Infrastructure Team Lead

Sword is the trusted partner for critical technology. We deliver the operational resilience and practical innovation that are essential for the most demanding enterprise and critical national infrastructure environments. By modernising legacy systems and securing daily operations, our expert teams help vital organisations lower risk, protect operations, and grow safely. Join Sword and you'll be part of a team solving complex challenges, delivering real-world impact, working alongside talented colleagues who care deeply about quality, collaboration and customer success. 

About the Role 

As Infrastructure Team Lead, you will provide day-to-day technical and people leadership for a team of eight Infrastructure Engineers in a fast-paced operational environment. You will set priorities, take ownership of complex incidents and service requests, and ensure the server and PC estate remains secure, reliable and ready to support critical customer services. 

This is a hands-on leadership role combining technical direction, service ownership and team development. You will work closely with Support Analysts, customers and third-party suppliers to maintain service levels, coordinate change and remediation activity, and strengthen infrastructure capability across the team. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Lead, support and coordinate the day-to-day workload of the infrastructure engineering team, setting clear priorities and ownership. 

• Take technical ownership of the infrastructure service and its supporting strategy, identifying issues, risks and improvement opportunities. 

• Ensure requests escalated by Support Analysts are progressed effectively and within agreed service levels. 

• Own complex incidents, service requests and problem records, driving timely resolution, root-cause analysis, workarounds and permanent solutions. 

• Maintain the availability, performance and operational readiness of the server estate, applications and supporting infrastructure. 

• Coordinate security updates, patching, maintenance, vulnerability remediation and the escalation of infrastructure risks and technical debt. 

• Lead infrastructure modifications and major projects through controlled, documented processes, ensuring technical quality and operational supportability. 

• Manage the infrastructure on-call service, ensuring appropriate cover and technical capability are available. 

• Provide technical direction across server and PC infrastructure and oversee the implementation of agreed improvements. 

• Maintain accurate technical documentation, handover information and support procedures. 

• Identify training needs, mentor Infrastructure Engineers and share specialist knowledge to improve team capability and independence. 

• Build effective relationships with customers, Service Delivery, Account Management, technical teams and third-party suppliers. 

Requirements

Essential Skills & Experience 

• Extensive experience working in the IT industry, with strong experience supporting enterprise infrastructure in a managed-service or operational environment. 

• Demonstrable experience leading, supervising or coordinating an infrastructure engineering team. 

• Experience mentoring people, identifying development needs and supporting technical knowledge sharing. 

• Strong technical knowledge across enterprise server, PC, cloud and virtualised infrastructure environments. 

• Experience taking ownership of complex incidents, service requests and problem records within an ITIL-aligned environment. 

• Experience coordinating infrastructure patching, maintenance, security updates and vulnerability remediation. 

• Expert knowledge in relevant infrastructure technologies, including cloud solutions, virtualisation software and scripting. 

• Strong analytical, troubleshooting and technical decision-making capability. 

• Ability to prioritise competing operational and project demands in a fast-paced, pressurised environment. 

• Excellent time management, organisation and attention to detail, with experience applying controlled processes and procedures. 

• Clear communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders, customers and third-party suppliers, including the ability to explain technical risk. 

• Ability to learn new technologies quickly and take a proactive, self-starting approach. 

Desirable Skills & Experience 

• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, identity services and Windows Server technologies. 

• Experience with VMware or comparable virtualisation platforms. 

• Knowledge of enterprise backup, storage and monitoring technologies. 

• Experience working closely with cyber security teams in support of risk identification and remediation. 

• Experience supporting infrastructure in the energy sector or another operationally critical environment. 

• ITIL certification or equivalent practical service-management experience. 

• Relevant Microsoft, Azure or infrastructure technical certifications. 

Benefits

At Sword, our core values and culture are based on caring about our people, investing in training and career development, and building inclusive teams where we are all encouraged to contribute to achieve success. We offer comprehensive benefits designed to support your professional development and enhance your overall quality of life.  In addition to a Competitive Salary, here's what you can expect as part of our benefits package: 

• Personalised Career Development: We create a development plan customised to your goals and aspirations, with a range of learning and development opportunities within a culture that encourages growth. 
• Flexible working: Flexible work arrangements to support your work-life balance.  We can’t promise to always be able to meet every request, however, are keen to discuss your individual preferences to make it work where we can. 
• A Fantastic Benefits Package: This includes generous annual leave allowance, enhanced family friendly benefits, pension scheme, access to private health, well-being, and insurance schemes.

At Sword we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, ensuring that all applicants receive fair and equal consideration for employment, regardless of whether they meet every requirement. If you don’t tick all the boxes but feel you have some of the relevant skills and experience we’re looking for, please do consider applying and highlight your transferable skills and experience. We embrace diversity in all its forms, valuing individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Your perspective and potential are important to us. 

If we can do anything to help make the hiring process more accessible, please let our talent acquisition team know when you apply so we can support any adjustments.