Senior Software Developer (Returnship Programme) - Government Digital Service - G7

Have you taken a career break from Software Development and are thinking about returning?

The Returnship programme is intended for applicants returning from an extended career break for 18 months or more, or who is currently working outside software development, but who has previously worked as a senior software developer or in a comparable role.

This returnship programme is designed for experienced software developers returning to work after an extended career break. It offers a supported route back into technical roles, recognising that returning is a transition and that confidence, working practices and tools may have changed during time away.

You’ll join a delivery team in either the Home Office or the Ministry of Justice, working on real digital services with structured onboarding, support, and development opportunities provided throughout the programme.

(Department‑specific information about the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, including benefits and example services, is provided in the candidate pack.)

Job description

This role aligns against Software Developer from the Government Digital and Data Framework

As a Senior Software Developer on the returnship programme, you will contribute to building, improving and maintaining digital services that need to be secure, reliableand user‑centred. You’ll work in multidisciplinary teams and help promote good engineering practices.

As a Senior Software Developer on the Returnship Programme you’ll:

• Design, build and maintain secure services (APIs, systems and applications), making sound engineering decisions that balance user needs, performance, resilience and security.
• Work confidently with existing codebases, improving quality, structure and maintainability.
• Improve the stability, resilience and operability of software by identifying and addressing technical risks early.
• Apply modern engineering practices that support continuous delivery, including automation, testing and safe deployment patterns.
• Collaborate across disciplines (for example: product, design, user research, delivery) to shape solutions through discovery, development and iteration.
• Help your team prioritise technical work, balancing new delivery with the needs of live services.
• Support and develop others through coaching, mentoring and technical leadership (line management may apply depending on role placement).

Note: The specific services and teams you work on will vary by department. More detailed department specific examples are included in the candidate pack linked at the bottom of the page (Home Office and Ministry of Justice sections).

Person specification

We’re interested in people who can demonstrate all of the below essential criteria:

• Experience delivering large and/or complex software solutions.
• Experience building web applications or back‑end systems using a modern object‑oriented language, and confidence learning new languages.
• Experience using modern development practices such as CI/CD, automated testing, and working safely with live services.
• A well established approach to software quality, including clean code, maintainable design, and appropriate documentation.
• Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams and communicate technical decisions clearly.
• A systematic approach to problem solving and continuous improvement

Interested?
For full details, essential criteria and how to apply, click through to Civil Service Jobs.