About the job

Job summary

At the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), we encourage applications from everyone, particularly groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. We pride ourselves on the positive impact diversity has and promote inclusivity and equality of opportunity for all. Our recruitment process is anonymised, which means that your name, date of birth and other personal details will not be seen by the sift panel.  

Role Title: Lead Software Engineer 

Grade: Grade 7

Salary: £51,997 - £75,649

Maximum salary amount includes a Digitech Allowance of up to £15,000 (without the allowance the higher pay scale is usually £60,649). The final salary and any allowance awarded will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview.

Can you see yourself working with the latest technologies reaching 49 million users?

If so, we are expanding our team and would love to hear from you!

Would you like to find out more about the role, the digital team and what it’s like to work at DVLA? If so, we are organising a familiarisation session where you can virtually 'meet the team' on Thursday 28th March at 12:30pm. 

Please click here to book on.

Job description

The DVLA deliver wide reaching digital services to the UK public and industry. We maintain the national record of vehicles and drivers. If you have applied for a driving licence, changed vehicle, re-licensed your vehicle or completed a vehicle enquiry you would have used one of our services.

The time is right to join one of the leading agile, cloud and technical departments in the government, one that is constantly pushing the boundaries of technological innovation to find, develop, and introduce new and innovative technological advancements. On a modern cloud platform, we work with a range of industry-leading technologies, such as serverless, Docker, and Kubernetes.

Within and between our teams, we have a friendly and stable engineering community. Keeping work life enjoyable is key to us, and we strive to ensure the efficient and secure use of software and infrastructure.

Our current deliveries include:

• Two major programmes of work, modernising our drivers and vehicles services and systems

• Entirely new services including a new customer portal, mobile digital driving licence and identity platform

• The DVLA digital payment service that helps us collect around 6 billion pounds a year

• New versions of key driving licence services that will help us to reduce paper forms, reduce waiting times and to enable all of our customers to transact digitally

As part of our core business services, you will work with Java and SpringBoot alongside tools like OpenAPI. No specific Java experience is needed. All you need is a passion for building clean, maintainable, and secure applications using an object-oriented language.

If you’re working on the front-end, you’ll be developing applications and reusable components using a combination of Ruby on Rails and React. You will also have the opportunity to build and develop our external and internal UIs, so this is an exciting opportunity to deliver far reaching, intuitive and accessible front-end systems.

As part of our ongoing mission to support and develop all staff within the DVLA, you will be given a high spec Macbook and we will help you to achieve certification in areas such as AWS and Java, as well as giving you the freedom and support necessary to perform in your role and continuously develop your skill set.

Responsibilities 

Include but not limited to:

• Guiding the ways in which the team works.
• Being proficient in a wide range of technical systems.
• Being involved in identifying appropriate technology and approaches, deciding when software should be written.
• Contributing to the developer community.
• Providing technical leadership, coach, and mentor your team.
• Promoting knowledge sharing and adoption of good practice.
• Writing clean, secure, and well-tested code.

For more information about the role please refer to the attached Role Profile. 

This role currently sits within a Market Force Led (MFL) capability-based pay framework and your basic salary could increase/decrease based on the outcomes of an annual capability assessment.  View details of the MFL pay framework policy and principles.

Additional information 

Applications will be accepted from full time/part time/job sharers. Full time roles at DVLA consist of 37 hours per week. Part time and/or flexible working may also be available subject to the needs of the business. If you have a flexible or part time working requirement, you should contact the vacancy holder in advance of making an application to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your desired working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role. To contact the vacancy holder, please use the job contact details listed under ‘Contact point for applicants’. 

This role will be based in Swansea, and we will be operating a hybrid working model that allows you to work between home and on-site giving you greater flexibility about where and when you work, subject to business needs and this also allows for ongoing support, development, and collaboration with colleagues.  

Therefore, the expectation is that you will spend a minimum of 60% of your working time based at your principal workplace (DVLA). We would encourage you to discuss the working arrangements for this role with us during the recruitment process. 

Person specification

We’re looking for hardworking and motivated people with the right experience to join and help us grow. You will be working alongside our cloud infrastructure colleagues where you’ll get to collaborate and participate in cross-team events and communities.

To thrive in this role, you will have extensive experience of working in the full applications lifecycle, with specific focus on support. You will have also gained experience within multiple technology areas, with a specialism within one or more areas.

You will have knowledge of IT process and operational procedure, as well as change management principles. Experience of high and low level solution design is essential.

We strive to ensure that DVLA is a great place to work where everybody can be their true self, be treated with dignity and respect, and according to their individual needs. We have a number of staff network groups run by staff to support their colleagues.  

Working for the DVLA Digital Team 

At the DVLA, licensing is just the start. Every project you implement, touch and deliver has a ripple effect that’ll wash across the entire nation. Here the work you’re doing has the capacity to change the way 50 million people interact with our services. As we aim to keep our roads some of the safest in the world, our innovative, transformative digital-led services help optimise an entire nation of individuals and business every single day. That’s huge. No two ways about it.   

To see how our people are transforming our digital services, head over to our DVLA Digital Services Blog and, to understand more about the great opportunities and benefits of working at DVLA read our Inside DVLA blog. 

Due to the evolving nature of the business, vacancies can become available at any time. Therefore, this campaign may create a reserve list to fulfil demand if it arises which will be held for a period of 6 months. 

Benefits

Passionate, reliable and always willing to push yourself and those around you, you’ll continue to seek improvement in your own role and challenge us too. Because we pride ourselves on how we approach your development. From training courses to specialist skills workshops and opportunities to grow your expertise, we thrive when you thrive. We are firm believers that diverse organisations have the most diverse impact on society, we welcome and encourage applications from absolutely everyone. You can find out more about all of the above here alongside a full list of our benefits: 

• Best in class learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance . 
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.  
• Generous employer contribution of at least 26.6%, depending on rate of salary and chosen pension scheme.
• Digital communities with clear career frameworks.
• On-site gym plus personal training available.
• On-site nursery, restaurants and coffee bar.  
• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays), increasing by 1 each year (up to 30) & 1 extra day for the King’s birthday. 
• Free parking.  
• Ability to buy and sell annual leave. 

  

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

How to Apply   

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

For this role you will need to submit a CV and personal statement of up to 750 words.   

For your CV and personal statement, please provide detailed evidence of your experience of the following essential criteria:   

• Experience working on multiple, large-scale, enterprise software delivery projects in a lead or senior engineer role
• Experience in one or more technical specialism such as Java, C#, front-end development or serverless
• Experience using the AWS cloud platform or an equivalent cloud service provider 

Click here for further guidance on writing a CV and personal statement. 

The sift is due to take place from Monday 8th April 2024.

Interviews will be held from Wednesday 17th April 2024.

This interview will be conducted via a video interview, details of which will be provided to you should you be selected for interview. 

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates. 

If invited to interview, this may consist of a range of question types. These could include questions around behaviours and how you would respond in any situation as well as specific examples of things you have done. 

The selection process will be designed specifically for the role. As a result, your assessment will include: 

• An interview and coding exercise 

The Department for Transport alongside other Government Departments recruit using Success Profiles. This means for each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate in order to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.  

For further information on Success Profiles visit our Careers website. 

Please take note that DVLA does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. 

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

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

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.