Job Description

Job Introduction

We're looking for an exceptional DevOps Engineer to help us make a difference to our planet.


As a DevOps Engineer, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.


The MetDB is the central store of nearly 200 observation types from land, marine, aircraft, satellite, RADAR and more. Storing over 380 million observations a day in a binary formats. You will be joining a small DevOps team that monitors, supports and develops the MetDB. We work with teams across the Met Office. The team delivers new data types, improves performance and resilience, identify issues in production and provide user support. We work on Linux systems often using Python and Fortran. However we're looking for candidates willing to turn their hand to any language suitable for the job.


Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

We're a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact We're experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision-making We're better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your world of expertise

You will support and develop systems providing real-time data to operational Numerical Weather prediction (NWP), products and research. Contributing to the delivery of exceptional science, technology and operations.

Your key duties

:

Monitoring and dealing with any problems which occur. Process improvement. Developing Software as part of maintaining the current system as well as part of future projects.

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We are also featured on their 'Best Workplaces in Tech' 2023 and 2024 lists, as well as their '54 Best Workplaces for Women' 2023 list.


As our DevOps Engineer, your total reward package will be up to 49,826 annually, which includes:

33,794 base pay An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97% Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) you will be paid 2,200 per annum as a market supplement to reflect the demand for your skills. Whilst in post, you will be paid this market driven allowance from April 2024 until March 2026 in your monthly pay Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

Evidence of an ability to communicate complex technical information to audiences of different technical literacy and needs Software Engineering and user focus, with evidence of working with multiple programming Languages (e.g. Python, c and Fortran), working with Linux environments in an agile way using suitable tools. Evidence of following standards and knowledge of different types of Standard. Evidence of investigating and solving a complex problem Evidence of being committed to Professional Development

How to apply

If you share our values, we'd love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please complete your career history and provide evidence against each of the essential criteria in the supporting statement questionnaire. We recommend candidates use the CARL method (Context, Action, Result and Learning) for presenting evidence of experience and skills.


Closing date 20/08/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 2 weeks after the closing date. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

Using AI in your application

We welcome applications that use AI tools for support in drafting or refining, as long as they accurately reflect your own skills and experience. All hiring decisions at the Met Office are made by people, not AI. For more details, visit our approach to recruitment.

How we can help

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at careers@metoffice.gov.uk.


If you're considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us. Should you be offered an interview, please be aware there may be a selection exercise which could include a presentation, written test or a scenario-based activity. You can select in your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme. To be invited to interview/assessment under this scheme, your application must meet the essential criteria for the role.


We understand that great minds don't always think alike and as an equal opportunities employer we welcome applications from those with all protected characteristics. We recruit on merit, fairness, and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code.


We can only accept applications from those eligible to live and work in the UK - please refer to GOV.UK for information. We require Security clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.