Mid and Senior Mobile and Wallet iOS App Developers - GDS - G7

Location: Bristol, London, Manchester

About the job

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government — we are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government. Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

• joining up public sector services
• harnessing the power of AI for the public good
• strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
• elevating leadership and investing in talent
• funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
• committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government. We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale. Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You’ll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.

Job description

We have vacancies for both Mobile Developers and Senior Mobile Developers. We are running a single campaign and will offer one of the two roles based on performance at interview. As a Developer or Senior Developer you can expect to have a central role in multidisciplinary teams building the future of government services.

We are building in two main areas. Native iOS and Android applications power our identity proving service, allowing for a quick, easy and highly trusted way to prove your identity to government. We are also building a new Wallet application, allowing users to take control of their credentials and interact with the next generation of government digital services.

You will have the autonomy to scope work and find a route to solutions, whilst enabling those around you to do the same. You will be given the space to hone a mastery and grow in the role, whilst sharing your existing experience with the engineering community. All whilst doing work that improves government services for millions of users across vital services.

You’ll join the GOV.UK One Login programme as a Senior iOS Developer. You’ll build and maintain the GOV.UK One Login iOS app, as part of a multidisciplinary team. The app is written in Swift with UIKit, with support going back to iOS 15.

As a Mid or Senior iOS App Developer, you’ll:

• work as part of a multi-disciplinary agile team, getting involved with every part of the lifecycle of the application, from user research to releasing the application
• build accessible iOS apps, taking responsibility for the quality of code you produce
• build automated tests to maintain software quality
• share knowledge of tools and techniques with your wider team, both developers and non-developers
• support the live operation of the services we run, and participate in out-of-hours support rotas where necessary - you’ll be paid an allowance, and a further hourly payment, for any duties you perform when on call
• be involved in helping recruit developers and, where appropriate, helping sift and interview
• provide technical leadership within the team, advising and working with developers to identify the best solutions
• take responsibility for developing others, through line management and/or mentoring
• take responsibility for solving complex issues

You’ll share the responsibility for the digital transformation of the government. You’ll ensure high quality code is delivered in line with programme goals and delivery cycles. You’ll thrive using agile methods and enjoy working openly, collaboratively and as part of a multidisciplinary team focused on one or more services. Above all, you’ll want to make the government better, which may sometimes involve challenging the status quo.

Person specification

We’re interested in people who have:

• experience in native iOS application development, with detailed knowledge of the Swift ecosystem, and familiarity with UIKit
• familiarity with Apple Human Interface Guidelines and App Store Review Guidelines
• familiarity with modern software development approaches such as automated testing, test-driven development (TDD), continuous integration, pair programming, code review and version control
• experience working in a collaborative environment, and an understanding of the benefits of agile and multi-disciplinary approaches

In addition to the above, Senior Developers will also have:

• experience supporting others in applying modern development standards
• experience in management, helping colleagues with their career development and coaching more junior staff members