Defence Business Services (DBS) Software Developer - MoD - HEO

Location

Norcross - Tomlinson House, Bristol - Abbey Wood North, Glasgow - Kentigern House

About the job

Job summary

Are you a dedicated person who is passionate about making a difference? 

Would you like to work for the Ministry of Defence?  

Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared service organisations in Europe that provides a wide range of corporate services, to over 1.2 million end users, including serving and past military and families, as well as MoD civil servants and industry. DBS delivers large scale administration and smaller specialist services to enable the wider MOD to focus on its core aims, maintaining the UK’s Defence and Security. Services include Human Resources, Pay, Veterans, Finance and Procurement. 

Our Vision - To support UK defence customers with outstanding service every time.
Our Mission – Together we will proudly support Defence, continuously improving and delivering flexible, timely, sustainable and value for money services that underpin the whole force and enhance operational capability.

DBS is committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues. We are building an inclusive culture and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society.  

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us through opportunities to develop your skills and experience. We also offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career accessible to you and offer a Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%. Where your role permits, we support a blended working approach alternatively known as hybrid working. 

DBS has recently undertaken a review of its operational locations in the North West, and have consolidated all activities in Norcross, Blackpool. A further move, to the new Government Hub at Talbot Gateway in Blackpool, is scheduled to take place in 2027.

Come and join the DBS community today! 

Job description

As a software developer in the Defence Business Services (DBS) Automation Garage you will be responsible for developing and maintaining live public-facing services on GOV.UK.  In this role, you will write clean, secure, and test-driven code that adheres to modern standards and design patterns. You will create open solutions that are easy for others to reuse and extend. You will integrate APIs such as GOV.UK One Login and GOV.UK Notify ensuring services align with the Government Digital Service Standard. You will test and document code releases and support the team at GDS Service Assessments.

Work with JavaScript, TypeScript, TypeORM, Postgres, Nunjucks.
Develop backend services using Node.js with frameworks like Express and NestJS.
Maintain and support open GitHub repositories, following robust branching and commit strategies to ensure clarity and traceability.
Support DevOps activities in a Kubernetes environment on OpenShift, leveraging Docker for containerisation.
Support live services by investigating incidents and resolving issues to minimise downtime.
You can design, code, test, and document using modern standards and tools, working closely with users and stakeholders to gather requirements.
Collaborate with others (service manager, technical architects, design team) to understand and review software requirements.
Work in an Agile environment ensuring service and project managers are informed of the status of development and service support.
Proactively learn and develop skills on the job while delivering software components.

Find ways to improve system robustness, resilience and stability

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Proven experience in JavaScript development.
Experience developing backend services using Node.js.
Ability to write secure, clean, and maintainable code aligned with modern development standards and practices.
Ability to document, test, and support software components.
Demonstrable commitment to professional development through proactive learning.
Practical experience using Git for version control (preferably GitHub).

Desirable Criteria

Experience with NestJS or other backend frameworks.
Experience working with TypeScript.
Familiarity with Agile delivery environments.
Understanding of the Government Digital Service (GDS) Standard, Ways of Working, and Secure by Design principles.

Understanding of CI/CD pipelines as part of modern DevOps practices.
Experience using Docker for containerisation.

Awareness of accessibility and usability standards in digital services.
Knowledge of Information Security principles in web-based software development.

Behaviours

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

Developing Self and Others
Working Together

Technical skills

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

DDAT Software Developer: Programming and Build (Software Engineering)
DDAT Software Developer: Information Security
DDAT Software Developer: Systems Design
DDAT Software Developer: User Focus