At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build reliable, secure cloud platform services for critical digital products.
- Company: Join the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, generous leave, and a strong pension scheme.
- Other info: Be part of an award-winning team committed to diversity and inclusion.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on UK businesses while developing your skills in a supportive environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in backend development and distributed systems is essential.
The predicted salary is between 63824 - 80158 £ per year.
Help build and operate reliable, scalable and secure digital services that support UK businesses and trade. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), in partnership with Inspire People, is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer. Whilst the team primarily develops in Python, we welcome applications from experienced backend developers with Java, C#, Go or similar object-oriented programming backgrounds, with experience designing, operating and improving distributed systems.
This permanent Grade 7 role can be based in London, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham or Salford, with hybrid working of 2-3 days per week in the office, flexible working options and a salary of £63,824 to £80,158 (up to £83,778 for London), including allowances, dependent on location and technical skills assessed at interview.
Build Reliable Digital Services at BIST
BIST's Digital, Data and Technology directorate develops and operates the tools and services that support the organisation's mission. As part of a multidisciplinary agile team, you will design, build and run platform services that underpin critical digital products, helping development teams improve observability, monitoring, CI/CD and service resilience.
As a Senior Backend Engineer (Site Reliability), you will:
- Design, build and operate reliable, secure and scalable cloud platform services supporting critical digital products.
- Develop and maintain platform tooling, automation, observability, monitoring and CI/CD capabilities.
- Build software solutions using Python and modern engineering practices.
- Write clean, maintainable code and infrastructure-as-code solutions to support service delivery.
- Embed Site Reliability Engineering principles including SLIs, SLOs, error budgets and continual service improvement.
- Support live service operations, incident management, troubleshooting and platform resilience.
- Collaborate with engineers, architects, product teams and stakeholders whilst coaching and mentoring colleagues.
Essential Skills for the Senior Backend Engineer (Site Reliability) include:
- Experience writing clean, maintainable code in at least one programming language.
- Experience designing, operating and improving distributed systems, focusing on reliability, performance and user outcomes.
- Experience building and supporting applications in containerised environments.
- Knowledge of Linux/Unix fundamentals and TCP/IP networking.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to build effective relationships across technical and non-technical teams.
Desirable Skills:
- Python and Django
- AWS and Azure
- Terraform
- Docker, ECS and ECR
- PostgreSQL (Amazon RDS)
- Redis / ElastiCache
- GitHub Actions, CodePipeline and CodeBuild
- Elasticsearch / OpenSearch
- Datadog and Logstash
In return, you can expect a flexible working culture, including:
- Hybrid working with 2-3 days per week in the office.
- Full-time, part-time and flexible working options.
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
- 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days with service.
- Three paid volunteering days each year.
- Inclusive and diverse working culture.
- Employee benefits programme including Cycle to Work.
Why Join BIST?
This is an opportunity to help shape the reliability, security and performance of critical digital services while scaling BIST's global platform and strengthening engineering practices across the organisation. The Digital, Data and Technology team was nominated four consecutive times for Best Public Sector Employer at the Women in Tech Employer Awards and won the award in 2025.
To find out more and apply, contact Inspire People today.
Senior Backend Engineer employer: Inspire People
At DVSA, we pride ourselves on being an excellent employer, offering a dynamic work environment where your expertise as a Senior Data Architect will directly influence data management and governance across our agency. With competitive salaries, generous leave policies, and robust career development opportunities, we foster a culture of collaboration and innovation, ensuring that our employees feel valued and empowered to make a meaningful impact on road safety in Great Britain.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Backend Engineer
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Inspire People or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Inspire People.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Inspire People.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Inspire People that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Backend Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Inspire People.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Inspire People and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Inspire People
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Inspire People uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
