Software Engineering Apprenticeship - Level 6

Could a BBC Apprenticeship be the next role for you?

Join us as an apprentice at the BBC to give yourself the opportunity to kick-start your career in a job you'll love. We’re committed to your skills and talent development. You’ll learn on-the-job, developing your knowledge and skills in an area that interests you, whilst working towards your apprenticeship qualification with one of our learning providers.

Why join this scheme?

As an apprentice within our team, you will be right at the heart of the BBC's digital first world, developing and maintaining the systems that audiences rely on every single day.  

Imagine this: The code you write helps deliver the suspense of EastEnders on iPlayer, the freshest tracks on Sounds, the minute-by-minute drama of a breaking news story, or the thrill of a live goal on Sport.   

Your Code, Millions of Users  

• Your work directly delights millions of people every week. When they tune in to a podcast, catch up on the news, or stream a live event, it's the platform you helped build that makes it happen.  
• You will learn to handle the massive digital challenge of running services that have to be fast, reliable, and available 24/7.  
• You will be working with world class software engineers to evolve the platform, ensuring the BBC remains at the forefront of digital media.  

Why join the team?

Platform Evolution Team

As a Software Engineer Apprentice, you’ll be placed in a front-end, back-end or full-stack team and learn to use agile planning and delivery practices like pairing, code, documentation reviewing and continuous delivery.   

Corporate Systems supports the BBC's internal business-facing technologies such as Finance, Procurement and Treasury, HR, Learning and Scheduling and Talent Accounting.

Part of BBC Media Tech, the group has a mix of roles such as Product Management, Systems & Software Engineering, Project Management, Business Analysis and Testing, supported by shared functions such as Strategy & Change, Architecture and Service Management.

We are all focused on developing and delivering a roadmap of work to support our key stakeholders in meeting their strategic objectives including growing global impact and making the BBC the best place to work.

Architecture Team 

The Architecture teams are responsible for defining and leading the overall technology and systems strategy for corporate applications.

Under the respective Head; the teams lead the technology vision, roadmap and strategy for each specialist area, developing standardised, reusable and innovative architectures which work as a whole directing investment, bringing value and innovation to BBC divisions and the BBC's external partner network.

Your key responsibilities and impact

As a Software Engineer apprentice (SED27), this is a brilliant opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute – you will:   

• Gain hands-on experience in the beating heart of the BBC’s software engineering teams responsible for TV, audio, online, and digital platforms.  
• Develop your understanding of how the BBC’s existing apps and websites are fit for purpose, ranging from analysis, design, code, build, test, implementation, and support.  
• Develop your knowledge and skills on how to apply software engineering principles to all stages of the solution development life cycle, from gathering code and data requirements and ensuring they are secure.  
• You will gain a new understanding on how to ensure the quality and reliability of software through rigorous testing and quality control practices.  
• You will explore considerations and how to tackle troubleshooting concerns, guided by your team.  
• You will play a part in ground-breaking complex projects, in alignment with the BBC’s Digital First strategy, from inception to delivery.  

You’ll study for your industry recognised apprenticeship qualification, learning both on-and-off-the-job. This means on successful completion of the apprenticeship, you will be awarded with an Undergraduate Degree (Bachelor of Science with Honours) in Digital and Technology Solutions Professional (Software Engineer pathway) from a UK University, and you will be supported to find a job role within the BBC’s Technology or Product delivery teams.   

Your skills and eligibility

We’re interested in your passion for working at the BBC and your enthusiasm for delivering world-class content and operational excellence to our audiences. We’re not focused on your qualifications; instead, we look for potential and offer you the opportunity to apply your transferable strengths and experience to work in different ways. 

If you can bring some of these skills and experiences, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply:

• Have a love of maths and a passion for coding.  
• You're excited about embracing the latest AI and Machine Learning technologies to transform working practices.   
• Have brilliant organisational skills and are great at problem -solving and negotiating.  
• You can manage multiple deadlines and demands on your time, and have a calm and focused approach to changing circumstances.  
• Have a keen interest in the BBC and how people consume content, bursting with fresh ideas to introduce new perspectives. 

This scheme is aimed at non-graduates.

Eligibility criteria 

To be eligible for an apprenticeship at the BBC, you must:

• Be 18 years old or over by the time the apprenticeship begins in September 2027.
• Have lived in the UK continuously for the last three years prior to the start of the apprenticeship.
• Be legally eligible to work full-time in the UK for the entire duration of the apprenticeship.
• Not currently be enrolled in another apprenticeship programme, whether with the BBC or another organisation.
• Not already hold a qualification in the same subject area at the same or a higher level than this apprenticeship.

To apply for this scheme, you must also:

• Have maths and English GCSE at Grade 4/C or above or National 5 (Scotland) at C or equivalent qualification.  
• Have some experience of coding and/or software engineering. Whether that is from an A Level/BTEC course, coding boot camp or personal projects. A basic coding test will form part of the assessment for this scheme.

Life at BBC

Here you will benefit from:

• Excellent career and professional development.
• Fair pay and flexible benefits including a competitive salary package, a 35-hour working week, 25 days' annual leave (26 days for BBC Studios), a range of policies to support your work/life balance, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym.
• A values-based organisation where the way we do things is important as what we do.

As an Apprentice you will also receive:

• An industry recognised qualification.
• Industry-leading training through the BBC Academy and our learning providers (this may involve travel to locations across the UK).
• A dedicated Team Manager and Scheme Specialist to help with your development.
• Training and Mentoring by industry professionals.
• A bespoke BBC apprenticeship experience including apprenticeship development days and membership of the BBC Apprenticeship community.
• Employability and networking training and support to help you secure your next role.
• The opportunity to apply for financial support for relocation subject to eligibility.

Ready to apply?

Don’t leave yourself wondering "what if?" this could be your chance to be part of something exciting. See yourself thriving in this role? Just click ‘Apply online now’!

You’ll create a candidate profile and answer a few questions - no CV or cover letter needed. If you're eligible, we’ll guide you through the next steps of the process and what to expect.

This is a fixed-term apprenticeship - your contract lasts for the duration of the scheme. Once you have completed your apprenticeship, you will be able to apply for any suitable open vacancies at the BBC or outside in the wider creative industry. You’ll be supported with career development, employability training, and networking opportunities to help you take your next step.

You’ll need to live within a commutable distance of where this role is based. 

For apprenticeship opportunities, disabled applicants who choose to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and who meet the minimum criteria for the role will normally be progressed to the next stage of the recruitment process. For most of our campaigns, this would be an online assessment designed to assess your skills, motivations and suitability for the role. 

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