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We're looking for an exceptional Senior Scientist (UK Applied Science) to help us make a difference to our planet.
As our Senior Scientist (UK Applied Science), 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 30 hours per week. 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 are looking to recruit three Senior Scientists who show real potential to be exceptional team members and who are passionate about the transformation of their expertise into products and services that benefit our customers.These scientists will be joining teams within UK Applied Science (Climate Resilience; Urban Climate Applications; and Science for Impacts, Resilience and Adaptation teams), each of which work with a range of customers.
The work we undertake is diverse, and depending on your skills you could be involved in:
• Understanding UK Climate Projections (Land & Marine) and using them to support decision - making across a range of sectors
• Working across timescales to understand how weather predictions and climate projections can be translated into risk to ultimately support our customers' medium to long-term planning
• Developing information that directly supports decision making within climate- sensitive sectors, including coastal, urban, energy and transport
• Prototyping and delivering scalable climate services that meet our customers' needs for climate information
• The underlying skills required are outlined in the essential criteria below, however support and training will be given based on each successful candidate's individual experience and the skills required for the respective projects .
• Leading the development and application of suitable climate modelling and/or data science (including machine learning/AI) techniques for analysing and quantifying the impacts and associated risks of weather and/or climate upon the customer's interests.
• Working with the wider Met Office team and partners across government to understand current and future Met Office capabilities; developing and applying those capabilities to provide an authoritative source of data and expertise across meteorological, oceanographic and climate services .
• Leading the production of project reports for customers/stakeholders and the publication of scientific papers based on the project outputs (as applicable).
• Representing the Met Office at national and/or international customer/stakeholder meetings, workshops, scientific conferences, seminars etc. where the application of Met Office science (weather, climate and/or marine) needs to be presented and discussed.
• Developing the scientific and technical capability of other members of the team and their understanding of customer/stakeholder requirements
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 Senior Scientist - UK Applied Science, your total reward package will be up to £58,419 annually, which includes:
• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 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. We keep evolving - A high level of learned and working knowledge in weather, climate and/or marine science (or other physical science/environmental/mathematical subjects), gained through worked experience or academic qualification, with a strong track record of working on weather, climate or marine science and its impacts on human and/or natural systems.
2. We're experts by nature - Excellent programming skills and experience, e.g. Python, Unix; and willingness to support others in developing their technical skills. Experience of applying and promoting recognised approaches to software quality assurance.
3. We're a force for good - Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with demonstrated ability to listen actively , discuss complex scientific and/or technical information clearly and effectively with a range of audiences, and propose innovative solutions to address diverse user/customer/stakeholder needs.
4. We live and breathe it - Strong organisational skills with demonstrated ability to lead the delivery of complex research projects or customer outputs, including leading the work of others .
5. Demonstrated clear understanding of the analytical application of science to the development and delivery of user-relevant data, products or services, and/or to gain new user-relevant scientific insight through co-production
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 06/07/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews commencing from 21/07/2025. 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 .
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.
