Job Description

Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

Salary: 24,340 per annum

(rising annually throughout the apprenticeship)

Contract Type: Fixed-Term, 24 months

Hours: Full-time, 37 hours

Location: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX

Closing Date: Sunday, 2nd February 2026

Interview Date: Feb 2026 / Mar 2026

Start Date: September 2026

Are you fascinated by the backbone of scientific discovery - the powerful infrastructure that enables cutting-edge research? Do you enjoy solving technical puzzles and want to be part of a team that supports world-class science?


As a DevOps Apprentice in our Scientific Computing Department, you'll dive into the heart of large-scale scientific computing, learning how to manage and maintain critical infrastructure and vast storage systems that underpin everything from particle physics to climate modelling.


This role offers hands-on experience with enterprise-grade systems, mentorship from experts, and the chance to grow into a vital contributor to the UK's scientific mission. Are you ready to start your journey into the world of advanced computing?


As an apprentice, you will work with three groups in the department; Systems Infrastructure, Storage Infrastructure and Computing Platforms.

About an Apprenticeship at STFC

We're looking for enthusiastic and motivated individuals ready to develop their skills through formal training and hands-on experience. As an apprentice, you'll gain real-world experience, build technical and professional skills, and contribute to cutting-edge research and innovation in a dynamic, supportive environment.


You'll be fully supported throughout the programme with regular check-ins from a dedicated Apprenticeship Coordinator, structured training, practical experience, and mentorship from industry professionals. Plus, you'll have access to workshops, a peer network, and career development support, helping you feel confident and prepared for new challenges.

Why join one of our Scientific Computing teams at STFC?

We are offering roles in the following departments:


The

Storage Infrastructure Group

designs, builds, and maintains the storage that supports data-intensive science, petabyte-scale storage systems, and high throughput archival solutions. We're involved in key national and international projects such as the GridPP, a community of scientist working collaboratively for the Large Hadron Collider experiments and support for major facilities like ISIS Neutron and Muon Source and Diamond Light Source. By ensuring researchers have reliable, scalable, and secure computing resources, we help turn complex data into scientific breakthroughs.


The

Systems Infrastructure Group

is responsible for the core foundations that keep our scientific computing environment running smoothly and securely. We manage the operating system layer across thousands of servers, ensuring stability, performance, and scalability. Our team oversees centralised logging, monitoring, and alerting systems that provide real-time insights and rapid response capabilities, helping to maintain uptime and service reliability. We also lead on configuration management and enterprise virtualisation, enabling efficient deployment, automation, and resource optimisation across our platforms. Whether supporting high-throughput experiments or critical data services, our work ensures researchers have a robust and responsive infrastructure to power their science.


The

Computing Platforms Group

supports world-class scientific facilities including the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Central Laser Facility and Diamond Light Source by providing large scale data archiving, data management and high-performance computing services. These services connect the researchers with their data and powerful computing resources to analyse and understand their data, enabling new scientific breakthroughs.

Qualifications gained

Level 4 DevOps Engineer: DevOps engineer / Skills England

What you'll learn:

The role of a DevOps Engineer is to enable organisations to get valuable working software out in front of active users, both external and internal, in a timely manner and optimised for delivery. The apprentice will learn about all aspects of the development and operations process - the design, build, test, implementation, release and continual iteration of products.


Scripting, coding and testing Knowledge sharing and collaboration Agile working methods Release automation and orchestration Cloud infrastructure Security practices

Training provider

DevOps Engineer - Level 4 Apprenticeship - LearnTech


Learning is delivered via remote weekly workshops.

