Job at a glance
We are looking for a highly technical, operationally focused and delivery driven OT Technical Manager to lead the performance, security, resilience and support of our Operational Technology estate and associated digital services. You will act as a senior operational technical authority across OT infrastructure, IT and OT connectivity, enterprise network security, cyber compliance, compute platforms, active directory and identity services.
Leading specialist internal teams and strategic service partners, you will ensure that the critical technologies supporting our water and wastewater operations remain available, secure, resilient and fit for purpose. This is a broad and influential leadership role, combining deep technical oversight with operational delivery, supplier management, cyber resilience, business continuity and continual service improvement.
You will also turn approved OT and Digital network roadmaps into deliverable operational plans, balancing day to day service performance with technical risk, lifecycle requirements, regulatory obligations and future operational needs. The role sits within the Thames Digital OT function and provides the opportunity to shape how one of the UK's most significant critical infrastructure organisations operates, protects and continually improves its technology estate.
What you'll do as an OT Technical Manager OT Technical Leadership & Operational Performance + Act as a senior operational technical authority for Thames Water's OT technology estate and associated digital services. + Lead the teams responsible for IT network operations, enterprise network security, cyber compliance, OT compute, active directory and identity services. + Ensure the integrity, security, availability, resilience and supportability of OT systems across Thames Water's operational sites.
+ Provide expert technical leadership, escalation and decision making across OT infrastructure, connectivity, compute, security and identity services. + Maintain effective oversight of the live OT estate, ensuring that critical services remain reliable, secure and fit for purpose. Digital Network Roadmaps + Own the implementation of the approved Digital (IT/OT) network roadmaps. + Translate agreed technical roadmaps into prioritised and deliverable operational plans.
+ Coordinate resources, suppliers, dependencies, and change activity to deliver roadmap commitments effectively. + Identify and escalate conflicts, risks, dependencies, and required deviations through the appropriate engineering governance routes. + Ensure operational delivery remains aligned with approved architectures, standards, regulatory requirements, and business priorities. Networks, Connectivity & Security Operations + Lead the operation and continual improvement of IT and OT connectivity services supporting connected people and operational assets.
+ Oversee network operations delivered through a combination of internal resources and third party managed services. + Monitor and improve network service health, capacity, performance, resilience and lifecycle. + Lead the enterprise network security services within the role's remit, including firewalls, VPN and remote access services, WAN and SD-WAN security controls, and network security monitoring.
+ Ensure cyber compliance activities are operated effectively, supported by appropriate evidence and subject to continual improvement. + Identify and manage network security risks, vulnerabilities, control gaps and technical dependencies. OT Compute, Directory & Identity Services + Lead the reliable and secure operation of OT hosting and compute platforms. + Oversee OT Active Directory, the OT tenant and Entra ID services.
+ Ensure effective identity lifecycle management, privileged access controls, platform health, backup, recovery and technical support. + Manage technical risks and improvement opportunities across OT compute, directory and identity services. + Ensure platforms remain resilient, supportable and ca