UNOPS

The UNOPS IT Group (ITG) is at the forefront of digital transformation, designing, delivering, and managing all of UNOPS IT infrastructure and business applications. We are a global team, dedicated to harnessing cutting-edge technology to address critical business needs and empower UNOPS personnel worldwide. ITG provides the essential IT systems and tools that underpin the successful implementation of UNOPS projects and the delivery of corporate initiatives. From maintaining robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and developing bespoke business applications to managing our cloud infrastructure and supporting global collaboration platforms, our work ensures operational excellence. We are committed to continuous improvement, driving effectiveness and efficiency in UNOPS products and services, ultimately helping people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

The Core Systems Engineering (CSE) team designs, builds, and maintains the platforms, APIs, reusable components, and developer tools that power UNOPS digital solutions - from AI applications and integration layers to business systems and project templates. CSE serves as the technical backbone for the AI Centre of Excellence, Business Applications, and IT Operations teams, providing them with the building blocks they need to deliver their own solutions. 

Under the supervision of the CIO, the Lead Systems Engineer will lead the Core Systems Engineering team, setting technical direction and standards for the platforms, APIs, components, and tools that underpin UNOPS digital solutions. This role has full accountability for the delivery of platforms, standards and frameworks for all digital products across the organization, including specialized AI products for HQ and the field.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, a related technical discipline, or equivalent or related fields with 9 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 7 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• Kubernetes certification (CKA or CKAD)

• Professional Cloud Architect Certification (AWS, Azure, or GCP).

Required

• Relevant experience is work in software engineering, system architecture, or related field (Minimum 7 years with a Master or 9 years with a Bachelor).

• Minimum 3 years of technical leadership, influencing technical direction, standards, or delivery outcomes beyond their own work. 

• Experience designing and delivering platforms,  reusable component libraries, or Enterprise APIs consumed by other teams or applications.

• Experience with the specific technology stack used by the team (e.g., .NET Core, Python, Angular, Google Cloud Platform). 

• Demonstrated experience with all facets of Google Cloud Platform that relate to building, testing, and deploying secure production-grade enterprise applications, including but not limited to serverless and containerized compute, managed data services, CI/CD pipelines, and IAM, IAP, secrets management, observability tooling, and AI/ML services. 

• Experience building or integrating AI/ML components into production systems, such as vector databases, embedding pipelines, ML model serving, or LLM-based applications. 

• Experience establishing technical standards, architecture governance, or engineering quality frameworks for a team or organisation. 

Desired

• Experience implementing DevSecOps and automated security scanning in the pipeline. 

• Experience with formal engineering productivity frameworks. 

• Experience with UNOPS or other UN agencies.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.