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Scientific Software Engineer - Data Systems
Job Reference metoffice/TP/390/642
Permanent - Full Time
Working Hours: 37
Location (City/Town): Exeter
Closing Date: 11/05/2025
Profession: Science
Region / Division: UK Region
Careers website category: Science
Job Introduction
We’re looking for three exceptional Scientific Software Engineers - Data Systems to help us make a difference to our planet.
As our Scientific Software Engineer - Data Systems, 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 20 hours per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a jobshare. 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
Data is a key part of achieving real-world impacts through our climate research and weather forecasts. It is increasingly the differentiator in the machine learning (ML) revolution in weather and climate modelling.
We are advertising multiple scientific software engineer (SSE) job opportunities in scientific data engineering to help us make a big difference in these areas, from the next iteration of international climate model intercomparisons (CMIP) and other climate initiatives, to processing our weather forecast data at huge scales, to maximising the benefit and impact of data for the new wave of research into ML forecasting and climate modelling.
You will be a key part of enabling and pulling through world-class science, with a fully featured scientific software engineering career path.
There are three teams advertising posts:
1. The Data Delivery team is at the heart of getting much of our climate modelling data out to the global research community, industry, and others. It is responsible for developing, maintaining, and supporting the use of the Climate Data Dissemination System (CDDS). CDDS is a suite of Python code and cylc workflows primarily developed to support the delivery of large volumes of standardised climate model output to international activities such as the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP). Development over the last few years has made it possible to apply the same processes to model output for other projects and we are looking for SSEs to assist in the further generalisation and adaptation to new projects as we approach the next round of CMIP.
2. The ML Datasets team was launched in response to the amazing revolution in data-driven ML forecasting over the last 2-3 years. The Met Office has recognised the need to build on its strength in data creation and invest in training datasets to contribute to this field, in flagship programmes for weather and climate (AI4NWP, AI4Climate). The datasets we need are diverse and include real and simulated observations, socio-economic data, regional modelling hindcasts, third-party observations, and reanalysis data to CMIP6 projections (working with the Data Delivery team!). The team will be involved in developing and scoping technology to create, manage, and deploy these across a range of platforms, and in prototyping their use.
3. The Verification, Impacts, and Post-Processing Systems team manages the processing and delivery of weather forecast data to get our many terabytes of weather forecast data per day useful, usable, and used, working closely with scientists. The team create and maintain a variety of Python based workflows (notably StaGE and IMPROVER) for standardising model data and combining multiple data sources to add value to the Met Office weather forecast products. The post in this team will play a key role in adapting to our next generations of physical and ML based models at unprecedented scale, including preparing changes to our 24/7 operations.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Deliver meaningful advances in capability for colleagues and/or stakeholders through the effective application of scientific software engineering knowledge, understanding and skills.
2. Provide proactive scientific and technical insight into the solving of scientific software engineering tasks or problems.
3. Engage with others to understand the requirements for your work and its wider context, and contribute to the development of plans to meet these requirements.
4. Apply good Quality Assurance processes, best practice, standards and/or regulations to all aspects of your work to achieve the agreed standard.
5. Communicate accurately and concisely with colleagues and wider stakeholders to develop trust and credibility, tailoring your method of sharing to a range of audiences.
6. Develop your skills proactively and provide support to others to develop their skills leading to beneficial impacts.
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 and 2024 lists, as well as their ’54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list.
As our Scientific Software Engineer - Data Systems, your total reward package will be up to £49,806 annually, which includes:
* £33,794 base pay
* 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. 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:
1. Technical Skills: Evidence of showing technical insight through delivery of significant advances in software capability. (value: Experts By Nature)
2. Data Skills: Evidence of a keen interest in high quality datasets and experience in working with data to achieve beneficial impacts, preferably scientific or geospatial. (value: Live and Breathe It)
3. Understanding Requirements: Evidence of engaging with others to understand the requirements for your work and its wider context, and contributing to the development of plans to meet these requirements. (value: Better Together)
4. Quality Assurance: Evidence of applying good Quality Assurance processes, best practice, standards and/or regulations in your work. (value: Experts by Nature, Live and Breathe It)
5. Communication: Evidence of communicating knowledge accurately and concisely in written documents and group discussions, tailoring communication for diverse audiences and building trust / credibility. (value: Better Together)
6. Skills Development: Evidence of proactively developing your skills and supporting others in developing their skills, leading to beneficial impacts. (value: We Keep Evolving)
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 11/05/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 27/05/2025. 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 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 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.
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