Software Engineering Apprenticeship - Level 6 - Salford Job Details | BBC

BBC; Salford; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

The BBC offers a Level 6 Software Engineering apprenticeship in Salford. You will learn on the job, gaining coding and software engineering skills while working toward an undergraduate degree in Digital and Technology Solutions Professional.

The scheme emphasizes AI/ML, cloud and modern tooling, with a 40‑month fixed‑term contract and a salary around £24,650 per year. Expect to study while you work, join BBC iPlayer, Sounds, News and Sport engineering teams, and build scalable services while

Qualifications

• Be 18+ by the start (Sept 2027).
• UK residency for the last 3 years.
• Able to work full‑time in the UK for the duration.
• Not enrolled in another apprenticeship.
• GCSE Maths and English at grade 4/C or equivalent.
• Some coding/software experience; basic coding test will form part of assessment.

Responsibilities

• Gain hands-on experience in BBC software teams across TV, audio, online and digital platforms.
• Learn to analyze, design, code, build, test, implement and support apps and websites.
• Apply software engineering principles across the full solution life cycle.
• Ensure quality and reliability through testing and quality control practices.
• Troubleshoot with team guidance and collaboration.
• Contribute to ground-breaking projects aligned with BBC Digital First strategy.

Skills

Maths

Coding

AI/ML interest

Organisational skills

Time management

Education

GCSE Maths (4/C)

Tools

Apache Solr

OpenSearch

AWS

Python

Java

Job description

Software Engineering Apprenticeship - Level 6 - Salford

Contract Type: Fixed-Term Apprenticeship, Full-time for 40 months

Department: Media Technology

Location: Salford - Dock House, Salford - Quay House

Salary: £ 24,650

Job Closing Date: 24 November 2026

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 apprenticewithinour team, you will be right at the heart of the BBC's digital first world, developing andmaintainingthe 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, theminute‑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'sthe platform you helped build that makes it happen.
• You will learn to handle the massivedigital challenge of running services that have to be fast, reliable, and available 24/7.
• You will be working with worldclasssoftwareengineersto evolve the platform, ensuring the BBCremainsat the forefront of digital media.

You’vegot to be interested now, right?

Want to find out more? Watch recordings from our webinar series on our Life at the BBC YouTube playlist to learn more about this scheme and other opportunities we offer, and hear from current apprentices about their experiences.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM?

Partnerships Team:

We are the team behind iPlayer off product discovery. We work with a range of partners from Samsung, LG, Google, Amazon to surface the amazing BBC content that we have on their platforms. We power important services such as continue watching, promotional content, experimentation and we're responsible for providing iPlayer metadata to our partner platforms.

We maintain and create core services such as VOD catalogue (the content available for on demand playback), schedules (EPG data for upcoming programming), promotions (automated and manually curated sets of themed content), continue watching (continue watching your last programme from off product).

We create services which are used by millions on a wide variety of devices, so no day is never the same! We're the gateway to BBC iPlayer and drive over 20% of traffic directly to the BBC. We are a huge growth area for the BBC, so come join us on an exciting journey!

Iplayer & S TV Engineering Team:

BBC Search plays a vital role in helping millions of people discover the content they love across BBC iPlayer, Sounds, News, Sport and the wider BBC. Our search platform handles millions of requests every day, and we're passionate about making search smarter, faster and more relevant for our audiences.

Our engineering team is organised into three squads: Search Catalogue, Search Intent & Retrieval, and Search Ranking, working together to deliver an intelligent, scalable and innovative search experience.

As an apprentice, you'll have the opportunity to work with modern technologies, including Apache Solr, OpenSearch, AWS, Python and Java, while gaining hands‑on experience in building and improving large‑scale search systems.

You’ll also get exposure to some of the most exciting developments in search technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Large Language Models (LLMs), Natural Language Processing (NLP), semantic search and machine learning. We're exploring innovative ways to understand what audiences are searching for, recognise their intent, handle misspelt queries and deliver more meaningful results.

Search Team:

We are TV Client and we build iPlayer on TV, serving over 20 million people every month. We have 6 teams in our space that look after a wide variety of different problem spaces.

They split them into two types, platform teams who build the interface with TV devices directly and experience teams who use that platform to rapidly experiment on and deliver audience features every day.

We use a wide range of technologies but with any new joiner we start small and build up, coaching and supporting every step of the way. If you are interested to learn how TVs work and how we manage to deliver experiences on them come and join us.

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.

For more information on what you will study during the scheme, please see the Software Engineering degree apprenticeship standard .

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 andnegotiating.
• 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. If you have a degree and you’re interested in similar roles at the BBC, we recommend applying for jobs at the BBC careers site or having a look at our other apprenticeship schemes.

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 bootcamp or personal projects. A basic coding test will form part of the assessment for this scheme.

Information at a Glance

This is your BBC

At the BBC you can create and innovate in an inclusive environment while contributing to some of the world’s best loved content, and the BBC’s mission to inform, educate and entertain.

Find out more about the BBC

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 as 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.

The BBC recognises that you may need to relocate to a new location to take up a BBC Apprenticeship scheme. The cost of relocating can be a barrier for some applicants and where that is a barrier to participation, we want to help where we can. To help ensure our apprenticeship opportunities are accessible to people from a wide range of backgrounds, a limited number of relocation support awards are available each year for those who meet our financial eligibility criteria. Relocation financial support is available for this role, subject to meeting the financial eligibility criteria. Further information will be shared with applicants during the recruitment process. Details on the wider support, initiatives and networks available at the BBC can be found on our careers site.

Candidate pack

You belong

We have a working environment where we value and respect every individual's unique contribution, so all our employees feel that they can belong, thrive and achieve their full potential.

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to join us. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to and reflect our audiences in all their diversity.

We welcome applications from individuals, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief.

Find out more about diversity, inclusion and belonging in our strategy below.

Diversity, inclusion & belonging strategy

Disability confident

We take inclusivity seriously and want to ensure all candidates who are disabled or have long‑term health conditions receive the support and adjustments they need. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the recruitment process, or to carry out this role, please contact us via the Early Careers Recruitment contact form and we’d be happy to discuss how we can support you through the process.

Use of AI: Guidance for Candidates

At the BBC, we know that tools like AI can help you prepare, organise your thoughts and feel more confident when applying for a role. But what we're really interested in is you.

We want to hear about your experiences, your skills and what motivates you. The strongest applications are the ones that reflect your own thinking, achievements and perspective. So whilst you're welcome to use AI for support, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and tells your story.

You will find more guidance about using AI in the recruitment process on our careers site below.

BBC Group and Public Services, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London, United Kingdom, W1A 1AA. BBC Studios Distribution Limited, company no: 01420028, registered address: 1 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London, United Kingdom W12 7FA.