Software Engineer

Details

Reference number

432037

Salary

£39,163

The salary of £39,163 (basic salary £35,663) includes a non-pensionable Recruitment and Retention Allowance of £3,500

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer### Contract type

Permanent### Business area

DVLA - Information Technology Services### Type of role

Digital

Information Technology### Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time### Number of jobs available

4

Contents

Location

About the job

Benefits

Things you need to know

Apply and further information

Location

SwanseaAbout the job

Job summary

Are you an experienced Software Engineer who has a genuine ambition and aim to succeed?

Would you like to work with leading serverless, and cloud based technologies?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

We are recruiting software developers, to work with us and help us build services that reach over 50 million people a year. In this role, you’ll work in an agile delivery team alongside lead and senior engineers to build modern, cloud-based services.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here

25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday

Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) deliver wide reaching digital services to the UK public and industry. We maintain the national record of vehicles and drivers so if you have applied for a driving licence, taxed your vehicle or completed a vehicle enquiry you would have used one of our services.

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.

We also make extensive use of serverless Node.js and TypeScript using AWS services such as Lambda, Step Functions and Dynamodb to build services using event-driven architecture patterns.

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.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

Developing Software to meet user needs.

Following Best Practice Guidelines and help to improve those Guidelines.

Writing clean, secure and well-tested code.

Coaching and mentoring more junior colleagues.

Operating the services they build and identify issues in production.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Would you like to find out more about the role, the team and what it’s like to work in our department? If so, we are organising an open session where you can virtually 'meet the team' on 16th October 2025 at 12:00pm. Sign up here.

Person specification

You will be experienced working as a software engineer across multiple projects, developing software using a variety of modern technologies and tools.

You will be able to work with a team to shape and define requirements and have the skills to build, tests, and deliver features and services.

You will need to be comfortable in using modern CI/CD tooling with an understanding of languages such as Java, Ruby, C#, HTML, Python or similar.

You may have experience delivering services using a public cloud provider such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or a motivation to develop these skills.

You may have experience delivering services using a public cloud provider such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, or a motivation to develop these skills.

Working for the DVLA Digital Team

At DVLA, licensing is just the start. Every project you implement, touch and deliver has a ripple effect that’ll wash across the 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 a nation of individuals and business every single day.

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.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Behaviours

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

Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

Modern Development Standards

Systems Integration

System Design

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,163, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency contributes £11,345 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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. 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 28.97%, depending on chosen pension scheme.

Digital communities with clear career frameworks.

On-site gym plus personal training available (membership applies).

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.

A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a minimum of 60% of their time in the office over a month, with flexibility dependent on balancing business and individual need.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies .

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview \& Coding Assessment

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

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.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (750-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following essential Criteria:

Experience working on one or more commercial, software delivery projects.

Experience in one or more technical specialism such as Java, C#, front-end development or serverless.

The sift will take place week commencing 20th October 2025.

Stage 2: Interview \& Coding Assessment

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Behaviours – Delivering at Pace

Technical –

Modern Development Standards Software Developer: Modern Development Standards (Skill level: Practitioner).

*

Systems Integration Software Developer: Systems Integration (Skill level: Working).

*

System Design Software Developer: Systems Design (Skill level: Working).

The interviews will take place week commencing 3rd November 2025.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site .

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

Feedback on your application can only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

We will also hold a12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

Sponsorship

Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa \& Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.

AI Tools and Platforms

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

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.

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service within the last 12 months, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage.

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 .

See our vetting charter .

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)

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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .

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.### 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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans 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

Name : ITS Recruitment Team

Email : ITSRecruitment@dvla.gov.uk

Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here