About the job

Job summary

• Are you intrigued by exploring new technologies?
• Do you code or solve problems in your spare time?
• Does earning a degree whilst being paid and having no student loan excite you?

If so, the Digital and Technology Solutions Professional (Software Engineer) Level 6 apprenticeship is for you.

Your journey in software engineering at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) starts in either the Transformative Techniques and Technologies group (Exploration) or Counter-terrorism & Security (CTS) where you will join a group of friendly colleagues tackling a range of projects from small-scale software models to large-scale complex simulations.

You will share our values collaboration, innovation and impact, which are at the heart of everything we do. These aren’t just desk jobs - we offer hands-on work like no other, with capabilities and facilities unique to Dstl.  This is software in an engineering context.

Your Current Situation:

You may have never worked in an office, be finishing sixth form, leaving the armed forces, looking for a career change or not enjoying your current studies. No matter what your current situation is, if you are at least 18 years old you can become join us as a Software Engineering Apprentice.

What's Next?

Once you have successfully completed your apprenticeship, if you have demonstrated the required behaviours, we will support you in applying for a permanent position at Dstl, or with another apprenticeship.

Job description

In this role you will:

• Learn, grow and develop your skills in software engineering supported by your friendly colleagues and training provider.
• Apply your learning to real projects
• Discover how software engineering has a real impact on defence and security work

Person specification

You will have:

• A passion for software engineering
• A desire to launch your career in the defence industry
• A curiosity to understand how and why things work
• A good understanding of basic mathematic principles and the desire to learn more

You will possess these essential skills:

• The ability to learn new software technologies and languages
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal
• Problem solving

For more information on the role, please see the Job Profile attached below.

You will have these Essential Qualifications:

• 2 A-Levels (C+) or equivalent including a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) based subject which may include Computing, ICT or physics
• 5 GCSE’s grade 4-9/C+ including English and Maths

Desirable:

• 3 A-Levels (C+)
• A-Level in Maths, Statistics, Physics or Computer Science

Don’t have an A-Level in Maths, Statistics, Physics or Computer Science but are a keen hobbyist, done some online courses? Please apply and reference them in your application. Equivalent experience could also come from industry relevant areas such as the military.

Important Information:

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

Location/Working Pattern:

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office/lab/range (on site) and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the workplace, subject to on-site estates capacity.  

Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or carry out detached duty in another Ministry Of Defence workplace, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details).

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £24,511, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory contributes £6,617 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

We want you to have your best chance of success in our recruitment process, so If at any stage of the application process you would like help or assistance please contact the Dstl Recruitment Team dstlrecruitment@dstl.gov.uk and we will do all we can to support you.

Sift will take place week commencing 26th February with successful applicants to be invited to attend an interview week commencing 18th March, either Face to Face at one of Dstl's sites or online via MS Teams

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

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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

Open to UK nationals only.

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.

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.