Software Developer

We are looking for an exceptional Software Developer to help us make a difference to our planet. 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. Our people are at the heart of what we do and we will do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

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.

We are a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact. We are 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 are better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater. We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers.

We are looking for an exceptional Software Developer who shares our amazing values to help us make a difference to our planet by using cutting edge technologies to provide world-leading meteorological information to our customers around the world. Join the Met Office's Data Services team - an innovative, friendly group at the forefront of developing scalable cloud-based solutions.

We are responsible for the systems that deliver critical weather and climate data to users across the UK and beyond. Through scalable APIs and cloud-native services, our team ensures fast, reliable access to forecast and observation data, supporting everyone from emergency responders and government to businesses and the public.

As a Developer in Data Services, you will be working with a highly collaborative set of squads and engineering solutions using Python and AWS Cloud Computing to bridge the gap between advanced scientific modelling and the platforms our users rely on every day. You will be getting hands on with the output of our cutting-edge supercomputing capabilities, handling terabytes of data daily, and have opportunities to learn and understand weather data. You will be supporting and releasing into our live systems and making system performance, scalability, and reliability essential elements of your work.

This is your opportunity to be part of something bigger - developing modern, cloud-based solutions that have a wide-reaching and positive impact, helping millions of people to stay safe and thrive.

This developer role is aligned to Software developer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework on the GOV.UK website. We operate an on-call roster in Technology to provide 24/7/365 support to respond to operational service requirements. This post may be part of an on-call roster and the postholder would be required to participate in an on-call roster where in operation.

We invest in our people to unlock their full potential. As a Software Developer, we will support you to develop and thrive to be the best you can be. You will be given up to half a day per week to improve your skills through non-project learning. We champion positive physical and mental health in the workplace and are committed to being an inclusive organisation, providing a working culture that actively values an equal and diverse workforce.

Our work is life-changing, often lifesaving 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, 2024 and 2025 lists, as well as their '54 Best Workplaces for Women' 2023 list.

Your total reward package will be up to £51,648 annually, which includes:

• 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.
• 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:

• Programming and build (software engineering): collaborate with others when necessary to review specifications, use the agreed specifications to design, code, test and document programs or scripts of medium-to-high complexity, using the right standards and tools.
• Development process optimisation: explain the importance of developing process efficiency and the common ways in which processes are optimised. Support specific activities to improve development processes. Spot or identify obvious deficiencies.
• Service support: Help fix faults following agreed procedures. Carry out agreed maintenance tasks on infrastructure.
• Systems Design: Translate logical designs into physical designs. Produce detailed designs. Effectively document all work using required standards, methods and tools, including prototyping tools where appropriate.
• Systems integration: Build and test simple interfaces between systems. Work on more complex integration as part of a wider team.

If you share our values, we would love to hear from you! Click apply to begin your application. Please upload your CV and submit a supporting statement with evidence against the essential criteria (approx. 500 words).

If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to complete a technical challenge, which focuses on essential criteria 2. If you pass the technical challenge, you will then be invited to attend an interview. Closing date 08/02/2026 at 23:59 with the pre-interview stage (technical challenge) commencing from 01/03/2026 and interviews commencing from 18/03/2026.

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.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us. If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch. You can request adjustments either within your application or by contacting us.

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. 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.