2026
• Sifting: from 8th September 2026
• Interview: w/c 21st September 2026

Sponsorship

Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. Companies House holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship, your application may be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment withdrawn.

Security ClearanceSuccessful candidates must pass a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check before they can be appointed.

BPSS is an entry level security check. It uses the Police National Computer (PNC) to make sure a candidate has no convictions. The check returns evidence of any current criminal record and un-spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements for Security Check (SC) before they can be appointed.

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

Further information on National Security Vetting

Pre-Employment Checking

In line with Government guidance, successfully appointed candidates will need to provide documents for our Right to Work checks.

From June 2026, applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). Your personal details (name, National Insurance number, and date of birth) will be checked against the Civil Service Resourcing Extract IFD.

This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued.

If your details appear on this database, you will not be offered employment unless you can demonstrate exceptional circumstances. Companies House, acting on behalf of the vacancy holder, will inform you if your application is refused for this reason.

Please note: You are not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.