Principal Support Engineer

Overview Principal Support Engineer The Role and Team The apetito business provides vital services to our customers, and IT plays a critical role in its success. The IT team supports the infrastructure and services that are essential for the business's operation. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who already has strong technical experience in Microsoft 365, Networking & Server technologies but is looking to step-up into a leadership role within a busy support desk. The person who takes on this role will report to the Service Assurance Manager, ensuring that solutions are well-maintained and supportable. We operate within an ITIL framework, supporting and managing changes in our Enterprise IT infrastructure and IT assets accordingly. We are looking to hire a Principal Support Engineer who will enhance our team. Our aim is to provide world-class IT infrastructure operations that support the business, and you and the team will enable this. This role is based at our Trowbridge office, 5 days a week The nature of this role and service requires you to be on-site. Regular home working is not available for this role; however, occasional admin days may be permitted Core working hours are Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm The office is open 8:00am - 6:00pm and flexibility within these hours can be discussed with your manager. Available for out-of-hours support for any critical production issues. Escalation on-call Who We Are apetito is the UK's leading supplier of food to the health and social care sectors. Servicing over 400 hospitals, 450 care homes and thousands more through our work with Local Authorities, we produce delicious, nutritious and sustainable meals for people at home or in care. Through our food we look to ' make a real difference' to all our customers, up and down the country. Our Values Established in 1958, as a family-owned business, as a family-owned business, our values sit at the very heart of what we do. We are proud to be a business that makes a real difference, committed to producing great food to be proud of. We have developed a range of products designed to enhance health and wellbeing for all our customers. We are proud supporters of British food and farming and focus on using the best ethical and sustainable produce. We are driven by a passion for service, dedicated to feeding some of the UK's most vulnerable people, offering healthy and delicious meals to customers across the UK. Ethical & Sustainable As a business which operates within food manufacturing, we believe we have an obligation to make a positive contribution on society. With over 300 products in our range, we ensure our produce is ethically and sustainably sourced, working only with suppliers who share our commitment to making a positive impact. We're a proud member of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs, that promote respect for workers' rights globally. All our new suppliers now operate under the ETI's guidelines. We are also a member of The UK's Plastics Pact , an initiative looking to transform the plastic packaging industry in the UK. As part of the initiative, we have committed, along with other ambitious targets, to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic completely by 2025. Who we are apetito is the UK's leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings. Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness. Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK's largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK. Responsibilities Lead the 2 nd line Service Desk on day-to-day activities, ensuring all support functions are running smoothly and effectively. Be well known across all areas of the business, through face-to-face support, providing visibility and transparency of the IT Support function. Building rapport with heads of departments. Performs thorough and concise resolution of complex escalated issues, such as: end user application or hardware, network connectivity/firewall or domain administration tickets, adhering to SLAs (Service level Agreement) through effective use of experience, knowledge, and technical resources through a ticketing system. Follow-up all processes for use of IT systems, documenting process and procedure of all actions and activities on IT equipment. Maintain ownership of technical procedural documentation utilised at all levels of the 2 nd line Service Desk. Autonomous, self-motivated, and able to act with limited support and supervision (On-Call services) Conforms to international key IT processes such as support, change and asset management (ITIL) and can lead by example with 1 st & 2 nd line in adherence to change processes. Assist 2 nd line support engineers in troubleshooting and break-fixing. Lead the response to any outages affecting business operations. Ensuring communication to the business is sent, co-ordinating with 3 rd party vendors/suppliers and overseeing speedy resolution to the issues. Coordinate with vendors/contractors for provision of end-user support (eg, Hardware repair, replacement, intervention ) Raise firewall change requests with our support partner, ensuring a business case and change approval has been provided. Implement best practices to resolve issues, follow guidelines provided (Knowledge Base), document and improve existing guidelines, and propose new ones. Provide training and mentoring to 2 nd line support engineers to empower their growth and development, as well as improving the overall team capabilities. About you Required Skills: At least 3 years of experience in a senior technical support role Windows Server Active Directory Microsoft 365 Azure Cloud Advanced knowledge in Computer Hardware Advanced knowledge in Common Software applications Advanced knowledge in Microsoft Operating system Advanced understanding of IP & Subnetting Proficient knowledge in configuring and troubleshooting networking, wireless and VPN features of end-user devices Proficient knowledge in Ticketing software PC\Laptop hardware Desired Skills: VMware virtualisation knowledge. Next Generation Firewall knowledge. Cisco / Meraki knowledge. Beneficial IT qualifications may include: A+ or N+ Certification CCNA or another vendor equivalent CompTIA A+ Certification Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certification in desktop area Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification Azure Fundamentals ITIL Foundation Company Benefits Competitive salary - accredited Living Wage employer 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays Option to purchase up to 5 additional days annual leave per year Discretionary annual bonus scheme Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4% Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary Subsidised canteen Free parking Free turkey or voucher at Christmas apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts Our Values As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of. We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers. We are driven by a passion for service, and dedicated to feeding some of the UK's most vulnerable people. We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040. Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. Learn more about apetito's commitment to a more sustainable future . We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential