Principal Systems Integration Specialist

Principal Systems Integration Specialist
Grade and salary: Grade 8 £47,389 – £59,966
Working hours: Full time 35 hours per week/fte
Tenure: Fixed term for 2 years
Location: Hybrid working, Liverpool campus
Faculty: Directorate of COO, IT Services
Proposed closing date: 10th July 2026
  
The Role 

Role overview and University context: 

The Systems Integration Services team sits within the Data Services area of IT Services. The team is establishing an API-led approach to integrating the University’s complex systems landscape. The approach will provide scalable and secure connectivity and reduce cost significantly through automation, streamlined processes, and reusable integrations.

Reporting to the Head of Data Services, the Principal Systems Integration Specialist will be responsible for the design, architecture, build and implementation of new system integrations, as well as the standardisation of existing integrations.

The role-holder will also work within multi-disciplinary project teams, liaising with senior leaders and a wide range of business and technical colleagues. Additionally, the role-holder will provide technical leadership and line management to the System Integration Services team, grow the team’s capabilities as business and technical priorities evolve and take advantage of new technology, where appropriate.

The ideal candidate for this post will be a senior technical specialist, with in-depth experience of building and managing API-based integration services, who can lead on complex integrations projects, and can drive continuous improvement.

The role-holder will be responsible for the Talend platform, which will provide an enterprise data integration service for the University’s internal and external systems and applications, and an API Management Gateway called Gravitee, which will provide secure and efficient API-based communications between services.

Key responsibilities and duties: 

• Establish a high-quality, innovative integration service that underpins the University’s data strategy.
• Create a roadmap for integration services that will establish high levels of security, reliability, standardisation and optimisation.
• Work independently and as part of multi-disciplinary project teams, liaising with senior leaders and Professional Services and academic colleagues.
• Contribute to the technical planning within change programmes and projects, with an overarching aim to make the University data efficient and to achieve the vision of having one version of the truth trusted by all.
• Lead on the planning, design, development, implementation and support of new systems integrations, based on strategic and architectural principles, ensuring they are compliant with technical and security standards.
• Work with IT Services colleagues and business experts to review existing integrations and identify opportunities for standardisation, streamlining and improvement.
• Provide technical leadership and line management to the Systems Integration Services team, including planning and prioritisation, setting objectives, managing performance and workload, managing risks, and coordinating with other business and technical teams.
• Support and develop members of the team, introducing new skills and approaches.
• Ensure that the Talend and Gravitee applications and their supporting infrastructure remain secure, up-to-date and high performing through monitoring and optimisation, and through the timely application of patches and upgrades.
• Be self-motivated in identifying and implementing an approach to continuous improvement of your integration services.
• Identify potential technology innovations and look for opportunities to trial / prototype new features and products.
• Work closely with suppliers and external consultants on support and development work, to ensure they provide an effective, high-quality service.
• Adopt and promote best practice approaches to Information Security in-line with IT Service’s policies and procedures.
• Have a focus on quality with a good understanding of both QA and user acceptance testing processes.
• Manage incidents escalated from the Service Desk team via the ServiceNow incident management system in line with ITIL principles.
• Manage project and change activity using project planning and task management tools i.e. JIRA and change management within ServiceNow.
• Undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as required.

  
In addition to the above, all University of Liverpool staff are required to: 

• Adhere to all University policies and procedures, completing all obligatory training and induction modules, including Equality & Diversity and Health & Safety.
• Respect confidentiality: all confidential information should be kept in confidence and not released to unauthorised persons.
• Participate in the University’s Professional Development Review scheme and take a proactive approach to own professional development.
• Demonstrate customer service excellence in dealing with all stakeholders.
• Embody and uphold the University’s Vision and Values.

  
About you
Experience
Essential

1. Significant experience in designing, building and supporting application and data integration platforms, using the latest technologies.
2. Experience of working in cross-organisation project teams to deliver secure and robust system integrations.
3. Significant experience of working in a large scale, complex computing environment, including day-to-day operational management of high volumes of projects and service releases.
4. Experience as a technical lead, with responsibility for guiding and supporting junior colleagues, working collaboratively across teams, and building strong relationships with stakeholders.
5. A strong understanding of enterprise data integration platforms, e.g. Talend (the University’s platform), Microsoft, MuleSoft.
6. Extensive experience of using web services/APIs to access and integrate with external and internal systems.
7. Experience of working with a wide range of data sets and file formats.
8. Ability to analyse and translate business requirements into solution designs that can be understood by technical and non-technical stakeholders.
9. Experience of programming in languages such as SQL, Java, C, and .NET.

