Software Engineering Degree Apprentice - Level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions

Thales; Cheadle Hulme; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £24k per annum

Hybrid working options

Health plan

Pension

Learning and development support

University fees paid

Job summary

Thales UK is offering a Software Engineering Apprentice position at the Cheadle site. You will study towards a Level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship while gaining hands-on experience in software development on live projects.

You'll study one day per week at Manchester Metropolitan University, four days on site, and progress toward a permanent software engineering role within Thales UK on completion.

Qualifications

• 104 UCAS points (A Level BCC).
• Or an equivalent qualification such as BTEC Extended Diploma (DDM), T Level (Merit) or apprenticeship.
• 5 GCSEs at Grade 9-4 including Maths and English.

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.

Education

Level 6 Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship

GCSEs including Maths and English

104 UCAS points (A Level BCC)

BTEC Extended Diploma or T Level or apprenticeship

Job description

Turn your curiosity into a career.

If you're passionate about engineering, eager to learn, and looking for a degree apprenticeship that combines academic study with exciting on-the-job experience, we'd love to hear from you.

Benefits of the programme:

• Earn a salary while studying for your degree
• Gain hands‑on experience in a real engineering environment
• Receive job‑specific training and development
• Achieve a recognised engineering qualification
• Secure a permanent role from the start of your apprenticeship
• Have your university tuition fees fully paid

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.

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.

About the Company

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