Principal Technician (ICT System)

Who we are:

For 75 years, NATO’s mission has been to preserve peace and security in the Alliance for nearly one billion citizens. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) and its predecessors have worked tirelessly in providing the means that enable the connectedness and togetherness that keep our Alliance strong. We are the NCI Agency, a team of 3000 civilian and military staff in 29 locations throughout Europe, North America and Asia. 

Our technology and cyber experts allow NATO to conduct critical operations, protect NATO’s airspace, make data-driven decisions, defend against cyber-attacks, secure NATO networks and maintain superiority in space. This is all possible because of our greatest force, our people. In order to keep this edge we aim to hire, train and retain the very best staff. 

Our staff members represent both the diversity and unity of our Alliance. When you join the NCIA, you will be part of an organization where you can contribute authentically to the mission and purpose of NATO and help us keep our technological edge.

About the job:

Based in Norfolk, VA, USA you will join the Agency as we embark on a journey to transform our IT services to support NATO’s Digital Endeavour. You will join CSU Norfolk, which is the leading provider of Communications and Information System (CIS) products and services to locally based NATO entities such as the Allied Command Transformation (ACT) – HQ SACT – and Joint Force Command (JFC) Norfolk. CSU Norfolk enables end-to-end CIS services and manages critical technological capabilities during peacetime, crisis and war.

We are looking for a driven and enthusiastic Principal Technician (ICT System) who will take on the following roles and responsibilities:

•    Supports the installation, operation, management and maintenance of assigned Community of Interest (COI) / Functional Area Services (FAS), Databases and other Applications;
•    Responsible for effective System Administration of NATO Community of Interest Command and Control (C2) systems, including Joint Tactical Chat (JChat), NATO Command Operational Picture (NCOP) and associated C2 systems such as the Land, Maritime or Air Command and Control Information Systems (LC2IS / MCCIS /AIRC2IS), and other NATO-Off-The-Shelf (NOTS) applications;
•    Provides Application Management support to the software applications and tools which are used by the customer in the AoR and defined in Service Level Agreements (SLAs);
•    Implements procedures, tools and techniques for monitoring and managing the performance of applications and provides reports, as required;
•    Responds to user requests for assistance and takes appropriate action to solve Community of Interest (COI)/Functional Area Services (FAS), Database and Application problems occurring in the CSU’s AoR;
•    Maintains and monitors database systems and support tools;

For a full list of duties, please review the job description on the NCIA career site.

About you:

The valuable knowledge and experience that you bring to this role are:

•    Higher vocational training in a relevant discipline with 3 years post-related experience. Or a secondary educational qualification with 5 years post-related experience.
•    Experience administering Functional Area Services such as JCHAT, JOCWATCH, ICC, JTS/FAST, LOGFAS, NCOP, TOPFAS, SEW, COREGIS, etc., as well as providing L1 support to a medium/big size community of users;
•    Prior experience and a good knowledge of working with bespoke applications, NATO or national Community-of-Interest (CoI) services within an engineering environment;
•    Current knowledge of advances in IS technologies and Service Management;
•    Experience in System Administration of both Windows and Linux Server Operating Systems;
•    Broad and sound technical knowledge and experience in distributed Information Systems as they are applied to modern Command and Control Information Systems (C2IS);
•    Experience with MS SQL DB, other database packages, database queries and scripting;
•    Experience in and a good working knowledge of Relational Databases management including backups, archiving and replication;
•    Experience in Service Operation in an Enterprise Service Delivery environment including practical use of service management tools (e.g. ITSM);
•    Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

What we offer:

•    Genuinely meaningful work as part of the most successful alliance in history;
•    3 year contract with competitive tax-free salary and household and children’s allowances;
•    Privileges for expatriate staff including expatriation and education allowances (where appropriate) and additional home leave;
•    Excellent private health insurance scheme;
•    Generous annual leave of 30 days plus official holidays;
•    NATO Pension Scheme;
•    Development programs such as professional training, wellbeing, and more

To learn more about the NCIA and our work, please visit our website.  

The NCIA prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment of mutual respect and value uniqueness and differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnic or cultural origin, age, religion, sexual orientation and physical or neurocognitive ability.  

Additional details on the conditions of application can be found via the NCIA career site.