Software Engineer

Job summary

UKEF is committed to be a more customer-centric organisation, making it easier for customers to deal with us, offering improved response times, quicker decision-making and improved case-processing. To enable this, UKEF is committed to using digital as a primary means for managing relationships with a wider range of stakeholders. Focusing on developing end-to-end services that meet user need and enable business outcomes, this is an exciting new role showing the growth and drive of UKEFs digital ambition.

This role requires you to develop and maintain NodeJS applications, integrate with third-party APIs, write clean and efficient code, and write End-to-End, Unit and API tests. Effective communication with project stakeholders is also essential to ensure alignment on technical decisions and project goals.

Job description

In this role, you will:

• Develop NodeJS applications using frameworks like Express.js or Nest.js.
• Identify technical risks and developing mitigation plans to address them.
• Ensure that NodeJS applications are optimized for scalability and maintainability.
• Develop APIs and integrate with third-party APIs.
• Integrate NodeJS applications with other systems using APIs, webhooks, or other technologies.
• Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code.
• Research and implement new NodeJS libraries, frameworks, and tools.
• Ensure that NodeJS applications follow best practices for security and data protection.
• Troubleshoot and debug issues in NodeJS applications.
• Develop unit tests and integration tests for NodeJS applications.
• Create and maintain technical documentation for NodeJS applications.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest NodeJS and web development trends and technologies.
• Communicate effectively with project stakeholders, including customers, product managers, and other engineers, to ensure alignment on technical decisions and project goals.

This role Is aligned to the DDaT Capability Framework - Software Developer.

This list is not exhaustive and you may be required to carry out additional duties according to business need.

Person specification

Essential

Qualifications

• Graduate level education or relevant professional experience. (A)
• Evidence of continuing professional development. (A)

Knowledge

• Technology Code of Practice (A)
• Knowledge of SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) (A, I)

Skills/Ability

• Information security:
  • You can understand information security.
  • You can design solutions and services with security controls embedded, specifically engineered with mitigation of security threats as a core feature.

(Skill level: practitioner) (A)

• Modern standards approach:
  • You can apply a modern standards approach and guide others to do so.

(Skill level: practitioner) (A)

• Programming and build:
  • 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 the right standards and tools.

(Skill level: practitioner) (A)

• Systems design:
  • You can design systems characterised by medium levels of risk, impact, and business or technical complexity.
  • You can select appropriate design standards, methods and tools, and ensure they are applied effectively.
  • You can review the systems designs of others to ensure the selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources and integration of multiple systems and technology.

(Skill level: practitioner) (A)

• Prototyping:
  • You can approach prototyping as a team activity, actively soliciting prototypes and testing with others.
  • You can establish design patterns and iterate them.
  • You can use a variety of prototyping methods and choose the most appropriate.

(Skill level: practitioner) (A)

• 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.
  • You can champion user research to focus on all users.
  • You can prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so.
  • You can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use.

(Skill level: practitioner) (A, I)

Experience

• Experience, or relevant transferable skills in the following disciplines:
  • JavaScript, NodeJS and Express.JS.
  • Azure Cloud Computing.
  • NoSQL and SQL Databases, including MongoDB and MSSQL.
  • RESTful and GraphQL API Development.
  • Containerised Microservices (i.e. using Docker).
  • GitHub, Azure DevOps or GitLab.
  • GDS/MOJ Components.

(A, I, T)

Qualifications

•Graduate level education or relevant professional experience. (A)
•Evidence of continuing professional development. (A)

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Technical Questions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,890, UK Export Finance contributes £12,714 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

We are assessing candidates using Success Profiles (see Appendix 1) and across the whole process we will assess your Experience, Technical, and Behavioursas highlighted below.

The application must be completed by 23.55 on the day of the closing date for it to be accepted.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Please ensure that you read through the Candidate Information Pack attached to this advert, before applying.

All applications will be sifted against our essential criteria outlined in the personal specification.

• Qualifications
  • Graduate level education or relevant professional experience. (A)
  • Evidence of continuing professional development. (A)
• Statement of suitability - you should fully articulate in 500 words how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification within the Information Pack.
• Two Technical Questions - See Below

For the initial sift your application will be evaluated against:

1. Experience - Application and Statement of Suitability
2. Technical - a 500 word maximum statement for each of the two technical questions below:

Technical Question 1

Tell us about a feature you built, or a production issue/bug you fixed, in a JavaScript/NodeJS codebase (or similar).

In your answer, please cover:

• Context & your role: what was needed, and what part did you personally do?
• Your approach: how did you design the change (e.g., modules/layers, API design, validation, error handling)?
• Integration: did you connect to a database or a third‑party API — what went wrong (if anything), and how did you handle it?
• Quality: what did you do to keep the change safe (tests, logging, code review, feature flags, small PRs, etc.)?
• Reflection: what would you improve if you did it again?

Technical Question 2

Describe how you help ensure code changes are safe to release in a team environment.

You can use a real example. Please cover:

• Testing: what tests did you write or contribute to (unit/integration/end‑to‑end), and what tools did you use?
• Automation: how were tests and checks run (locally, in CI, pull request checks, build pipelines)?
• Working in a team: how did you use code reviews, pairing/mobbing, or feedback to improve the change?
• Security basics: how did you avoid common issues (secrets in code, unsafe input handling, dependency risks)?
• Learning: one improvement you made (or would like to make) to the team’s approach.

In the event of a high volume of applications, an initial sift will be carried out on the technical questions.

If you are successful following the sift stage, you will be invited to an initial technical interview, to be held via MS Teams; this will include the following assessment:

1. Technical Questions - you will be assessed across your technical expertise and acumen, in relation to the essential criteria.

If you are successful following the initial technical interview stage, you will be invited to a panel interview, to be held onsite at 1 Horse Guards Road; this will include the following assessment:

1. Behaviours/Experience - a formal panel interview where you will be interviewed across all three behaviours highlighted in Appendix 1, below.
2. Technical Questions - you will be further assessed across your technical expertise and acumen, in relation to the essential criteria

Details of interview panel members will be e-mailed to all successful candidates who are invited for interview.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

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.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : UKEF Resourcing Team
• Email : Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Further information

Should you have a complaint or wish to raise any concerns regarding the recruitment process, please e-mail your complaint to the Head of Pay and Resourcing (UKEF) at Recruitment2@ukexportfinance.gov.uk and include “Complaint” in the subject heading. Should you remain dissatisfied following UKEF’s investigation then you can refer your complaint to the Commission - http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/making-complaint.

Attachments

Information Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 4349kB)