Tell us a little bit about your role
My role involves creating new features for services under the ‘Helping people find work’ portfolio, as well as maintaining existing features so DWP work coaches can do their job effectively.
How long have you been working at DWP Digital and what roles have you done?
I’ve been at DWP Digital for just over a year, and since joining I’ve been part of the team responsible for delivering the Restart Scheme, which gives Universal Credit claimants who have been out of work for at least 9 months enhanced support to find jobs in their local area.
The scheme launched last June but that didn’t mean our work was done. We continuously get feedback from stakeholders and are striving to deliver improvements all the time.
What tech do you use?
Most of the code I write is Java, however we have a few applications that are written using Node. There’s a long list of tech we use across the department, such as MongoDB, Docker and Kafka. It definitely keeps us on our toes!
What do you like most about your job?
As a software engineer I get to build things that add value to the end user. I like the satisfaction of seeing a feature I’ve worked on out there in the ‘wild’. Sometimes you get positive feedback, other times it’s negative but that’s the whole point of agile working; you’re constantly iterating to try and deliver improvements. And when it pays off, it’s a nice feeling.
What’s the best thing about DWP Digital?
I get to be part of a huge digital transformation – one of the biggest in Europe. It’s rewarding knowing that even the small part I play can make a difference to a Universal Credit claimant or work coach.
What are your career goals for the next few years?
I’m a still a tech newbie so I’d really like to keep honing my software engineer skills and learning as much as possible about the different aspects of software development.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
At the weekend I play hockey and go on long walks or cycles in the countryside. This is usually followed by a trip to the pub for a couple of well-deserved drinks.
To find our more about a career in engineering at DWP Digital visit our Careers site.