We're looking for an exceptional Scientific Software Engineer to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Scientific Software Engineer, 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, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 22 hours per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a job share. 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

Your world of expertise

You will be a part of the Data Science Capability (DSC) team, within the Data Science Research and Development team (DS R&D), whose focus is to enable the use of data science, especially machine learning (ML), within the National Capability domain in the Met Office. We focus on being the best we can be at applying data science to enhance the Met Office National Capability to help people stay safe and thrive.

There are significant technical challenges to effective use of machine learning at the scales required for weather and climate research and operations. This is also a rapidly evolving field, with some elements of tooling mature and others still under rapid development. In addition, there are challenges in building and using models in such a way that outputs can be trusted.

As an SSE you will contribute to the development of and support utilisation of appropriate tools and platforms for doing machine learning at scale in an efficient, trustworthy way by applying good software engineering practices.

Your key duties

• Contribute to or lead software engineering effort on machine learning focused projects in the Data Science R&D team that deliver value in the National Capability domain.
• Work with researchers and other relevant research and operational experts to understand requirements for platforms and tools for data-driven weather and climate research.
• Develop, apply and promote good practices for software engineering for ML projects.
• Share work and provide support for the Data Science R&D team and data science activities through appropriate internal and external channel e.g. Data Science Community of Practice.

Why join us

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is accredited as a 'Great Place to Work UK 2023' and in addition has achieved a place on both the UK's 'Best Workplaces in Tech' and 'Best Workplaces for Women' lists.

As our Scientific Software Engineer, your total reward package will be up to £46,974 annually, which includes:

• £33,794 base pay
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) you will be paid £2,200 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 2024 until September 2025 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

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

We're Experts by Nature - Show technical insight through delivery of significant advances in software capability for data-driven solutions by the effective application of technical knowledge, understanding and skills.We're Experts by Nature Better Together - Engage with others to understand the requirements for your work and its wider context, and contribute to the development of plans to meet these requirementsWe're Experts by Nature, We Live and Breathe it - Apply good Quality Assurance processes, best practice, standards and/or regulations in your work, especially for code and dataWe're Better Together - Communicate knowledge accurately and concisely in written documents and group discussions, tailoring communication for diverse audiences and building trust / credibilityWe Keep Evolving, Better Together, Experts by Nature - Proactively develop your skills and support others in developing their skills, leading to beneficial impacts

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 05/01/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 20/01/2025. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

How we can help

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please contact us at .

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 clearance, for which you need to have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years to be eligible. You will need to achieve full security clearance within your first 6 months with us.

We are currently working through a re-prioritisation process in our Science Directorate, with some employees being asked to discontinue their current work. These employees will be given priority for internal campaigns until the re-prioritisation is complete.

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