Realtime Application Support Engineer

We’re champions of the North West and we’re proud that it’s our electricity network that connects communities and helps keep the electricity flowing every minute of every day, from when you wake up to when you fall asleep and all the hours in between.

A key part of the UK’s journey to net zero carbon is the revolution of our electricity industry to enable clean, green economic growth. As the North West’s electricity network operator, it’s our responsibility to lead the way, help the region decarbonise and pave the way for the growth of renewable energy and a sustainable energy future for all.

We’re proud that in December 2024 we were named Utility of the Year by Utility Week magazine who said we punched above our weight and used innovation to solve some of the industry’s most difficult challenges. Come and be part of our team and make a difference.

Together we have the energy to transform our communities. We are switched on. We are adaptable. We take pride.

Appointment to this role will be as a 12 month fixed term contract.

Our role

Our Application Support team are looking for an experience Realtime Systems Application Engineer to join them in Manchester.

As a Realtime Systems Application Engineer, you will support and develop the Electricity Control Systems (ECS) ensuring that the applications and systems adhere to SLA targets for system uptime.

You will diagnose and correct faults on the applications and system software, undertake bug fixes and system enhancements as well as large scale design changes to the system.
The role requires excellent time management and prioritisation skills as you’ll be working on multiple concurrent projects and support tasks.

What we’re looking for

• An understanding of telemetry infrastructure and system interdependencies;
• Extensive knowledge of IT support and development activities, encompassing the full Software Development lifecycle;
• Knowledge of all items listed below with an in depth knowledge of a significant number:
  • Experience with ITIL processes;
  • Experience in Powershell scripting;
  • Experience or knowledge of OpenShift;
  • Experience with SQL and database management activities;
  • Experience of UNIX/Linux and Windows operating systems, scripting etc;
  • Experience of programming in web based technologies including Java, JavaScript, PHP and microservice frameworks (essential);
  • Experience of Python scripting language (desirable);
  • Experience in version control systems such as subversion, mercurial, GIT;
• Technical architecture design and development for high availability systems.

What we’re offering

As a vital team member and in return for your expertise, inclusive approach and commitment, we'll provide a favourable salary and the chance to join a passionate and welcoming team. We are committed to ensuring our people are supported and are proud of our reward and benefits offer, which includes:

• An annual bonus scheme
• 25 days annual leave increasing with length of service
• Private Healthcare
• An employee rewards portal offering discounts on several well-known brands
• A market-leading contributory pension scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Opportunity for professional development through our L&D function.

Our people are important to us and we’re passionate about creating a great place to work where we can all be ourselves, reach our full potential and build long lasting careers. We’re striving to increase diversity of thought and talent in our people and to recruit highly skilled workforce that’s representative of the communities we serve. For us, embracing our differences is what makes us stronger.

Should you require any additional support with your application, or any adjustments please contact our Recruitment team at or on (option 2)

Any offer made will remain conditional until pre-employment checks are complete to a level deemed satisfactory by Electricity North West. Due to the of this role, the following pre-employment checks will be required; references from previous employers, BS7858 checks, and a Drug & Alcohol test.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early.

We don't accept speculative CVs from agencies. Any received we will assert ownership of the candidate and no fee will be payable.