Contract Type: Fixed-Term Apprenticeship, Full-time for 40 months Department: Product Group, Broadcast and End-User Technology, Research and Development (R&D) Location: Salford - Dock House, Salford - Quay House Salary: £22,950 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, while 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. You’ve got to be interested now, right? To find out more about the schemes we offer, you can register to join one of our webinars here. WHY JOIN THE TEAM? As a Software Engineering (SED26) 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. You’ll practice quality control, write automated tests and work with others to integrate software with monitoring and support tools. We’ll need you to help troubleshoot and resolve issues throughout the product life cycle with support from others in the team. You will work on real projects that power our world-renowned digital products, including BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, BBC Sport and BBC News. You will also contribute to the services that underpin these platforms, all within a collaborative and inclusive environment. BBC R&D’s dedicated AI Research team explores and advances the use of AI / ML across the organisation. This team collaborates closely with other Applied Research Areas within BBC R&D, as well as with BBC Product and Technology teams and senior business leaders across the business, to drive innovation and accelerate the adoption of AI / ML based innovation. You'll be joining the Engineering Team within AI Research where we work across all of our projects, with a focus on writing software to deploy utilise the latest AI models, provision GPU accelerated hardware and work with various cloud platforms. Throughout your apprenticeship you will be supported by a dedicated buddy, an experienced manager and a scheme specialist, each committed to helping you grow both personally and professionally. Together they will guide your development and help you to progress towards a successful career as a software engineer. Your Key Responsibilities And Impact As a Software Engineering apprentice (SED26), this is 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. For more information on the apprenticeship standard you will be studying, please visit this link. 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. Skills 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. A passion for coding. 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. Can manage multiple deadlines and demands on your time. 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. Are an enthusiastic self- starter, as well as being flexible and adaptable. 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 2026 Have lived in the UK continuously for the last 3 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 have completed or hold qualifications in the apprenticeship subject at the same or higher level. 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 is desirable. 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. 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 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 completed, you’ll be supported with career development, employability training, and networking opportunities to help you take your next step - whether that’s at the BBC or elsewhere in the industry. You’ll need to live within a commutable distance of where this role is based. Interested in a different location? Check out our other adverts - but please only apply to one. The BBC recognises that some people who are applying for a BBC Apprenticeship Scheme may need to relocate to a new location for the role and this might not be possible due to your personal financial constraints. Relocation support is offered to a limited number of apprentices each year and would be considered for this position, subject to meeting the relocation support qualifying criteria. Further details will be shared with applicants during the recruitment process. Details on the wider support available at the BBC can be found here. Disclaimer This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved. Our apprenticeship roles are also subject to you having the require qualifications that we have deemed to be necessary for your role and the requirement of the training provider for your scheme. The offer would be subject to you undergoing and meeting the requirements of a skill scan process with the BBC nominated training provider to determine your eligibility. Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.