Senior Software Developer (Management)

Job summary

We are looking for three Senior Software Developers (Management) to be the Technical Lead of teams within our Defence and Transport Tribes to make a difference by supporting our customers around the world.

Our teams use a diverse set of technologies. We work mainly with Python, Java and JavaScript programming languages for a wide range of applications, from scientific computing to web development. Our cloud infrastructure spans AWS and Azure, where we embrace containerization using Docker and serverless architectures to ensure scalability and efficiency, deploying to a variety of environments including Windows devices and Linux on AWS, utilising AWS CDK, and CloudFormation.

As we explore new applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence, you'll have the opportunity to help shape how these technologies support the future of weather and climate prediction. Join us to work with these exciting technologies and more, as we push the boundaries of weather and climate science for Transport and Defence Users.

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

As our Senior Developer - Management, 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, based in Exeter. 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

Job description

As a Senior Software Developer – Management, you will be responsible for a team of dedicated software engineers and testers who create and maintain systems which bridge the gap between our front-end products and back-end science, ensuring that we are able to make the very best use of our ever-evolving supercomputer capability.

In Transport, our focus is on developing and operating services for the global aviation community as part of our responsibility as a World Area Forecast Centre (one of only two in the world).

In Defence, we deliver mission-critical digital services, data products, and environmental intelligence that supports Defence operations worldwide. Our work enables informed decision-making, helping military personnel operate effectively in complex and challenging environments. We empower our people to lead through technical excellence, ownership, and a shared commitment to delivering real-world impact.

You will lead and develop a high-performing team, providing clear direction, coaching and support to enhance capability, engagement and performance.

Your Key Duties

• Provide technical and team leadership across the development lifecycle, guiding, mentoring, and inspiring engineers to deliver high-quality, resilient services.
• Plan and lead development on sets of related stories.
• Have an understanding of the whole system and take responsibility for teaching this to others.
• Work with other disciplines to understand what needs to be built and operate the production services you build.
• Coach and mentor more junior colleagues.
• Find ways to improve system robustness, resilience and stability.

Person specification

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

1. Team Leadership: Lead and support, including mentoring and coaching a geographically dispersed multi-disciplinary team. Represent your team and work with stakeholders to design and plan upcoming work and create an environment that empowers your team to deliver. Set and maintain team standards for engineering quality, security, and maintainability when solving complex problems. (We’re better together)
2. 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 Java and Python. (We’re expert by nature)
3. Systems Design, Integration and Service Support: You can design and review cost-efficient systems using design standards, methods, and 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)
4. 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.
5. Information Security: You can understand information security and design solutions and services with security controls embedded, specifically engineered with mitigation of security threats as a core feature.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,081, Met Office contributes £12,480 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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, 2024 and 2025 lists, as well as their ’54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list.

  As our Senior Software Developer – Management, 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 28.97%.
  • 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 from April 2026 until March 2027 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.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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 08/10/2026 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 26/10/2026. 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 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 Check 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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : careers@metoffice.gov.uk
• Email : careers@metoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : careers@metoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact us at: careers@metoffice.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: info@csc.gov.uk

https://careers.metoffice.gov.uk/key-roles-met-office/technology