Job Description

Job Introduction

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


As our Foundation Scientific Software 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.


Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 22 hours per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a job share. 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 be part of a large community of over 100 Scientific Software Engineers (SSE), supporting and enabling cutting-edge science at the Met Office.


The SSE role is a varied one, with many opportunities for development, progression and finding new challenges both within the SSE career family and beyond. Our SSEs develop innovative software solutions, provide technical support and oversee quality assurance processes with the common aim of developing and supporting scientific applications. Some SSEs have developed expertise in their chosen area, from HPC optimisation to coupled model simulations. Other SSEs maintain a broader set of skills which, alongside their understanding of scientists' needs, enables them to contribute their data and software skills to a wide range of scientific applications. It is a broad family with members from a very wide range of backgrounds - not surprising given the role exists at the edge of many disciplines: Software Engineering, Computer Science, Data Engineering, Physical Sciences, Earth System Modelling, and Mathematics to name a few.


Being an SSE is about far more than just technical skills - you will need to be able to work alongside colleagues in a range of areas, both technical and scientific. We frequently require our SSEs to collaborate internally and internationally.


We encourage all our SSEs to develop their skills - we provide training and development opportunities across technical, project and soft skills.


We are currently in a major push to develop our Next Generation Modelling Systems, to help exploit our new world-leading supercomputer capability and to support our adoption of data science (specifically artificial intelligence and machine learning) across our national capability, and all our SSEs will be working towards this in some form.


Next Generation Modelling Systems


Met Office Supercomputer


Met Office Data Science Framework

Your key duties:

These vacancies are within the Excalibur team in Science IT. This team is made up of deployable SSEs who work on projects within other areas of the office for 1-12 months at a time, deploying separately and in small groups. The responsibilities vary from deployment to deployment but the following duties will apply to most deployments: Develop software applications that meet the needs of the scientific community within the Met Office, predominantly in Python and Fortran Adhere to, and contribute to the improvement of, software engineering procedures and standards to ensure delivered software solutions meet desired quality criteria Maintain, document and support software applications to facilitate their maximum utilisation and longevity Liaise with scientific colleagues to understand and discuss their requirements for specialised scientific software solutions Share your growing knowledge and expertise with colleagues to enhance overall team or group effectiveness.

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 Foundation Scientific Software Engineer, your total reward package will be up to 42,724 annually, which includes:

28,600 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:

Show technical insight through creation of code-based solutions showing the effective application of technical knowledge, understanding and skills+ (We're Experts by Nature) Engage with others to understand the requirements for your work and its wider context Consider good Quality Assurance processes, best practice, standards and/or regulations in your work (We're Experts by Nature) Communicate knowledge accurately and concisely in written documents and discussions in small groups++ (We're Better together) Proactively develop your skills and support others in developing theirs? (We Keep Evolving)

+ At Foundation SSE level, this doesn't need to be large - it might be a small project on the side, something you did to support another project, or as part of a module at university.


++ The Foundation SSE role often requires interacting with a written issue tracking system, documenting your work, and having technical discussions one-to-one or in small groups. This may be achieved using assistive technology.


? Supporting others in their development can take many forms - fundamentally, this is about having explained something in a way that gave someone new knowledge or skills. At Foundation SSE level, there is no requirement for this to be a technology-related example.

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 01/12/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 12/01/2026. You will hear from us mid-December with the shortlisting outcome. An additional two weeks has been added to the schedule between shortlisting and interview to allow for the festive break.

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, 2 of these years must be immediately preceding the point of your application. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.