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Principal Systems Engineer
- Posted 10 May 2024
- LocationKuala Lumpur
- Job type Permanent
- Discipline Product & Engineering
- ReferenceJ11708
Job description
Join the Access Family and see how we make software ideas become a reality!
Our core value of ‘Love Work, Love Life, Be You’ has been central to our success and so we’re looking for people to join us who share our passion for making things better every day and help us continue to grow. We are the number one UK headquartered software provider in the UK and are forecasted to grow to a global population of over 12,000 employees by 2026.
What are we all about?At Access, we love software and how technology never stays the same. It's this passion that drives us to work closely across sectors to understand the business needs of our customers - from the Hospitality sector, to Manufacturing industry, to Not for Profit’s to Construction, and many more. We're passionate about helping our customers stay one step ahead of the challenges facing their industry and business, currently helping over 60,000 customers to have the freedom to do more.
Base LocationIn the main, our roles are remote / working from home, with occasional travel to an Access office, supplier / partner or customer site. Some roles are site-based and if this applies to this role, this will be discussed with you during the hiring process. This role will be based in our APAC region and will work on projects residing in Malaysia (particularly Kula Lumpur), Australia and New Zealand. The role will need to liaise with UKIE colleagues and partners also.
Working HoursCore hours are Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 6.00pm local time (excluding lunch break). Occasionally, we will ask staff to stagger their working pattern (small adjustments, e.g. 8.00am to 4.30pm), to provide coverage for colleagues or to accommodate interaction with international colleagues. We are a global organisation and operate a follow-the-sun service model and therefore we do not require our staff to work out of hours as part of normal practice.
About you:You are excited about working for a best in class, fast growing Software business in a domain that’s innovative and disruptive and is vital to the lives of individuals and the successful operation of most businesses. You love solving challenging business-critical technical problems.
You know that technical excellence is at the heart of delivering the best possible outcomes for our clients and the customers that rely upon them and you always place what’s best for the customer at the heart of what you do.
You have very strong analytical and problem-solving skills and are a creative thinker, with strong interpersonal and communication skills, and the desire to share your knowledge and experience to develop colleagues so that they can rise to your exacting technical standards.
You are passionate about technology and its potential to move organizations forward through innovation, while maintaining the security of personal and cardholder data at the highest level.
About the role:
We are seeking an ambitious Principal Systems Engineer to play a key role in an engineering team that is responsible for the operation of critical platforms supporting thousands of customers and millions of citizens. You will be at the heart of the team that designs, builds and operates modern, secure, high availability and high-performance payments processing platforms and other key solutions that maximize the efficiency of operations of our customers.
The platforms that you will be working on support organisations across the UK, from enabling payments for major clean air initiatives such as the congestion charge and ultra-low emissions zones in London, enabling local authorities to support vulnerable citizens, and enabling payments for the BBC license fee. While doing this you will be delivering innovative changes that support Open Banking, payment wallets and alternative payment methods.
These platforms are a mix of public and private cloud, using the latest technologies to ensure that they deliver excellent service to our customers.
Day-to-day, you will:
Lead the design and technical architecture discussions for the payment processing and income reconciliation systems, collaborating with the other members of the wider Product & Engineering team to ensure scalability, security, and high availability based on comprehensive demand management and capacity planning.
Oversee the deployment and configuration of Windows-based servers, virtual machines, and application components, managing the integration of software and hardware to maintain a robust system infrastructure.
Document & understand complete end to end Service, implementation of monitoring and improvements to ensure stability and security
Monitor system performance and resource utilization using various tools, promptly identifying and resolving any performance bottlenecks or issues that may arise.
Respond to critical incidents and service outages, leading the troubleshooting efforts and coordinating with the team to minimize downtime and restore services efficiently.
Implement automation to enhance and standardise deployments and upgrades.
Ensure compliance with security standards and best practices, regularly reviewing system configurations and access controls to protect sensitive data and maintain PCI-DSS compliance.
Collaborate with external partners to ensure seamless integration with payment authorization and settlement services, resolving any technical issues that may arise during the integration process.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to the technical team, fostering a collaborative and growth-oriented environment.
Work closely with other departments in a DevOps approach to align system operations with business requirements, identify improvements that can be made to existing products, simplify and automate deployments, promoting effective communication and collaboration.
Maintain comprehensive system documentation, including architecture diagrams, configuration details, and troubleshooting guides, to facilitate knowledge sharing and future system enhancements.
