Java & JavaScript Software Engineer

This role may be located in one of the following locations; Birmingham, Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle or Sheffield.

Please find further information on the Corporate hub locations here.

Please note that for candidates requesting to work in Newcastle, the role will initially be based at Benton Park View. It will then move to 1 Pilgrim Place in Newcastle city centre by the end of 2027.

Job Summary

Are you ready to shape the future of digital services that impact millions—while working on meaningful technology that drives real‑world change?

Are you a talented engineer, experienced with both Java and JavaScript and looking for the next challenge?

We’re looking for outstanding Software Engineers, who want to contribute to demanding and exciting digital services for the UK Government. Be part of changing the face of public services with the potential to dramatically transform the future of millions of people.

Our Engineers will build and run applications as part of a multi-functional agile delivery teams. What really excites our software engineers is problem-solving and the opportunity to deliver innovative technology that carries real value for users. As a software engineer you will be expected to draw value from collaboration with others, actively seek input from colleagues and value a multidisciplinary team over hierarchy.

We use modern technologies including AWS, Kubernetes & Terraform, Java (SpringBoot), NodeJS, JavaScript, Python, and CI/CD pipelines. You’ll have access to excellent learning and development, flexible working, and a strong engineering community that supports your career progression.

Make an impact. Build something that matters.

Job Description

As a Software Engineer you will develop and maintain software products that make up citizen and organisation facing services and contribute towards their design.

You will be responsible for the operational stability of the products you build and be able to affect change in the on-going robustness and resilience of those products.

You will work within, and contribute to, the overall Software Development Lifecycle Process as part of a multi-functional Agile delivery team focused on one or more products.

Our Software Engineers are skilled practitioners and role models for software craft within DWP.

You Will:

• Work as part of multidisciplinary teams, in collaboration with Architects and Engineers, to design software products that make up services used by millions of people.
• Build robust and accessible User Interfaces (UIs) that work for as many users as possible, regardless of their needs.
• Building and consuming APIs, with a focus on an API first design approach.
• Monitor and improve system robustness, resilience and stability.
• Collaborate with other areas to help build comprehensive suites of automated tests to improve product quality.

Participating directly in agile ceremonies and contribute ideas.

Help make sure we follow best practice and will guide our teams on how to deliver quality software products.

Help design and support the strategies for building reusable libraries and services.

Support Software Engineering teams providing technical leadership and guidance.

Contribute to setting strategic direction for product team and the wider Software Engineering community.

Ensure we developer accessible user interfaces for DWP services which work effectively across multiple devices and browsers.

Have strong knowledge of modern web development stacks, web standards, user experience, progressive enhancement, performance, accessibility, browser compatibility, tooling and pipelines.

Work across the entire technical stack, from architecture, design to CI/CD pipelines, databases, backend frameworks, APIs and user interfaces to ensure quality and consistency.

Occasional travel between the Digital hubs for business purposes will be required.

As a Software Engineer you will develop and maintain software products that make up citizen and organisation facing services and contribute towards their design.

You will be responsible for the operational stability of the products you build and be able to affect change in the on-going robustness and resilience of those products.

You will work within, and contribute to, the overall Software Development Lifecycle Process as part of a multi-functional Agile delivery team focused on one or more products.

Our Software Engineers are skilled practitioners and role models for software craft within DWP.

You Will:

Have strong knowledge of modern web development stacks, web standards, user experience, progressive enhancement, performance, accessibility, browser compatibility, tooling and pipelines.

Work across the entire technical stack, from architecture, design to CI/CD pipelines, databases, backend frameworks, APIs and user interfaces to ensure quality and consistency.

Occasional travel between the Digital hubs for business purposes will be required.

Person specification

See selection process for further details.

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Mark.Harbottle@dwp.gov.uk

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• System Design
  
  

Alongside your salary of £44,447, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £12,876 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Generous annual leave – at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.

Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.

Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).

Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.

Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.

An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Hybrid Working

This role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work.

If a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for the role and for you, you will normally be required to spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted working hours from your DWP office.

If you have a disability, caring responsibilities, or other circumstances that may affect your ability to meet the minimum office attendance requirement, please discuss this with us using the contact details in this advert.

Salary Information

Pay for this role is from £44,447 to £59,813.

The maximum salary for the grade is £46,547, however a Digital Allowance of up to £13,266 per annum is available for exceptional candidates. Digital Allowance is non-salary, and non-pensionable, and is classed as a temporary allowance. It is reviewed annually where it could be retained, amended, or removed.

Our offer to successful candidates will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview.

Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer will maintain their current substantive salary.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1: Application

Experience of developing front-end code both client and server-side, using Node.Js/JavaScript.

Ensure that all examples provided in your statements are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. If you choose to use gen-AI to support your statements, you must follow the guidelines outlined in the Artificial intelligence and recruitment guide.

The sift panel will use the information in your employment history, personal statement, and technical statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge.

An initial sift will be conducted using the technical statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift.

If you do progress to a full sift, you will be provided with one combined overall assessment score for both your employment history and Personal Statement.

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

Important Information

• You will be asked to complete your employment history. Any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.

Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.

If your employment history, personal statement or technical statement contain any personal details your application will be withdrawn.

Stage 2: Coding Test

Candidates who are successful at the sift stage will be sent a coding test to complete remotely. The exercise will focus on the technical elements listed in the Essential Criteria in this advert.

Full details will be sent to candidates when the exercise is issued. Candidates will have 7 days to complete the test from the date of receipt. Candidates that are not successful in the technical exercise will not progress to the interview stage.

Please add Digital.EngineeringRecruitment@dwp.gov.uk to your safe senders list or monitor your spam folder to ensure safe receipt of the code test via email.

The code test must be completed by the candidate using their skillset without using any AI or generative tools.

Stage:3 Interview

If you’re successful at the coding test, you’ll be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. During the interview, you’ll be assessed against the experience criteria listed under both the essential and technical skill.

Interviews will take place from the end of April 2026. Interview dates to be confirmed.

Other Information:

If high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

All successful candidates and those placed on reserve will be posted in merit list order by location.

For these vacancies, we strongly recommend that applicants consult with an immigration specialist or qualified advisor to assess their eligibility for Visa Sponsorship before deciding to apply. Please note that while we consider sponsorship requests in accordance with current DWP guidance and Home Office policy, sponsorship cannot be guaranteed.

Further Information

Find out more about Working for DWP

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Reserve list candidates will be posted in merit order by location.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How We Recruit, page

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact :

• Name : Mark Harbottle
• Email : Mark.Harbottle@dwp.gov.uk
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
  
  

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. If you wish to make a complaint, please find further details here: https://careers.dwp.gov.uk/how-we-recruit/.