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Senior Developer for the Prototype Kit

Government Digital Services -

Full-time (Permanent)
Up to £70,400
Published on
22 August 2021
Deadline
29 August 2021

What you'll do


We’re looking for Senior Developers of all experiences with a strong background in Node.js to work on the GOV.UK Prototype Kit.

The Prototype Kit provides a simple way to make interactive GOV.UK prototypes, which can be used to share ideas, and for user research.

Users run the Prototype Kit locally on their own computers, or deploy it to environments like Heroku. The Prototype Kit is written in Node.js and Express.

Over the next year, we want to:

  • make it easier to build and maintain prototypes, and to keep them up to date
  • make sure the Prototype Kit is accessible for disabled people, both making prototypes and the prototypes themselves
  • make it easier for prototypes to integrate with GOV.UK Notify, GOV.UK Pay and GOV.UK Platform as a Service
  • better understand prototyping needs across government
  • allow users to build more complex prototypes

GDS staff move between projects on need and request and as a result, in the future you may move to a different project, and may be required to learn a new language.


What you’ll do

At GDS, you’ll share responsibility for the digital transformation of government. You’ll ensure high quality code is delivered in line with project goals and delivery cycles. You’ll thrive using agile methods and enjoy working openly, collaboratively and as part of a multidisciplinary team focused on one or more projects. Above all, you’ll want to make government better, which may sometimes involve challenging the status quo.

You will join the supportive, multidisciplinary team responsible for the Prototype Kit, and help set the future technical direction for the project.

You'll:

  • work with other disciplines to understand what needs to be built
  • plan and lead development on the Prototype Kit
  • ensure changes are carefully managed so the kit remains familiar to existing users, with a clear path for migration
  • build an understanding of the whole system and take responsibility for teaching this to others
  • write clean, secure code following a test-driven approach
  • coach and mentor more junior colleagues
  • find ways to improve system robustness, resilience and stability
  • help recruit developers and, where appropriate, help to sift and interview
  • support the live operation of the services we run, and participate in out-of-hours support rotas where necessary - you'll be paid an allowance, and a further hourly payment, for any duties you perform when on call

As part of the team, you’ll help share the work we’ve done and the things we’ve learnt through blog posts and show and tells, with the option of presenting at conferences and meetups.

To learn more about what Senior Developers do in government please review the DDaT Capability Framework.




Who you are


We’re looking for people who:

  • have experience in back-end development, with detailed knowledge of Node.js
  • understand software design principles
  • research and learn new programming tools and techniques
  • take a systematic approach to solving problems
  • understand agile environments and version control
  • understand web security and the importance of building interfaces that work for as many users as possible, regardless of their needs
  • have an awareness of technologies used for web applications, e.g databases, backups, CDNs and search, and of Unix-like operating systems, e.g. Linux and/or Mac OS
  • have experience working on, or with web technologies
  • are familiar with working practices such as TDD, continuous integration, continuous delivery and DevOps
  • have experience in leadership, helping colleagues with their career development and coaching more junior staff members


GDS is based in Bristol, London and Manchester, and this role is part of our focussed growth in Manchester during 2021/22. You will be part of a growing community in Manchester, working with colleagues across all three sites. GDS supports flexible working, including a balance between office and home-based working. Normally this will mean 2 days a week in the office, or more if that works better for you and the role.


Please note that if you are brought forward to the interview stage, you will be required to undertake a task as part of the interview process. Further details will be communicated ahead of this.

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