Overview
This range is provided by Met Office. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.
We’re looking for exceptional Scientific Software Engineer in AI for Climate to help us make a difference to our planet. This is a full-time opportunity (37 hours per week) and we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 30 hours per week and potentially a job share. The role supports hybrid working (part in the office, part from home). Your contractual place of work will be the location advertised.
World changing work: from science to technology, meteorology to management, and planning to communication, Met Office is an authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive.
* 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 two opportunities for Scientific Software Engineer in AI for Climate to develop innovative data-driven solutions for climate applications. As a SSE in AI for Climate you will be part of a large community of over 100 SSEs, supporting and enabling cutting-edge science at the Met Office. We are seeking two talented individuals to advance machine learning applications for climate science.
The first role will help develop ML-based downscaling capabilities. The Met Office has a wealth of information on global weather and climate; traditionally we have relied on physics-based models to translate these to local scales. ML approaches have the potential to learn from physics-based datasets to produce locally relevant climate and weather information, augmenting high-resolution modelling. This role will join a team testing, evaluating, and developing ML approaches.
The second role will join our Data-Driven Climate Modelling (DDCM) work as part of the AI4Climate initiative. You will apply cutting-edge machine learning and AI to understand and predict Earth’s changing climate in the Earth System Data Science team. You’ll work in a multidisciplinary team to develop and evaluate data-driven climate models that complement traditional climate projections, helping to build capacity for faster, more flexible, and scalable climate models and services.
In these roles you will undertake research and development in data science and machine learning for climate prediction, including model evaluation and interpretation. You will contribute to AI4Climate projects, working with colleagues across the Met Office and external partners. AI4Climate is a flagship initiative to bring advanced ML methods to climate modelling.
You will work within a multi-disciplinary team of data scientists, software engineers, and climate experts. You will engage with internal and external partners across the Met Office, partner universities, other Met Services, research institutions and commercial partners. This collaboration will help you develop a wide range of skills in ML and data science. Successful candidates will be based in teams within the Hadley Centre with close links to related projects elsewhere in the office.
Responsibilities
* Work on projects at the forefront of machine learning for climate science using recommended tools and promoting ethical, reproducible use of ML.
* Research, develop, and apply high-quality software solutions and practices for ML, create data workflows, and optimize ML architectures for climate applications.
* Communicate research outcomes through peer-reviewed publications, talks at conferences or seminars (internal and external).
* Engage with domain experts within the Met Office and external partners; share knowledge with the wider Scientific/Research Software Engineering community.
Compensation and recognition
Our work is life-changing and the Met Office is a Great Place to Work UK certified. We offer a total reward package up to £49,806 annually, including:
* An outstanding Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
* Recruitment Retention Allowance (RRA) of £2,200 per annum as a market supplement (April 2024 to March 2026)
* Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days after 5 years, with option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year
Essential criteria, skills and experience
* Expert by nature: Postgraduate research experience in physical, environmental or computational science or data science
* Keep evolving: Experience applying ML and deep learning methods in data science
* Strong programming skills with ability to solve technical problems and answer scientific questions
* Better together: Ability to work effectively as a team to deliver outcomes
* Quality assurance: Ability to apply QA processes, best practices, standards and regulations
* Excellent written and oral communication skills to convey complex information
* Deliver meaningful advances in capability through scientific software engineering
We encourage applications from those who meet the essential criteria, and also welcome those with related experience such as data-driven weather or climate models or ML downscaling.
How to apply
If you share our values, click apply to begin your application. Please provide evidence against each essential criterion in the supporting statement questionnaire (CARL: Context, Action, Result and Learning).
Closing date 12/10/2025 at 23:59 with first stage interviews from 20/10/2025. You will hear from us after the closing date.
Using AI in your application
We welcome applications that use AI tools for support in drafting or refining, as long as they reflect your own skills and experience. All hiring decisions are made by people, not AI. For details, see our recruitment approach.
How we can help
If you have questions, contact us. You may request adjustments in your application or during interview. Disability Confident Scheme options apply if you meet essential criteria.
We are an equal opportunity employer and recruit on merit, fairness and open competition in line with the Civil Service Code. You must be eligible to live and work in the UK. Security clearance is required; you must have resided in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years, with 2 of those years immediately preceding your application. Full security clearance must be achieved within the first 6 months.
Job details
* Seniority level: Entry level
* Employment type: Full-time
* Job function: Science
Note: This refined description removes non-essential postings and formatting issues present in the original content.
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