These day-to-day activities demonstrate the Principal Systems Engineer's vital role in ensuring the stability, security, and continuous improvement of the Windows-based payment processing and income reconciliation systems, as well as their leadership in guiding the technical team and collaborating with various stakeholders to achieve organizational goals.
Create and implement the most effective infrastructure, environment and application monitoring and alerting processes, maximizing the capabilities of the available tools to ensure delivery of a proactive monitoring and alerting solution.
As a well-rounded Principal Systems Engineer your Skills and Experiences likely include: Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Experience: Extensive experience in designing, building, and maintaining complex and secure Windows-based systems that are operating 24/7/365 at 99.99% uptime and processing high volumes of transactions.
Experience: Some understanding of the specific issues that face payment processing systems in the payments domain.
Experience: Expertise in managing systems that contain some or all of the following components: HP hardware, Nutanix and VMWare virtualization tools, Windows OS, SQL Server, IIS, Tomcat, Java, and .NET application software.
Knowledge: In-depth knowledge of information security including PCI DSS requirements and experience implementing security measures for cardholder data protection.
Culture: extensive experience of working in a DevOps culture, embracing automation, promoting collaboration, and ensuring a customer-centric approach.
General Skills: Excellent communication and leadership skills to guide the technical team and collaborate with other departments effectively.
Database: Strong understanding of the set up and configuration of SQL Server and an appreciation of how we optimize the performance of databases in use within our platforms.
Windows Server Administration: Extensive experience in administering Windows Server operating systems, including installation, configuration, and maintenance of server roles and features. This includes managing Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, Group Policy, and other essential services.
Virtualization and Cloud Technologies: Proficiency in virtualization platforms like Nutanix, Hyper-V or VMware to create and manage virtual machines. Familiarity with cloud technologies like Microsoft Azure or AWS for deploying and managing cloud-based services.
Performance Monitoring and Optimization: Ability to monitor system performance using tools like Windows Performance Monitor and take proactive measures to optimize system resources and improve overall efficiency.
PowerShell Scripting: Strong scripting skills in PowerShell to automate repetitive tasks, configure system settings, and streamline administrative processes.
Security and Patch Management: In-depth understanding of Windows security features, security best practices, and patch management to ensure the systems are protected against potential vulnerabilities.
Disaster Recovery and Backup: Experience in implementing and managing backup solutions and disaster recovery plans to ensure data integrity and quick recovery in case of system failures.
Networking Protocols and Services: Familiarity with TCP/IP networking, routing, and firewall configurations to troubleshoot network-related issues and maintain secure communication.
System Monitoring and Event Management: Proficiency in using system monitoring tools like Splunk, Nagios, Zabbix, Solarwinds, or SCOM to proactively identify issues and respond to system events promptly.
Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS): Knowledge of ADFS to enable Single Sign-On (SSO) and federated identity management for web-based applications.
Windows Server Clustering: Experience in setting up and managing Windows Server Failover Clustering for load balancing, high availability and fault tolerance of critical services.
Systems Integration and Automation: Ability to integrate Windows-based systems with third-party applications, databases, and external services. Experience in designing and implementing automated workflows.
Troubleshooting and Problem Resolution: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to diagnose and resolve complex system issues efficiently.
Documentation and Knowledge Sharing: Proven ability to create and maintain comprehensive system documentation, sharing knowledge with team members to enhance overall system support.
Project Management and Leadership: Experience in leading technical projects, coordinating team efforts, and working collaboratively with cross-functional teams.
Continuous Learning and Industry Awareness: A willingness to stay updated with the latest trends, best practices, and emerging technologies in Windows-based systems engineering.
What does Access offer you?
We are a growing software company, and we deliver on what we say we do! We take the development of our people very seriously and we will work with you to carve out your success plan and an opportunity to accelerate your career and make a real difference. On top of a competitive salary, our wellbeing days taking you to 25 days leave a year (rules apply) and a health contribution you’ll also be able to choose from a range of benefits to suit you. We pride ourselves on being an organisation that gives back so you’ll also have 3 charity days you can take to support something that matters to you.
At Access we’re all about helping everyone Love Work and Love Life. Why? Because we believe people can only be their best when they can be themselves. So, if you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn’t match perfectly, we’d still love to hear from you. You might just be whom we are looking for.
We love the fact that we’re all different. We believe by having more diverse perspectives at work improves how we run our business, helps us to better support our customers, and when you think about it, it’s just more fun!
What’s holding you back? Come and be part of our Amazing Access Family!
Love Work. Love Life. Be You.