Foundation Scientific Software Engineer (Machine Learning) Exeter 2024

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

As our Foundation 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 part-time 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

We have an opportunity for a Foundation Scientific Software Engineer to help develop innovative data-driven solutions for weather and climate modelling. As a Foundation Scientific Software Engineer you will be part of a large community of over 100 Scientific Software Engineers (SSE), supporting and enabling cutting-edge science at the Met Office.

In this role you will undertake research and development in the use of data science and machine learning for weather and climate modelling, and weather and climate model evaluation and interpretation. You will contribute to projects under the AI4NWP programme and AI4Climate projects, working with colleagues across the Met Office and with external partners. Artificial Intelligence for Numerical Weather Prediction (AI4NWP) and Artificial Intelligence for Climate (AI4Climate) are two flagship initiatives recently launched by the Met Office to bring advanced machine learning methods to the challenges of weather prediction and climate modelling.

You will work within a multi-disciplinary team of data scientists, data engineers, software engineers, and weather and climate experts. Internal and external partnerships are a key part of how we work. You will have the opportunity to work with a wide range of partners with different areas of expertise both in the Met Office and with partner universities, other Met Services, research institutions and commercial partners. Through tackling these challenging problems together, you will have the opportunity to develop a wide range of skills in machine learning and data science.

Successful candidates will be based in teams within Weather Science, Foundation Science, or the Hadley Centre, but will maintain close links to related projects in other areas of the office.

Your key duties

Responsibilities will be specific to each post, but will include:

• Working on projects at the forefront of machine learning for weather and climate science using recommended tools and promoting best practices for ethical, reproducible use of machine learning.
• Researching, developing, and applying high-quality software solutions and practices for machine learning, creating data workflows, adapting and optimising cutting-edge machine learning architectures for weather and climate data.
• Communicating research outcomes in a variety of ways, such as peer-reviewed publications, talks at conferences or seminars (internally or externally).
• Engaging with domain experts both within the Met Office and with external partners. Sharing knowledge and experience (for example, the wider Scientific/Research Software Engineering community including Communities 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 Foundation Scientific Software Engineer, your total reward package will be up to £37,776 annually, which includes:

• £26,954 base pay
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 27%
• In addition, you will be paid a Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) - £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 creation of solutions showing the effective application of technical knowledge, understanding and skills
• We're experts by nature: Engage with others to understand the requirements for your work and its wider context
• We're experts by nature: Consider good Quality Assurance processes, best practice, standards and/or regulations in your work
• We're better together: Communicate knowledge accurately and concisely in written documents and discussions in small groups
• We keep evolving: Proactively develop your skills and support others in developing theirs

How to apply

If you share our values, we’d love to hear from you. Apply below with your CV 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.

If you are unsure which level (Foundation, SSE, Senior) you would be best suited for, do apply for multiple roles! We also welcome applications from returners post career break and people changing career path.

Closing date 21/07/2024 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 19/08/2024. You will hear from us once the closing date has passed.

How we can help

If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please contact us via careers@metoffice.gov.uk. 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.