Role: Application Support Engineer

Division: Assessment & Qualifications Delivery

Location: Rotherham, UK (Hybrid)

Salary: £30-35k plus on target bonus of 8%

About Pearson

Our purpose: At Pearson we ‘add life to a lifetime of learning’ so everyone can realise the life they imagine. We do this by creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. Our Purpose | Add Life to a Lifetime of Learning

Our company: Pearson was founded in 1844 and has been built on our ability to grow with and adapt to a constantly evolving market. Our 20,000+ employees are dedicated to creating the high-quality, digital-first, accessible and sustainable resources for lifelong learning.

Diversity: At Pearson we value the power of an inclusive culture and a strong sense of belonging. We promote a culture where differences are embraced as strengths and opportunities are equal and accessible.

Flexible working: Pearson is committed to hybrid working practices and has adopted flexible remote and virtual working. Where possible our employees can choose to manage their attendance to the office more flexibly.

About UK Assessment & Qualifications

We are responsible for the delivery of nearly 4 million examination results per annum, including A-Level, GCSE, BTEC and T-levels for students in UK and International centres. Our in-house systems process every learner from registration to marking and certification, in a highly regulated business. We currently operate a hybrid estate of predominantly bespoke systems, with an ongoing strategic transformation programme to migrate from on-prem to cloud based, cost effective, scalable and resilient services.

About the job

As part of the Service Delivery Department, you will be responsible for ensuring that the IT systems used in staging and production are correctly deployed, configured and supported. This key team will monitor the services and proactively recommend areas for improvement and action.

The role includes but is not limited to incident resolution, liaising with customers and other partners, problem, incident analysis and reporting, diagnosing the root cause and contributing to RCAs. Data interrogation is also a key part of the role for data queries. The applications supported are a mix of bespoke and industry standard systems hosted on infrastructure located on-premise and in the cloud.

About you

We'd expect that you’ll have relevant experience supporting, configuring, and maintaining systems in a production environment. Ideally you will have a background working in an application support team providing back-office application software support.

A basic technical background in MS SQL Server and confidence working with on-premise deployed applications is desirable although you will be supported by a team of technical consultants/DBAs to assist with integrations and more complex database tasks.

Key Skills & Experience

• SQL Scripting

• ITIL Incident, Problem, Service Request and Change Management

• Working with Microsoft Windows 2008, 2012 and 2016

• Firewall, Network & Load-Balancing knowledge

• System Metrics Gathering

• Deploying and Configuring Microsoft .Net Applications

• IT Security

• Understanding of Cyber security concepts, including threats, vulnerabilities, security operations, encryption, boundary defence, authentication, and risk management

• Successfully contributed to continuous process improvement initiatives and automation activities.

• Understanding of Networking & common protocols.

• Understanding of Kanban, ITIL and service Management fundamentals

• Familiarity with Atlassian toolset (Confluence, Jira)

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Microsoft PowerShell

• Knowledge of Cloud Technologies

• Working in a High-Pressure Environment

• CI/CD components and process design

The role is aligned to either our Rotherham office, which is located at Junction 1 of the M18, making it commutable from Sheffield, Leeds, Doncaster, Derby or Nottingham.

All our roles are hybrid working; for this role that means presence at your base office 1 day per week, with the possibility of occasional travel to other Pearson sites.

We work a 37.5-hour week, with all our team free to flex their day around our core hours, which are Monday to Friday, 10 to 4 GMT/BST. School runs, etc can be accommodated. Other flexible working patterns can be considered, including part-time working and non-traditional hours. As we regularly work with global teams, particularly in India and the US, there may be the occasional need to accommodate meetings outside of core hours.

The position is part of a team covering a 24/7/365 operation, so a candidate must be prepared to work outside normal business hours (including 24/7 on-call) as part of a rota and shift work (compensated).

We actively encourage our staff to participate in at least 40 hours of training a year, and offer relevant AWS training and certification as part of this role.

Your benefits and rewards (UK-based)

Here at Pearson we offer a range of benefits, which include:

• 25 Days annual leave (increasing by 1 day with every year of continuous service up to 30 days); annual leave trading, +/- 5 days

• Annual Bonus

• Private Pension plan scheme where we pay in double what you contribute, up to 16% depending on your age

• Life, private medical and dental care insurance options, plus free eye tests

• Stock/share purchase options

• Maternity, paternity, and family care leave as well as flexible working policies

• An employee wellbeing assistance programme

• Cycle to work program, volunteering days, gym membership concessions in selected office locations, along with retail and leisure discounts

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We’re committed to equity and opportunity, so that all learners can realise the life they imagine and see themselves in our services and products. We believe learning is a powerful force for change and that diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to who we are. We’re committed to addressing all forms of systematic racism, discrimination and inequality in everything we do.

We also believe in giving everyone in the company the chance to help shape a more inclusive culture, in which everyone feels a sense of belonging and in which everyone acts with integrity day-in, day-out. To learn more about Pearson’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce, please click here.

Pearson is an equal opportunities employer. We do not discriminate against employees or job applicants and select the best person for each job based on relevant skills and experience. We are also committed to building an accurate picture of the make-up of the workforce and encouraging equality and diversity.

The information you provide will stay confidential and will be stored securely. It will not be seen by those involved in making decisions as part of the recruitment process. We are a Stonewall Gold and Top 20 LGBT+ inclusive employer, Investors in People Gold, Race Charter signatory, Disability Confident employer and Working Mums Top Employer.

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What to expect from Pearson

Did you know Pearson is one of the 10 most innovative education companies of 2022?

At Pearson, we add life to a lifetime of learning so everyone can realize the life they imagine. We do this by creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. We are on a journey to be 100 percent digital to meet the changing needs of the global population by developing a new strategy with ambitious targets. To deliver on our strategic vision, we have five business divisions that are the foundation for the long-term growth of the company: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills and Higher Education. Alongside these, we have our corporate divisions: Digital & Technology, Finance, Global Corporate Marketing & Communications, Human Resources, Legal, Strategy and Direct to Consumer. Learn more at We are Pearson.

We value the power of an inclusive culture and also a strong sense of belonging. We promote a culture where differences are embraced, opportunities are accessible, consideration and respect are the norm and all individuals are supported in reaching their full potential. Through our talent, we believe that diversity, equity and inclusion make us a more innovative and vibrant place to work. People are at the center, and we are committed to building a workplace where talent can learn, grow and thrive.

Pearson is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. We want a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We strive for a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities.

To learn more about Pearson’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce, navigate to: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Pearson.

If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing ppsmhr@pearson.com.

Note that the information you provide will stay confidential and will be stored securely. It will not be seen by those involved in making decisions as part of the recruitment process.

Job: TECHNOLOGY

Organization: Assessment & Qualifications

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Req ID: 13654