Operational Support Engineer

NATS is the UK’s leading air navigation service provider, handling over 2.4 million flights each year. We provide air traffic control services from two control centres and at airports around the UK, and a wide range of commercial products and solutions internationally.

Salary: £52,238.76 - £69,651.68

Closing Date: 09th January 2026

The Operational Support Engineer (OSE) is responsible for the H24/7 tactical delivery and maintenance of operational infrastructure, centre systems and equipment supporting ATM operations at the Prestwick Centre within the Technical or Service Management team.

• Tactically managing a range of operational systems, involving 1st and 2nd level planned and corrective maintenance, restoration and reconfiguration, within the autonomy of the job holder.
• Provision of advice to the Service Manager (SM) /Technical Service Manager (TSM) for any technical or service issues, such as the possible operational impact resulting from the loss or reconfiguration of any system or equipment.
• Assisting the SM/TSM in co‑ordination and communication with ATC customers and an extensive range of NATS units/departments plus external organisations to ensure maximum redundancy and compliance of operational systems.
• Maintaining appropriate SMCC competency ratings following maintenance and restoration procedures. Additionally, skills in Control & Monitoring systems shall be maintained to facilitate restoration and reconfiguration requirements.
• Understanding of system interfaces using appropriate competencies, to confirm equipment Standard Operating Conditions and services being delivered to customers.
• Co‑ordinating planned work in conjunction with NATS staff and contractors on site to safeguard the integrity of operational services within trained competencies and processes. Any unplanned activities will be referred to Duty H24 SM/SE or TSM/TSE for resolution and/or reprioritisation.

This post has tactical responsibility for operational service threads with high impact potential regarding both safety and NATS core business. Within well‑defined procedures and readily available assistance the job holder has the following level of discretion.

• Hold competency ratings sufficient to control and configure system threads, enabling restoration of operational services on a tactical basis. When confronted with unplanned events beyond routine corrective action the post holder shall refer the situation to the duty Service Engineer for resolution.
• Set short‑term tactical objectives to maintain operational services in terms of redundancy and availability as specified by the Service Manager, Technical Service Manager or Duty H24 SE/TSE.
• Refer faults or service issues to support groups / 3rd parties when circumstances warrant. Callouts out of hours are authorised by the Duty SM/TSM.
• Provide the Duty SM/TSM with continuous coordination and awareness of related tasks for internal support sections and external agencies as appropriate.
• Authority to withdraw from stores any high value LRUs or consumables needed to restore a service or system.