Lead Systems Engineer

Blackburn with Darwen Council; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Blackburn with Darwen Council is seeking a Lead Systems Engineer (Cyber Security) to provide senior technical leadership across cyber security services, ensuring systems remain secure, resilient and compliant. You’ll act as the senior escalation point for complex security incidents and drive service improvements.

You’ll manage a small cyber security team, supporting professional development whilst delivering high-quality cyber security services day to day.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in cyber security and enterprise IT environments.
• Experience leading cyber security operations, incident response and vulnerability management.
• Ability to communicate risks to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience mentoring technical teams in a service-led environment.
• Familiarity with governance, audit processes and cyber security frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operational delivery and continuous improvement of cyber security services.
• Act as the senior escalation point for complex incidents, risks and technical issues.
• Manage and develop the cyber security team and coordinate workloads.
• Lead or support cyber incident response activities from investigation to lessons learned.
• Oversee vulnerability management, threat monitoring and remediation planning.
• Develop cyber security policies, standards, procedures and playbooks.
• Collaborate with Architecture Team to embed security in enterprise solutions.
• Deliver cyber security projects and service improvements from planning to operation.
• Support compliance with cyber security frameworks and data protection requirements.

Skills

Cyber security

Infrastructure

Enterprise tech

Incident response

Vulnerability management

Team leadership

Security monitoring

Governance & audit

Communication

Education

CISSP

SC-100 Cybersecurity Architect Expert

SC-200 Security Operations Analyst Associate

SC-300 Identity and Access Administrator Associate

Tools

Microsoft security technologies

Security monitoring platforms

Job description

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Terms & Conditions: 37 Hours, Full Time Permanent
Department: Digital & IT
Closing Date: 23rd November 2026
Shortlisting: w/c 23rd November 2026
Interviews: w/c 30 th November 2026

Are you passionate about cyber security and ready to lead a team that protects critical services while shaping the future of secure digital delivery?

We’re looking for an experienced Lead Systems Engineer (Cyber Security) to take a leading role in our Cyber Security function, combining hands-on technical expertise with people leadership and strategic thinking. This is a fantastic opportunity to influence how cyber security services are delivered across a large, complex organisation and help drive improvements that genuinely make a difference.

About the role
As our Lead Systems Engineer (Cyber Security), you’ll provide senior technical leadership across the Council’s cyber security services, ensuring systems, data and digital services remain secure, resilient and compliant.

You’ll act as the senior escalation point for complex security incidents and technical issues, lead service improvements, and work closely with other Lead Systems Engineers and the Digital & IT senior leadership team to ensure security is embedded within the design, delivery and operation of the Council’s technology estate.

You’ll also manage and mentor a small cyber security team, supporting their professional development whilst ensuring high-quality cyber security services are delivered day to day.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading the operational delivery and continuous improvement of cyber security services, ensuring systems remain secure, resilient and protected from emerging threats.
• Providing expert-level 3rd line support and acting as the senior escalation point for complex cyber security incidents, risks and technical issues.
• Managing and developing the cyber security team, coordinating workloads, mentoring staff and supporting career progression.
• Leading or supporting cyber incident response activities, including investigation, containment, eradication, recovery, root cause analysis and lessons learned reviews.
• Overseeing vulnerability management activities, threat monitoring, security assessments, patch prioritisation and remediation planning.
• Developing and maintaining cyber security policies, technical standards, operational procedures, playbooks and supporting documentation.
• Working closely with the Architecture Team and other technical leads to ensure security is integrated into enterprise technology solutions and strategic initiatives.
• Leading the technical delivery of cyber security projects and service improvements from planning through to operational support.
• Supporting compliance against cyber security frameworks, audit recommendations, data protection requirements and organisational policies.
• Producing meaningful cyber security reports, risk updates and service metrics for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Maintaining strong relationships with internal stakeholders, suppliers, partners and senior leaders to support the delivery of secure and effective services.

What We're Looking For
You'll bring a strong background in cyber security, infrastructure or technical operations, with the confidence to lead both technically and professionally. You'll be comfortable managing complex security challenges, responding to incidents, communicating risk, and helping shape the organisation's cyber security posture.

You'll enjoy mentoring others, solving complex problems and working collaboratively to deliver secure and reliable technology services.

Essential Knowledge and Experience

• Significant experience working within a cyber security, infrastructure or enterprise technology environment.
• Strong understanding of cyber security principles, controls and best practices across on-premise and cloud environments.
• Experience leading cyber security operations, incident response and vulnerability management activities.
• Experience managing or mentoring technical teams in a service led environment.
• Strong understanding of Microsoft security technologies and cyber security monitoring platforms.
• Experience working with cyber security frameworks, governance requirements and audit processes.
• Ability to communicate technical information and cyber risks clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience of supplier management and working collaboratively across multidisciplinary IT teams.

Professional Certifications
The successful candidate will hold, or be willing to work towards, one or more of the following recognised cyber security certifications:

• CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)
• Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100)
• Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200)
• Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)

Equivalent cyber security qualifications and experience will also be considered.

Our Values
You'll align with our organisational values of Trust, Respect, Ambition, Collaboration and Kindness, bringing these to life through your leadership style and ways of working.

• A chance to shape and lead the Cyber Security function, protecting services that support residents, businesses and Council operations.
• A leadership role with real scope to improve security capability, resilience and service quality.
• Opportunities to work closely with Enterprise Architecture and senior stakeholders on organisation-wide initiatives.
• Exposure to a diverse technology estate spanning cloud, infrastructure, data and digital services.
• A supportive environment that values collaboration, learning and continuous improvement.

Additional Information
This role includes participation in an on-call rota and out-of-hours support for critical incidents, planned maintenance activities and emergency response requirements.