Software Developer (Ruby Developer) Permanent

As a Developer on the GovWifi team, you will contribute to the software components that form our mission-critical platform. You’ll work closely with senior developers and Site Reliability Engineers (SREs), learning from the team while contributing your own ideas, to help maintain high service uptime and respond to incidents as part of a rota.

Your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Software Delivery: Design, code, test, and document Ruby and Ruby on Rails features, working from agreed specifications to meet user needs across the public sector.
• Full-Stack Contribution: Build front-end views and interactions using Rails alongside backend logic, with opportunities to work in Python, JavaScript, Go, or C where relevant.
• Security & Standards: Write secure code that follows information security good practice, and apply modern development standards (TDD, CI/CD) as part of the team.
• Operational Support: Help operate the services you build — identifying issues, fixing bugs, and supporting maintenance of infrastructure, with guidance from experienced colleagues.
• User-Centric Development: Work with user researchers and product colleagues to translate user stories into technical tasks, distinguishing user “wants” from true “needs”.
• Systems Integration: Help build and test interfaces between GovWifi and external systems, under guidance from senior developers where complexity is high.

• Prototyping: Take part in team prototyping sessions, helping test new features and approaches (including AI-based enhancements) before full-scale deployment. Continuous Improvement: Suggest improvements to development processes and practices, and take part in retrospectives to help the team get better over time., We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together, If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes., If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘contact point for applicants’ section.

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made., 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.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Feedback 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., * 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

This role requires SC (Security Check) which will be conducted by NSV (National Security vetting). You need to have been resident in the UK within the past five years in order to apply.

Here is a short video why this is required.

As a Ruby Developer on the GovWifi team, you’ll help build and maintain the UK’s government-wide WiFi authentication service, used by millions of people every month across the public sector.

You’ll write clean, well-tested Ruby and Ruby on Rails code, working alongside experienced developers and Site Reliability Engineers to deliver features that make WiFi access simple and secure for citizens and civil servants.

You’ll get hands-on experience across the stack — from Rails-based front-end views to backend services — and have the opportunity to broaden your skills with languages like Python, JavaScript, Go, and C, which are used elsewhere in our estate. You’ll work in a small, collaborative agile team, contributing to code reviews, pairing with colleagues, and turning user stories into working software.

We are currently looking for someone with solid Ruby and Rails experience who is keen to develop further and enjoys working as part of a supportive team.

The ideal candidate should take pride in writing quality, maintainable code, possess strong development fundamentals, and bring a good-natured, collaborative approach to the role., * Expert in Ruby development and Rails framework

• Experience with at least one other language such as Python, JavaScript, Go, or C
• Understanding of automated testing (unit/integration) and version control workflows
• Awareness of CI/CD pipelines and cloud deployment concepts (AWS desirable, not essential)
• Willingness to learn incident response and operational support practices as part of a team.

Behaviours:

• Collaborative, good-natured approach to working with others
• Focus on delivering good-quality code at a steady pace
• Clear communication when discussing technical work with the team.

Other:

• Ability and willingness to adapt and learn.
• Commitment to GovWifi mission and public sector values., * Ruby and Ruby on Rails Proficiency — solid understanding of Ruby/Rails; experience writing automated tests. Monitoring and Logging
• Front-End Development within Rails — experience building and styling user-facing views within a Rails app.
• Exposure to Adjacent Languages — hands-on experience with Python, Docker, JavaScript, Go, or C and ability to discuss trade-offs vs Ruby/Rails.
• Testing and Code Quality Practices — familiarity with TDD, code review, and writing maintainable code.
• Version Control and CI/CD Awareness — comfortable with Git workflows; awareness of CI/CD pipelines.

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• Ruby and Ruby on Rails Proficiency — solid understanding of Ruby/Rails; experience writing automated tests. Monitoring and Logging

Pulled from the full job description

• Childcare
• Annual leave

• Company pension, £57,204 - £74,822 National Minimum: 57204 - National Maximum: 63953 London Minimum: 62988 - London Maximum: 74822 Offers above the Band minimum are subject to our assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview. Salaries over the Band minimum will be paid as a non-pensionable allowance. A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% GBP, Alongside your salary of £57,204, Cabinet Office contributes £16,571 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.