What You'll Be Doing

-

Day-to-day responsibilities

In the

Storage Infrastructure Group

, the type of work the apprentice will be involved in includes:


Assist in improving monitoring infrastructure for our storage systems Contribute to the development and enhancement of storage orchestration layers Support daily operational tasks across our storage services Gain hands-on experience with automation, diagnostics, and system optimisation Collaborate with experienced engineers to maintain reliable and scalable storage platforms

In the

Systems Infrastructure Group,

you will:


Respond to alerts from monitoring systems Collaborate on requests from the other groups we support Work with colleagues to gather requirements and build new enterprise grade virtual machines Monitor, support and maintain the multi-terabit networks that underpin Scientific Computing

In the

Computing Platforms Group

, you will:


Monitor for operational issues and respond to automated alerts Propose and develop improved monitoring of our complex services Work with team members and other groups to identify the root cause of issues Test service improvements and collaborate with other team members and groups to deploy them Collaborate with colleagues to understand the facilities and their requirements

Entry Requirements

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).


We are looking for the following:


GCSEs in Maths and English (Grade 4/C or above) (S) (Included for all roles) Level 3 qualifications such as: + 2 A Levels (A-C)
+ BTEC Level 3
+ T-Level or
+ A previous Level 3 Apprenticeship. (Please give subjects and results in CV)
An awareness of basic health and safety (I) Enthusiastic and motivated to learn, both in the workplace and through formal training (I) Good written communication skills as demonstrated in your CV and cover letter (S) Some knowledge of and enthusiasm for computer hardware and/or software (S&I) + Your CV and/or cover letter should give example(s) of personal or school projects that involved learning about and using a computer system and what you enjoyed
+ As a minimum a successful candidate will be able to describe the basic components of a computer system , describe basic software development concepts and/or be aware of the range of computer operating systems and what they are
Desire to work in a scientific computing environment (S&I) + Your cover letter should explain why you have applied for this computing apprenticeship scheme and any activities you are involved in to help you develop personally and professionally
Ability to examine evidence and data to understand it and solve problems (I) + As a minimum, a successful candidate will be able to work systematically through straightforward problems, examine data, and link it to their understanding of computer systems in order find the cause of problems
Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a team (S&I) Technical requirements (I) + An aptitude and desire to identify and automate repeated tasks for efficiency and accuracy
+ Passion in programming to develop, implement and improve applications
Programming skill in scripting language such as Bash, Python, Ansible, PowerShell, or Perl for interacting with our services and devices
+

Important Information

To complete the apprenticeship, you will need to evidence passes at 9-4 or A-C in GCSE (or equivalent) Maths and English. For those sitting their GSCEs in Summer 2026, we would need evidence of your predicted grades.
When applying for an apprenticeship, there is a set residency eligibility criteria that must be met by the applicant. To check your eligibility please click here . The training provider will also ask you to complete an initial assessment during the application process. If you already have a qualification in this subject area or similar please include, as an attachment, your transcript outlining the grade/s achieved and modules covered. By applying for this apprenticeship, you are giving permission for your details to be shared with the relevant training provider.
We will be in touch after the closing date, however, please reach out on apprenticerecruitment@ukri.org if you have any questions.

Employee Benefits

Your salary will increase annually as you progress through your apprenticeship, in line with policy. 30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days). Flexible working hours. An excellent defined average salary pension scheme. Easily accessible public transport links/ free parking. Excellent learning and development opportunities. Cycle to work scheme.
For a list of our full benefits, please visit here .



As this job does not fulfil the UK Government minimum criterion for obtaining sponsored migrant worker status we will be unable to apply for sponsorship for anyone not eligible to work in the UK. At interview, all shortlisted candidates are required to bring with them identification documents and original documents that prove they hold or can obtain the right to work in the UK. You can check your eligibility here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y

How to apply

Part of our application process involves submitting your CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter should address your suitability for the opportunity based how you meet each essential criteria stated in this advert.

Please note that we hold the right to close this vacancy early if a sufficient number of applications have been received.

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business support team explore the unknown across every field you could think of. And they turn what they find into work that changes the world around us.


What could you achieve with the world-leading facilities and experts of one of Europe's largest research organisations by your side? Join us and discover what's possible!