Desirable

1. Knowledge of industry standards, regulatory frameworks, data protection and privacy legislation.
2. Experience of university systems and data sets, e.g. student, staff, finance, research.

  
Education, qualifications and training
Essential

1. Degree (or equivalent qualification or relevant professional experience).

Desirable

1. Relevant architect, developer or testing certification.
2. ITIL qualification.

  
Skills, general and specialist Knowledge
Essential

1. Broad knowledge of IT principles, standards and solutions and the ability to apply that knowledge to solution design and development.
2. A determination to remain up-to-date with technology and methodologies, to identify opportunities for innovation, and to trial new features and products.
3. The ability to drive excellence and quality in all aspects of your areas of responsibility, by identifying and implementing best practice.
4. Experience of creating short, medium, and long-term plans and roadmaps.
5. Knowledge of public, private and hybrid cloud platforms such as Azure and AWS.
6. A good understanding of modular, micro-services architectures.
7. Proven ability to effectively manage incidents and problems related to IT service and platforms, in line with ITIL principles, and provide fully tested and documented solutions.
8. Experience and understanding of agile delivery and DevOps.
9. Strong knowledge and understanding of IT security principles.
10. Ability to programme in languages such as SQL, Java, C, and .NET.

Desirable

1. Experience with university systems and data sets, e.g. student, staff, finance, research.
2. Understanding of complex applications and database systems.
3. Experience in project and change management.

  
Personal attributes
Essential

1. Excellent judgement and communication skills, both oral and written, and a good personal manner.
2. Ability to lead and work independently towards agreed goals, with a high degree of professional integrity.
3. Highly service oriented and able to provide high quality and accessible services to all users.
4. Ability to lead and work effectively within a team environment and to influence best practice with colleagues.
5. Ability to work with high-level key stakeholders.
6. Significant experience of working in a complex environment where there are a wide range of parallel and mutually dependent activities.
7. Analytical and organised, able to prioritise work and balance competing deadlines.
8. Self-motivated and driven to constantly expand technical and business knowledge by forming professional relationships with business and technical partners, both internal and external.
9. Adaptable to constantly changing technical environment with the ability to quickly learn new technologies to support the team.

Desirable

1. Makes connections with colleagues in other organisations and other professional associations to share best practice.

               
About us
Established in 1881, we are an internationally renowned Russell Group university recognised for our high-quality teaching and research. We are consistently ranked as one of the best universities both nationally and globally, and the majority of our research is rated world leading or internationally excellent. Find out more about us.

Why Work Here  
We recognise, appreciate and celebrate the incredible work our staff do every day. As well as generous terms and conditions, we offer a range of enviable benefits and provide support for colleague’s wellbeing and development. Discover more about working here.

Moving from abroad  
As a global institute, we welcome applicants from all nationalities, moving from a different country can be challenging and we would like to help as much as we can, we have put together some information on eligibility to work documentation, accommodation, schools, healthcare, life in Liverpool and the UK as well as other practical information.  Discover more about moving from abroad.
 
Our Staff  
Whether it be their friendly colleagues, supportive managers or our outstanding facilities, our staff can explain better than anyone what it is like to work for us and why they enjoy their role. See what our colleagues have to say.
  

How to Apply 
Please upload your CV and a cover letter using the apply now link and your application will be acknowledged, and someone will reach out to you to discuss this and the process further.

If you have any questions you wish to pose in advance of making a formal application, please reach out to klancashire@eutopiaonline.com  

Right to work 
We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us.  If you do not have the right to work in the UK already, any offer of employment we make to you will be conditional upon you gaining it.  The UKVI have an interactive tool allowing you to immediately see if vacancies are eligible for a Skilled Worker visa. You will need to know the SOC code for the role, view our most used SOC codes, if none of these apply to this role, there are more codes on the eligibility checker. The skilled worker eligibility checker can be found on GOV.UK.   

Disabilities and alternative formats  
If you have any other requirements which will help you access the application or interview process or employment opportunities at the University, or if you require copies documentation in alternative formats, please email: jobs@liverpool.ac.uk or telephone 0151 794 6771.