About us

Like millions of others, you probably know us best for the weather that you hear on the news or read on your phone. But did you know that our forecasts reach as far as space, that we own one of the largest Super Computers in the world? Or that high profile organisations across the world – from governments and the military, to the NHS and utility companies, rely on our expertise to operate safely and efficiently?

We even provide forecasting services for sporting events, such as Wimbledon. Through world-leading science and cutting-edge technology, through idea generation and enthusiasm, we collaborate to challenge the ordinary every day because we believe in the best.

One area of the Met Office cannot function without the others. Our engineers keep data flowing; our science and scientific software engineers make data meaningful; and our sales, marketing, consultancy and communications professionals ensure that our forecasts and meteorological products and services reach our customers.

Defence is one our of largest customers within Forecasting and Service Delivery and we have Met Offices at various military bases around the country. Within East Anglia we have two meteorological offices, based at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk and RAF Marham in Norfolk. These two offices provide meteorological support for the Apache helicopters at Wattisham and the RAF Typhoon and Lightning jets at Marham.

We provide a wide range of services to the forces to help them make the most of the environment they operate in, these vary from reporting the actual weather conditions outside to giving them adhoc briefs with bespoke forecasts. Marham Met Office is mainly staffed by Navy forecasters with a couple of Met Office meteorologists, while Wattisham is staffed entirely by the Met Office. In the past we have hosted several work experience students at Wattisham, of school and university age. If you are interested in a week’s work experience at Wattisham Met Office then please email us on nimbuswtt@metoffice.gov.uk and we will get in touch with further information. If you are interested in work experience in any other location or department then please see the ‘Work Experience’ link further down the page.

Careers

There are a number of areas you could involved in and roles available, follow the links to find out more:

Science - Here at the Met Office, we have a wide range of career opportunities open to scientific minds. This innovative business area includes world-leading research across a wide range of weather and climate topics; software engineering and translation of science into advice and consultancy for government, public and industry. Our scientific expertise has the power to enable people and businesses all over the globe to make wider strategic decisions about the impact of weather and climate change.

Forecasting and Observations - Whether you watched the weather on the TV this morning, listened to it on the radio or checked it on your phone, it’s highly likely that we are behind that forecast. While we’re probably best known for our UK radio and television bulletins, people and organisations all around the world rely on our meteorological expertise, summaries and advice. Our weather information supports flight safety and aviation routing around the globe, provides frontline support for the Armed Forces, saves people from hazardous climate conditions and helps the government to make fundamental decisions.

Engineering - Behind our world class scientific capabilities and forecasting expertise lies an incredible amount of weather data. We go, quite literally, above and beyond to collect the best possible data. From land to sea, from state-of-the-art weather radars to oceanographic buoys, our engineers are the guardians of all data gathering equipment. Combining technical expertise with practical perfectionism, they take responsibility for installing, maintaining, repairing, improving and modernising these all-important instruments and systems.

Technology and IT - Technology is key to every area of our work – from science and forecasting to marketing and consultancy. Without it, our world-leading meteorological forecasts and products would not exist, and our vision; to be recognised as the best weather and climate change service in the world would be, quite simply, unachievable. Behind our cutting edge, world class technology are innovative, world class people. The Technology and Information Services programme drives our IT operations from concept, through development, to service delivery. They design, build and support the systems that deliver relied-upon forecasts 24/7, all over the world to meet the needs of our organisation and, most importantly, our customers.

Customer and Stakeholder Management - Behind our meteorological and climate capabilities are millions of customers who rely on our products and services. You could say that Customer and Stakeholder Management forms the face of the Met Office. These people nurture key relationships with our customers, stakeholders and the Government; widen the reach of our products and services; win and secure new partnerships and take good care of the ones we already have.

Corporate Services - Our corporate service roles include: Legal, Procurement, Finance, Auditing, Property Management and much more!

Graduates and Placements

Graduates

Innovation drives us forward. We thrive on new challenges, new technology and new ideas. That’s why having talented people that see things through fresh eyes is so important to us. It’s no coincidence that we were named as one of the UK’s Top Graduate Employers (The Times). Many have joined us at graduate level and gone on to become senior leaders in the organisation and in their field. That’s because, from the moment you start, whichever area you work in, we invest in your learning and development to help you be the very best you can be. Find out more on our Graduates page.

Summer Placements

There are a range of placement opportunities to suit different skills and interests. Science and Forecasting are two of those, but we also have a variety of opportunities in other business areas such as Marketing, Finance, HR, Technology and Information Services and many more. Joining us, you could work on a specific project or as part of one of our talented and friendly teams. Previous placement students have worked on our Weather Desk, developed software applications, designed and ran their own campaigns, completed studies with our health team and worked on interesting climate and forecasting projects.

And it’s a great opportunity to learn from experts in their field. We won’t throw you in at the deep end, there’s always someone around to offer you advice and guidance but we’ll also give you plenty of freedom and responsibility to make a real impact here. It’s stimulating, challenging and hugely rewarding. We think you’ll be amazed at just how much you can learn in three months! Find out more about taking part in a Summer Placement here.

Work Experience

Anyone aged between 14 and 17 can come and spend a week with us to get a better understanding of what we do – much more than the weather forecasts you see on the television. As well as giving you an insight into the working world and helping to confirm career plans, our work experience opportunities are also about having fun and bringing out your creative side. You’ll spend time with our Innovation Academy who are all about bright ideas and encouraging creativity in the workplace. The wide range of activities will include workshops, presentations from staff and tours of our exciting headquarters. As well as placements in science and forecasting, we’ve placement opportunities in other areas of the business including HR, Marketing and Finance. Find out more about our Work Experience programme here.

We also offer Doctoral Training, an IT Trainee Scheme and Industrial Placements. Find out more on our website.

Find out more

If you would like to know more about the work we do or the opportunities available then visit our website and follow us here on icanbea... for the latest updates.