Junior Software Developer

Smedley Group; Cherwell District; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic technology organization is seeking a Junior Software Developer to focus on building and maintaining data integration systems. This hybrid role involves working from the Upper Heyford office three days a week. The ideal candidate should have strong Python and SQL skills, with experience in creating ETL/ELT pipelines. This is a hands-on position critical to data reliability and operational efficiency within the organization. It’s a pivotal opportunity to impact business decisions at a rapidly scaling company.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience building and maintaining ETL / ELT pipelines.
• Experience ingesting data from APIs and external systems.
• Strong understanding of relational data structures.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and own ETL / ELT pipelines using Python and SQL.
• Ingest data from APIs, flat files, and relational databases.
• Monitor pipeline failures and resolve data inconsistencies.

Skills

Python

SQL

Data integration

Data validation

Education

Up to 3 years’ experience or exceptional graduate-level capability

Tools

Git

Plotly Dash

Job description

Job Title: Junior Software Developer – Central Systems

Location: Hybrid (Upper Heyford office – 3 days per week)

Reports to: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

About FAT Karting League

FAT Karting League is disrupting the traditional pathway from karting to Formula 1. We are building a global, community-driven electric karting series that removes up to 95% of the traditional costs associated with motorsport and redefines racing culture for a new generation.

Having taken both the UK and US by storm, FAT Karting League is scaling rapidly. This role sits at the heart of that scale.

Role Summary

This is a junior software developer role primarily focused on data integrations and pipeline engineering across finance and operations.

You will spend the majority of your time building, maintaining, and owning ETL / ELT pipelines that ingest data from multiple internal and external sources, transform it into reliable, auditable datasets, and make them usable for reporting, analytics, and automation across the Group.

This is not a generalist junior coding role. It is a hands-on, production-facing role where data accuracy, validation, and error-handling are critical. You will work with imperfect inputs, evolving APIs, and real-world operational data — and be responsible for making those pipelines reliable, testable, and scalable.

The role is ideal for someone with strong Python and SQL fundamentals who already has experience building data pipelines and wants to take ownership of integration-heavy systems at the centre of a growing organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Integrations & Data Pipelines (Primary Focus)

• Build, maintain, and own ETL / ELT pipelines using Python and SQL
• Ingest data from APIs, flat files, relational databases, and third-party platforms
• Design and implement robust data validation, reconciliation, and error-handling logic
• Monitor pipeline failures and data inconsistencies, and resolve issues at source
• Ensure datasets are accurate, auditable, and suitable for financial and operational reporting

Internal Software Development

• Write clean, well-structured, production-grade Python code
• Build reusable modules for transforming and validating operational and financial data
• Maintain clear documentation and version-controlled codebases using Git

Internal Tools & Reporting

• Produce structured, analysis-ready datasets used by finance and operations teams
• Support internal dashboards and tools (e.g. using Plotly Dash or similar frameworks)
• Work closely with stakeholders to translate data requirements into reliable technical outputs

Infrastructure & Development Practices

• Follow structured development workflows and engineering best practices
• Support cloud deployment, access control, and orchestration of internal systems
• Contribute to the design of scalable internal data infrastructure as the Group expands

Essential Qualifications & Experience

• Up to 3 years’ commercial experience, or exceptional graduate-level capability with demonstrable real-world projects
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining ETL / ELT pipelines in Python and SQL
• Experience ingesting data from APIs and external systems (including authentication, pagination, and schema changes)
• Strong understanding of relational data structures and data quality issues
• Experience implementing validation, reconciliation, and error-handling in data workflows

Desirable

• Exposure to financial, operational, or multi-source datasets
• Familiarity with cloud environments, orchestration tools, or internal data platforms
• Experience supporting analytics or reporting use cases

Why Join Us?

You’ll join at a pivotal moment where data reliability directly impacts business decisions. This role has real responsibility and visibility — your pipelines will be used daily to drive financial insight, operational efficiency, and strategic growth.

You’ll be building systems that matter in a fast-growing global organisation.

Diversity & Inclusion

Smedley Group is committed to attracting, recruiting, and retaining talented individuals from all backgrounds. We celebrate diversity and are proud to foster an inclusive environment where everyone is respected, empowered, and valued, regardless of age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.