Led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the UK Telecoms Lab (UKTL), announced in October 2022, will give the UK the cutting-edge technology to keep our telecommunications networks safe, accelerate the roll-out of 5G, and grow our brilliant telecoms sector by bringing in new entrants to diversify the supply chain market.

Successful candidates will have a unique experience working on or supporting the latest ground-breaking cyber security and networking technologies on a national and international scale. This opportunity will allow those involved to have first-hand exposure to the latest technologies via the research and development that we are undertaking to secure our telecommunications networks, in order to keep the UK the safest place to live and do business online.

As a trusted and independent national capability, the UKTL will interact at the intersection of standards bodies, such as 3GPP, the National Cyber Security Centre and the wider UK intelligence community, academia, Ofcom, as well as Communications Service Providers and telecommunication equipment vendors.

This team is critical to the successful operation of the UKTL, as you and your team will be responsible for building, maintaining, and supporting the UKTL’s telecoms test networks. You will handle the day-to-day operations and design of the test lab environment, and will be able to think on your feet to design suitable solutions to support new kinds of testing, while maintaining the robustness of the environment for concurrent testing.

We are working in a hybrid way, with a mix of remote and office working. We strive to offer a great work life balance - if you are looking for full time, part time or flexible options, we will try to make this work where possible. This will be dependent on the kind of role you do and part of the business you work in.

About You

Key Requirements

• Experience managing a test lab environment or carrying out testing of telecoms/IT equipment.
• Understanding of network operations, optical and general IP networking, server maintenance, virtualisation, containerisation, and orchestration.
• Ability to develop, manage and optimise business processes.
• Understanding of relevant industry good practice such as fault management, change management and configuration management.
• Experience of operating and using telecoms or networking equipment in test / live environments e.g. previous experience in a Network Operator.
• Experience in carrying out multi-vendor testing, such as interoperability or standards conformance testing.
• Team leadership skills including communication and knowledge sharing ability.
• Ability to lead, motivate and manage others in order to help them to achieve their own personal goals, and deliver on UKTL objectives.
• Customer service skills including working collaboratively with government, academia and industry.
• Ability to work collaboratively with other technical leads to deliver joint outcomes.
• Proactive approach to solving complex problems and finding innovative solutions to them.
• Understanding of commercial and IPR sensitivities when working with suppliers and operators.
• Experience establishing, negotiating and delivering against service level agreements; including the ability to make decisions and manage competing priorities.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in this specific area means that nationality, residency and security requirements are more tightly defined than others. To work in this role, you will need to have an SC clearance with no restrictions, or you must have the ability to obtain an SC clearance.

About The Company

Who sets the standards, to ensure that anything that can be measured is done so with consistency and reliability? We do. Through our vital research, the National Physical Laboratory is helping support scientific and commercial innovations, international trade, environmental protection and health and wellbeing.

NPL and BEIS have strong commitments to diversity and equality of opportunity, and welcome applications from candidates irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or age, providing they meet the required criteria. Applications from women, disabled, black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates in particular are encouraged. All disabled candidates (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) who satisfy the minimum criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme.

We’re transforming. As a national laboratory, we’re exploring even more commercial routes to market and that’s presenting us with greater opportunity – for you and us. Our success relies on the diversity and talent of our people, we strive to nurture and respect individuals to ensure everyone feels valued and supported to excel in their chosen field. This value is at the core of our organisation.

We believe in a culture of fairness by treating everyone on the basis of their own individual merits and abilities regardless of their own or perceived identity, background or any other factor irrelevant to a person’s work. At NPL we are committed to the health and well-being of our employees. Flexible working and social activities are embedded in our culture to create a positive work-life balance, along with a broad range of benefits. NPL’s values are at the heart of what we do and they shape the way we interact, develop our people and celebrate success.

As part of our commitment to diversity & inclusion, we signed up to the Institute of Physics' Project Juno in 2015 as a Juno Supporter. NPL were proud to be awarded Juno Practitioner status in 2018. NPL also joined Stonewall as a Diversity champion in 2015, participating in their annual Workplace Equality Index for the equality of LGBT+ community at NPL. In 2018, NPL became a member of the Business Disability Forum and joined the disability confident scheme as level 1 committed employer.