Senior Python Developer

Job description

Job responsibilities

Skills & experience You will have a high standard of knowledge of Python and be able to work to agreed security standards and specifications using the best tools for the job to design, create, test and document new or redeveloped software. You will be capable of building software of medium to high complexity, specifying and designing systems to meet defined business needs. You will need the ability to explore and propose different approaches to solving problems and ensure you select appropriate technology and use resources efficiently to integrate multiple systems and technologies. You will be skilled at integrating and testing multiple components, systems and their interfaces. You will have the ability to take ownership of projects and the desire to take them through to production. The role requires good troubleshooting skills with an ability to identify locate and competently fix bugs and errors. You will need a strong ability to collaborate with user researchers, sell and represent users internally and champion user research to focus on all users. This means an ability to understand users and identify them and their needs based on evidence. You should put users first, manage competing priorities and offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to be used. You will have experience of using modern standards for process automation and testing and be able to guide others in doing so. Main Duties & Responsibilities Implement new Python software products using modern development standards and techniques/technologies including test-driven and behaviour-driven development (TDD/BDD). Support and fix bugs in existing applications, using standard debugging tools to track down and identify root causes. Work independently to find solutions to identified problems and to work with the multi-disciplinary team to solve more challenging issues Design, create and test software sub-systems and component using proven software engineering practices. Integrate existing and proposed systems with other systems to promote interoperability between disparate systems Work in sprints in a multi-disciplinary Scrum team, collaborate and liaise with delivery managers, product owners and other stakeholders to identify business requirements and implement user stories Collaborate and work with multi-disciplinary team members, including technology and cloud service providers to ensure that knowledge is shared among members of the project team Continuously seek to improve your own knowledge of work areas and embrace the agile framework of software delivery methodology and aim to reach full agility with continuous integrations, delivery and deployment Research and recommend proven open-source tools and platforms that will support the ongoing delivery of UKHSAs products and developing functional and technical specification documentation for them Design systems that model processes that are characterised by different levels of risk, impact and business/technical complexity through selecting appropriate design standards, methods and tools. Review existing system design and identify ways to improve or adopt efficient use of resources Attend local and national meetings with key stakeholders and UKHSAs partner organisations Compliance DBS - People working with government systems must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks which includes a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed for this role is BPSS however there may be a requirement for this role to be SC cleared and you should familiarise yourself with the criteria of security clearance. This role is Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants. Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules This job is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK Nationals of the Republic of Ireland Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. 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. Application Process Stage 1: Application & Sift This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a Personal Statement / Statement of Suitability in no more than 500 words. We will be assessing 3 behaviours at sift: Changing & Improving Making Effective Decisions Communicating & Influencing So please make sure you address all 3 behaviours in your statement of suitability This should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the Experience criteria or the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section). You will also be asked to provide information within the Employer/ Activity history section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history. This will be used in the sifting process and will be scored. Feedback will not be provided at this stage. If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview Stage 2: Panel Interview All applicants that progress to interview will be assessed on behaviours / experience / technical / ability through Success Profiles. The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be: Communicating and Influencing Making effective decisions Changing and Improving You will also be required to complete a technical coding test during interview Please note that feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview Benefits Reserve List: Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post will be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be contacted if similar roles become available. If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available. Benefits Civil Service pension contribution up to 27% Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity Range of health and wellbeing support Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Essential Criteria:
• Understanding of front-end development technologies: HTML, CSS and JavaScript
• Strong understanding and experience of Python and ecosystem of packages
• Understanding of modern containerised deployment via CI/CD on the cloud
• Both SQL and NoSQL data manipulation experience
• Experience of developing and consuming RESTful APIs and web services
• Knowledge of object-oriented concepts and design patterns
• Experience of the principles and practices of agile development and the project lifecycle, and agile tools such as Jira or Redmine
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships
• Desirable Criteria:
• Postgraduate or professional qualification or equivalent experience in relevant technologies
• Additional languages, or frontend technologies (React, Vue etc)
• Pytest

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

UK Health Security Agency

Address

Colindale Avenue 61

London

NW9 5EQ

Employer's website

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency (Opens in a new tab)