2027 Software Engineering Apprentice - Level 6 Digital And Technology Solutions Apprenticeship

Thales Group; East Staffordshire; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Hybrid/flexible working options

Learning and development support

Health care cash plan

Job summary

Thales UK is offering a Software Engineering Apprentice role in which you will gain hands-on experience in developing software solutions and supporting system design activities. You will study towards a Level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship with Manchester Metropolitan University, while working at the Cheadle site on live projects and collaborating with experienced engineers.

The programme lasts four years, with one study day per week at university and four days per week

Qualifications

• 104 UCAS points (A Level BCC)
• Or an equivalent qualification such as BTEC Extended Diploma (DDM), T Level (Merit) or apprenticeship
• And 5 GCSEs at Grade 9-4/A-C including Maths and English
• Please note that applicants who already hold a relevant degree will not be eligible for this programme. Software Engineering and Computer Science are both relevant degrees.

Responsibilities

• Supporting system requirement and design activities
• Developing software solutions to fulfil an actual business need
• Contributing to project reviews
• Assisting with engineering investigations and problem solving
• Communicating technical recommendations to stakeholders
• Working with experienced engineers on live projects

Job description

About the Role

As a Software Engineering Apprentice, you will develop the technical knowledge, practical skills and professional behaviours needed to become a confident and capable engineer.

Working as part of our Software Engineering team, you will support the delivery of software solutions, ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.

Your responsibilities may include:

• Supporting system requirement and design activities
• Developing software solutions to fulfil an actual business need
• Contributing to project reviews
• Assisting with engineering investigations and problem solving
• Communicating technical recommendations to stakeholders
• Working with experienced engineers on live projects

What You Will Learn

Throughout the apprenticeship, you will gain experience and knowledge in:

• Professional engineering behaviours and industry best practice
• Working securely, ethically and responsibly with complex data in compliance with regulatory standards
• The Software Engineering lifecycle and key engineering processes
• Software Engineering tools and methods
• Requirement management, design techniques, and software code implementation
• Testing, integration, verification, validation and qualification (IVVQ) activities
• Structured and methodical approaches to problem solving and investigation

Apprenticeship Programme

You will study towards a Level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship with Manchester Metropolitan University.

As a Software Engineering Apprentice, you’ll develop a broad set of skills and knowledge across the digital and technology landscape. You’ll learn how information systems work, how software is built and tested, and how data and cyber security fit into real business environments—alongside the fundamentals of business organisation, IT project management, and computer and network infrastructures.

Your learning is supported through taught units and work-based projects, where possible focused on live business scenarios and real‑world problem solving, with experienced support throughout.

For the duration of this 4‑year programme you will attend Manchester Metropolitan University one day per week to study. For the other four days you will be working at our Cheadle site, applying your learning to real work projects and gain a breadth of experience with your teammates. At the end of the apprenticeship, you will be working as a Software Engineer within the Thales UK businesses.

The programme is delivered through a blended learning approach, combining:

• On campus teaching, face to face one day a week during the academic year
• Online workshops/classes
• Guided self‑study

Throughout the 4-year programme, you will combine university study with practical workplace experience, developing both academic knowledge and professional engineering skills.

Entry Requirements

To apply, you will need:

• 104 UCAS points (A Level BCC)

Or an equivalent qualification such as

• BTEC Extended Diploma (DDM), T Level (Merit) or apprenticeship

And

• 5 GCSEs at Grade 9-4/A-C including Maths and English

Please note that applicants who already hold a relevant degree will not be eligible for this programme. Software Engineering and Computer Science are both relevant degrees.

Benefits

• Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum
• Performance‑related pay uplifts
• Holiday entitlement of 201 hours a year (plus a company day and bank holidays)
• Contributory Company Pension
• Health Care Cash Plan
• Hybrid/flexible working options
• Employee assistance programme
• Learning and development support
• Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives
• Life Cover
• 80 Hours Volunteering per year (first two years)

Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements.

Please note, assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February - May 2027. Induction week for all Graduate and Apprentices will take place from Monday 6 September - Friday 10 September 2027.

Closing date:

Our applications will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 17 February 2027, this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of February 2027 with details of next steps.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ROLES MAY CLOSE EARLIER THAN THE ADVERTISED DEADLINE IF WE RECEIVE A HIGH NUMER OF APPLICATIONS. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO APPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID MISSING OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY.

To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment.

To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years. As part of the vetting process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, right to work in the UK, any time spent overseas during the last five years, and your employment and/or education history.

In addition, this role supports a UK Eyes Only programme and is therefore subject to government‑mandated nationality restrictions. To satisfy the security clearance requirements for access to highly sensitive information, applicants must have been British citizens from birth and must not hold any other nationality. This requirement is determined by the UK Government and is a condition of programme access rather than an employment preference.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for security clearance please follow this link -

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity, and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.

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