Why I returned to the Met Office: culture and cutting-edge tech

At an early age, I knew I wanted to work with computers. Growing up, my dad used to teach me how to build my own PCs. We even had late night gaming sessions on our home network (this was before home networking was common!) Fast forward in time, and I had graduated from college with a Foundation Degree in Computing, but had no idea where I was going to work!  

I always had a keen interest in the weather, so I did some research about the Met Office. I was amazed. I had no idea about the breadth of work that went on. From supercomputers (well I did know about that one) to software development, and from networking to big data. I suddenly realised this seemed like a dream place to work – combining my two keen interests in computing and weather!  

I began my journey at the Met Office as a Junior Software Developer, immersing myself in various projects related to aviation, marine, and our public website. Over the years, the Met Office supported my career development, and I progressed to a Senior Developer. I was involved in many, many different projects during this time, including working on space weather. That was very exciting!  

Eventually I progressed to a Technical Lead role, working with my colleagues to lead the software development for a new platform for the aviation industry. Did you know that the Met Office is one of only two national Met Services that provides regulated data to the aviation industry across the globe, to ensure safe flights? It’s incredible! 

After ten years working at the Met Office, I started to get an itch to gain new experiences outside the organisation, and see what else was out there. 

Starting my first day at a new government department was exciting, but also scary! However, after about seven months, I realised that I missed the Met Office and the cutting-age work we do. Whilst the new government department I was working in was very friendly and was a great place to work – I just found I had lost my passion. I especially missed working with the interesting and unique scientific weather data, and building bespoke systems which are safety critical to all sorts of industries.  

A few months passed, and I found myself back at the Met Office (yay) after successfully passing a job interview for a senior position as Lead Developer. I was even back in my old department. I was thrilled and overwhelmed with everyone’s support. It was so good to be back! 

After a short time settling back in, I began working on a critical project related to aviation safety in collaboration with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in the USA. Wow! They say once you start working in aviation, you never get away from it. 

Jumping ahead to today (and a few weeks after my critical project successfully went live! Phew!) I am now a Lead Technical Architect and find myself writing this article to share some of my career experiences – and to hopefully provide some insight into how amazing it is to work here. Reflecting on all this though, I think the key reasons why I believe the Met Office is such a great place to work are: 

1. The unique, challenging, and incredibly rewarding work. I have the opportunity to collaborate with science, products and business teams, along with our partners, to create custom software solutions that address real-world problems. Each project offers new learning experiences and challenges. I certainly never get bored. 

2. The culture is professional and supportive, fostering a friendly atmosphere. Wellbeing is taken seriously too, with various physical and mental health initiatives. This attracts like-minded individuals with diverse backgrounds who really want to contribute to something meaningful and impactful across the UK and globally. 

3. I get to work with cutting-edge technology and scientific advancements. The innovative culture allows me to be at the forefront of these developments, creating services that can change the world. How many workplaces generate terabytes of scientific data, and pull it through to software developers who can then have the time of their lives innovating to create truly wonderful things? Not many I expect! 

4. My colleagues are not only talented, but also incredibly supportive. I can truly be myself at work, and there are numerous support networks and communities. There's even an online feline appreciation group where people share pictures and stories of cats!

It's genuinely rewarding to work at an organisation that does incredible things, truly values me, challenges me, enables me to work with other talented people, and where I can help to make a real impact in the UK and globally. I'd definitely recommend working here!

This blog was published in August 2025.