Foundation DevOps Engineer

Job Introduction

We’re looking for an exceptional Foundation Dev Ops Engineer to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Foundation Dev Ops Engineer, it 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 30 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

The Internet Applications Core Team provide 3rd line support 24/7 for a range of on-premises and cloud based operational systems, delivering safety-critical public and premium services, which provides information, enabling people to stay safe and thrive.

The Internet Applications Core Team provides on-call cover and undertake these duties as part of an on-call roster.

The Internet Applications Core team has a DevOps capability, this role is defined by the Development operations Foundation (DevOps) engineer - Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk) description as set out in the Government and Data Capabilities framework.

Your key duties:

• Provide 3rd-line support to the systems the Internet Applications Core Team are responsible for supporting, participating in the on-call roster as required.
• Support the development and operation of software through tools, environments and practices.
• Responsible for underpinning good development processes including managing tools and testing environments, central code control, maintaining development standards and writing software that automates systems.
• Support colleagues in the Met Office teams in order to ensure a high-quality operational service is maintained.
• We operate an on-call roster in Technology to provide 24/7/365 support to respond to operational service requirements.

Why join us

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 Job Title, your total reward package will be up to £38,280 annually, which includes: 

• £26,954 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 March 2026 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. A real enthusiasm for working in IT with some experience of coding in either a home, educational or work environment. Ideally with experience in using Linux and scripting or Python. (We keep evolving)
2. Experience working with systems that track changes, incidents, or requests within IT environments. (We live and breathe it)
3. Able to analyse and troubleshoot effectively, to solve complex technical problems. (We’re experts by nature)
4. Demonstrable experience of working in a team, contributing successfully to achieving goals. (We’re a force for good)
5. Adept at communicating and collaborating with customers, colleagues, and peers. (We’re better together)

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. 

In the event we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct a pre-sift scoring against essential criteria 1 (Lead Criteria).

Closing date 01/07/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 14/07/2025. 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 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.