Lead Node Developer
| Posting date: | 28 May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £54,470 to £67,090 per year |
| Additional salary information: | National: £54,470 - £61,000, London: £59,900 - £67,090 plus industry leading pension and benefits. For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’. This post offers successful candidates the opportunity to be cons |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 11 June 2025 |
| Location: | Reading |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 407784/4 |
Summary
Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.LinkedIn
What your day-to-day will look like:
Using the latest cloud technologies, you may be working on our ‘Flood services’ - developing government digital services to share information about current and future flood risk with the public. It will be your job to ensure they are accessible to all, especially in times of bad weather!
Alternatively, you could be involved with our Farming and Countryside Programme which is about delivering services to make farming sustainable, increase biodiversity, promote high animal health and welfare standards, and contribute to the Government’s Net Zero commitment, ensuring ‘public money for public good’.
Other projects require us to maintain and develop several externally facing digital services and internal applications. As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will have responsibility for ‘owning’ the functionality you develop.
If you are as enthusiastic as us about building great solutions for Defra and our Arm’s Length Bodies, then this is the job for you. As Lead Developer you will review colleagues design and development thinking, making sure the most appropriate technology is selected, and that code is maintainable, performant and secure. You will be leading the integration of multiple systems and technologies whilst collaborating with senior stakeholders and suppliers, providing direction and challenge to find the most appropriate solutions.
What technology do we use?
Node.js
API development - REST, OpenAPI
Web development - HAPI
Databases - PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
Unit testing - Jest, Lab
Source Control – Git
Cloud hosting - Azure/AWS
Containerisation - Docker, Kubernetes, ECS
CI and release - ADO, Jenkins, Github Actions
Work Management - Jira, ADO
Please note for this role you will require SC Clearance. To gain SC clearance all applicants are required to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 5 years. If this requirement is not met, the individual will not be able to progress their application further.
Digital, Data, Technology and Security (DDTS) is the trusted team for digital across the entire Defra Group.
We have around 1000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.
Find out more about DDTS:
Defra digital, data and technology blog
Defra Jobs
Our team of Software Developers are passionate about making a difference to our environment and the lives of people in the UK and we are now looking for experienced Full Stack Node.js Developers to become a part of a close-knit development team.What your day-to-day will look like:
Using the latest cloud technologies, you may be working on our ‘Flood services’ - developing government digital services to share information about current and future flood risk with the public. It will be your job to ensure they are accessible to all, especially in times of bad weather!
Alternatively, you could be involved with our Farming and Countryside Programme which is about delivering services to make farming sustainable, increase biodiversity, promote high animal health and welfare standards, and contribute to the Government’s Net Zero commitment, ensuring ‘public money for public good’.
Other projects require us to maintain and develop several externally facing digital services and internal applications. As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will have responsibility for ‘owning’ the functionality you develop.
If you are as enthusiastic as us about building great solutions for Defra and our Arm’s Length Bodies, then this is the job for you. As Lead Developer you will review colleagues design and development thinking, making sure the most appropriate technology is selected, and that code is maintainable, performant and secure. You will be leading the integration of multiple systems and technologies whilst collaborating with senior stakeholders and suppliers, providing direction and challenge to find the most appropriate solutions.
What technology do we use?
Node.js
API development - REST, OpenAPI
Web development - HAPI
Databases - PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
Unit testing - Jest, Lab
Source Control – Git
Cloud hosting - Azure/AWS
Containerisation - Docker, Kubernetes, ECS
CI and release - ADO, Jenkins, Github Actions
Work Management - Jira, ADO
Please note for this role you will require SC Clearance. To gain SC clearance all applicants are required to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 5 years. If this requirement is not met, the individual will not be able to progress their application further.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.