Job Description

Job Introduction

We're looking for two exceptional Senior Developers to help make a real difference by supporting our armed forces, wherever their work takes them around the world.

Your world of expertise

As a Senior Developer in our Defence Data Services, you will create and maintain systems which bridge the gap between our front-end products and the back-end science, ensuring that we are able to make the very best use of our ever-evolving supercomputer capability.


This is an exciting opportunity to work in a development team that has a wide-reaching and positive impact, helping people to stay safe and thrive around the globe.


You will work with your team to understand, design, and implement modern, full stack, cloud-based solutions. You will work collaboratively with your peers in the Science and Technology community, building relationships and sharing your knowledge.


Within our applications team, you will develop and support systems that help our users understand the impact that weather has on their operational safety and effectiveness.


The team primarily develops in Java, JavaScript, and Python. They deploy to a variety of environments including Windows devices and Linux on AWS, utilising AWS CDK, CloudFormation, and Docker containerisation.


To find out more about Technology at the Met Office, please take a look here.

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 key duties

Lead agile development projects Plan and lead development of sets of related user stories Find ways to improve system robustness, resilience and stability Design,code,test, and document software solutions Mentor and support junior developers Collaborate with other disciplines to fully understand the software requirements

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is accredited as a 'Great Place to Work UK 2023' and in addition has achieved a place on both the UK's 'Best Workplaces in Tech' and 'Best Workplaces for Women' lists.


As our Senior Developer, your total reward package will be up to 65,568 annually, which includes:

43,081 base pay An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 27% Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) you will be paid 5,300 per annum as a market supplement to reflect the demand for your skills. Whilst in post, you will be paid this market driven allowance until 31st March 2027. 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

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.


This opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 30 hours per week


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.

Essential Criteria:

Programming and build (software engineering): You can collaborate with others, when necessary, to review specifications. You can use the agreed specifications to design, code, test, and document programs or scripts of medium-to-high complexity, using modern standards and technologies including Python and/or Java. (Expert by nature) Systems Design (Integration and Service Support): You can design and review cost efficient systems using design standards, methods tools, and ensure they are applied effectively. You can identify and articulate risks and their potential impacts. You can apply efficient use of resources and integration of multiple systems and technology. You can define the integration build and co-ordinate build activities across systems to undertake and support integration testing activities. You can identify, locate, and fix faults and design support processes for others to follow to keep services operational. (We live and breathe it) User focus: You can collaborate with user researchers and can represent users internally. You can explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user. Champion user research to focus on all users. Prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so. Offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use. Information Security: You understand information security and can design solutions and services with security controls embedded, specifically engineered with mitigation of security threats as a core feature. Team Membership: You approach your work as a team, working with others across multi-disciplinary and geographically dispersed teams. You can share your expertise with others in the team as needed including mentoring and coaching junior members. When needed, you can lead a team and ensure that work is done to the highest quality and in a timely manner.

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 (Context, Action, Result and Learning) method the help best demonstrate your experience and skills. When providing examples, you should include the

context

of the example, The

action

you took, what the

result

was and any

learning

you took from this example.


We suggest 300 to 500 words per answer to keep your response focused and impactful.


Closing date 08/02/2026 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 02/03/2026. 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 would like to better understand the organisation, the role or have any questions 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, this will include a Codility Test prior to the interview. 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.