Senior Scientist in Space and Nowcasting

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Job Reference metoffice/TP/352/1335

Permanent

Working Hours:

37

Location (City/Town):

Closing Date:

21/06/2026

Profession:

Science

Region / Division:

UK Region

Careers website category:

Science

We’re looking for an exceptional
Senior Scientist to join our team in Space Applications and Now casting and to help us make a difference to our planet.

As our Space Applications and Now casting Senior Scientist, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home.

This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, but we would also consider applicants wishing to work a minimum of 33 hours per week and we will also try our best to consider those intending to work a job share . Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re a force for good - focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature - always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it - putting our purpose at the heart of decision making
• We’re better together - understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving - pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your world of expertise

The Space Applications and Now casting R&D (SAN) area of the Met Office aims to leverage a diverse range of observations from the global observing system to help the Met Office to better understand what is happening now in our environment and how the situation is going to evolve in the short term .SAN is responsible for researching and developing new ways of using observations to improve the warnings offered by the Met Office Expert Weather Hub and the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre.

SAN is focused on a broad range of natural hazards including, but not limited to:
Severe Storms, Flooding, Volcanic Emissions and Coronal Mass Ejections from the Sun.

To fulfil our purpose, we utilise satellite missions in a range of orbits around the Earth and Sun as well as surface-based observations such as those from weather radars, automatic weather stations and even citizen observations.

The Space Weather research team focuses on bring new observational data and modelling capabilities to the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre, working in close collaboration with academic partners throughout the UK.

• To plan and carry out research and development projects to improve Met Office systems and applications
• To provide interpretation and analysis of satellite datasets
• To document and present the work of the Met Office in internal reports, meetings, scientific journals, and external conferences
• To provide scientific/technical advice to peers, management and external stakeholders
• To represent the Met Office nationally and internationally as required

Our work is life-changing, often life-saving and always life-enhancing. The Met Office is Great Place to Work UK certified. We are also featured on their ‘Best Workplaces in Tech’ 2023, 2024 and 2025 lists, as well as their ‘54 Best Workplaces for Women’ 2023 list.

As our Senior Scientist, your total reward package will be up to £60,268 annually, which includes:

• An outstanding Civil Service pension, with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave starting at 27.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) rising to 32.5 days (plus Bank Holidays) after 5 years and option to buy or sell up to 5 days per year of annual leave

Essential Criteria, skills and experience:

• Lead Criteria:
  Strong background in Physical Sciences including…