Systems Development Engineer

Become a Systems Development Engineer at Fera Science and make your contribution to the UK’s food safety and biosecurity.

We’re seeking a full stack developer or a php developer with some experience and interest in Front-end development. You may be a recent graduate or looking for a new opportunity working from home.

We have a flexible approach to our work and will consider part time, condensed hours, and other flexible models.

This is a permanent role and remote based (UK), with the expectation of onsite visits (York, UK) for meetings and collaboration.

The Fera IT Systems Development Team is responsible for the development, support and maintenance of web applications, databases and services of varying sizes and complexity which support or facilitate the work of Fera and our customers.

The purpose of the job is to work within a team of software development engineers, on upgrade and enhancement of existing systems and development of new systems, contributing to one or more key development projects at any time. Tasks related to ongoing support will also be required but will be a smaller part of the role. The main technologies utilised by the team for new development are Angular, Laravel/php, MySQL.

Job title:

Systems Development Engineer

Job Description:

What you’ll be doing:

• Work on the development, enhancement and support of web applications, often on the back-end but there will be some requirement for front-end development depending on project
• Work on one or more key development projects, using agile or waterfall methodology, whichever best suits the project
• Liaise closely with managers, project managers and clients where required, in order to successfully deliver new systems, ensuring that requirements are met and value for money is provided
• Maintain effective communication at all stages of the project life cycle and liaise with senior developers in ensuring that the team reacts to emerging threats and opportunities in security and technology respectively
• Carry out all development within a version-controlled environment to defined coding standards.
• Provide input as requested to help the team to respond to system support requests.
• If the position is filled by a senior developer, also;
• To take the lead developer role for some projects, carrying out robust and constructive review of code and system designs, and to suggest improvements where appropriate
• To guide and mentor other developers in all aspects of their work
• Provide advice and support for science colleagues during project discovery and bid development

What we’re looking for:

• We would consider recruiting a junior developer, developer or senior developer, depending on candidate experience:
• Good knowledge of php and php web frameworks (preferably Laravel, but not essential)
• An understanding of software design patterns (e.g., MVC etc.)
• Proficient in use of version control tools
• An understanding of what makes good UI
• Ideally some experience in developing responsive web-applications, using one or more of the following: CSS3, HTML5, JavaScript, Javascript frameworks (preferably Angular), SASS/LESS, NPM, Puppet, Nginx, Webpack, Gulp, Grunt
• An excellent understanding of object-oriented programming
• Good knowledge of any modern relational database, preferably MySQL or SQL Server
• Effective communication skills with an ability to explain technically complex issues in a clear fashion to clients and to other developers
• Ability to translate a client’s ideas into a working IT solution

About Fera

At Fera, we’re making the world a better, healthier and safer place. We’re a joint venture partnership between Capita and Defra and we’re working proactively to protect the world we live in and the food we eat. Fera is a national and international centre of excellence for interdisciplinary investigation and problem solving across plant and bee health, crop protection, sustainable agriculture, food and feed quality and chemical safety in the environment. Join us and contribute to delivering world-class science for the future.

Fera are part of Capita Plc, a leading UK provider of technology enabled business services. We’re supporting and improving the lives of millions of people every day and we can only do this with the right people in place, working towards a shared goal. We encourage an open, honest working environment where everyone can be true to themselves and people are valued for their differences. We’re always challenging each other to learn and improve, because we know when we work together, we can deliver better outcomes. We work across such a huge range of businesses and sectors, that you’ll have the opportunity to grow and develop your career in any number of directions.

What’s in it for you?

• A competitive basic salary £32k - £45k DOE
• 23 days’ holiday (rising to 27) with the opportunity to buy extra leave
• The opportunity to take a paid day out of the office, volunteering for our charity partners or a cause of your choice
• Company matched pension, life assurance, a cycle2work scheme, 15 weeks’ fully paid maternity, adoption and shared parental leave, paternity pay of two weeks…and plenty more
• Voluntary benefits designed to suit your lifestyle – from discounts on retail and socialising, to health & wellbeing, travel and technology
• Access to our Employee Network Groups, which represent every strand of diversity and allow colleagues to connect and learn from each other on an open, inclusive platform

You’ll get the chance to follow your chosen career path anywhere in Capita. You’ll be joining a network of 63,000 experienced, innovative and dedicated individuals across multiple disciplines and sectors. There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career, and we’ll provide the support you need to do just that. Our purpose is to create a better outcome for you.

What we hope you’ll do next:

Choose ‘Apply now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you. Alternatively, if you have any questions before applying please reach out to kirk.higgins@capita.com

To view our Covid-19 and process adjustments information, please visit the Capita Careers site.

Equal Opportunities

We’re an equal opportunity employer, which means we’ll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and their passion for creating better outcomes, and we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. During the application process, you’ll be asked to share your personal characteristics and data with us. This helps us understand our audience so we can make sure we are doing everything we can to attract a diverse range of people and ensure our recruitment processes are fair and inclusive.