Senior Software Engineer - BBC Search

JOB DETAILS
JOB TITLE: Senior Software Engineer - BBC Search
JOB REFERENCE: 32908
JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time
DEPARTMENT: Search Enablement
LOCATION: Salford Dock House - Hybrid 1-2 days in Office (OFFICE DAY = Monday)
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £60,000 - £70,000 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

CLOSING DATE: 23:59 on Wednesday the 3rd December 2025

INTERVIEWS TO COMMENCE: 15th of December this may be subject to change

We're happy to discuss flexible working. If you'd like to, please indicate your preference in the application - though there's no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

Interview Process

• 1 x hour coding test, a short break followed by a 75 min values-based interview

Purpose of the Role

Step into the world of the BBC, one of the UK's most iconic and beloved brands, where every working day is as unique as it is rewarding. Every tick of the clock, our content reaches millions of people globally, which is made possible by our top-notch Software Engineering team. They've been instrumental in pioneering innovative products and unique features that have firmly positioned us at the forefront of our industry. We don't merely adapt to an ever-changing world - we set the pace.

Why Join the Team

Our team delivers the services that drive the search and suggest capabilities for the majority of the BBC (including iPlayer, Sounds, Children's, News and Sport).

Ever wondered why "Eastenders" comes top when you type "East" in BBC search? That is an example of using our knowledge of what is relevant to the audience and boosting that result, so it appears higher up the page. The team are looking into ways to use Relevancy Engineering techniques to add weighting to search results and to 'boost' their visibility. This in turn will allow us to create a better - more personalised content stream for the user.

The main work streams include:

• Working closely with our data science colleagues to understand how we can improve the relevancy of results for the audience.
• Building a data capture and analysis framework to give us better insight into user behaviour and needs.
• Working with our editorial and engineering colleagues to ensure that our search engines are aware of all the content the BBC has to offer.

We offer a warm welcome with full support settling in and foster a culture where everyone has an opportunity to succeed. We're deeply proud of our values, which are intrinsic to the way we behave every day. We take them seriously because we want our culture to thrive. We want people to really enjoy working with us and get a buzz from knowing that what they are doing is making a difference and enhancing people's lives.

Your Key Responsibilities and Impact

We focus on hiring for potential at the BBC, so the main requirement for the position is a strong software engineering skillset. We want to hear from skilled engineers and technical experts from all industries.

• Demonstrate full-stack development expertise, with strong backend focus.
• Apply a structured, professional approach to ensure high-quality engineering and development.
• Build polished, detail-oriented products with exceptional design standards.
• Perform rigorous testing and collaborate with Test Engineers for continuous improvements.
• Foster relationships with local engineering networks for a sustainable talent pipeline and team scalability.
• Drive efforts to create an outstanding engineering team and culture & collaborate with cross functional teams to define and implement requirements.
• Mentor and support junior engineers, providing guidance through code reviews, pair programming.

You will play a key role in driving our ambition to build an outstanding software engineering team, environment, and culture. We are looking for a Software Engineer to join our tech community to drive this transformation, build a modern digital ecosystem using exciting technologies and do the best work of their careers.

Your Skills and Experience Essential Criteria

1. Strong software engineering fundamentals with backend development experience.
2. Experience developing and supporting cloud-based services.
3. Familiarity with modern DevOps and CI/CD practices.
4. Ability to collaborate effectively in cross functional engineering teams.
5. Commitment to learning and contributing to team culture.

Practical experience with cloud platforms, ideally AWS (for example: S3, Lambda, EC2, SQS, Step Functions, or similar). Able to design, deploy and troubleshoot distributed systems at scale.

Hands on experience with version control (Git/GitHub), automated testing (TDD or equivalent), and continuous integration / deployment pipelines (for example: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, CodePipeline, etc).

Demonstrated ability to work with product, data science, QA and other engineering teams. Experience participating in code reviews, pair programming, and contributing to shared coding standards.

Evidence of sharing knowledge and contributing to an inclusive, supportive engineering environment. Shows alignment with BBC values and a willingness to learn new technologies, especially in the Search and Relevancy Engineering domain.

Our tech stack

The team is predominantly a backend team. Below are some of the tools/ technologies we currently use in our teams:

• Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Java, Python & Cloud: AWS (S3, EC2, SQS, Lambda, SageMaker, Step Functions, etc)
• Deployment: Jenkins, CodeBuild, CodePipeline, GitHub Actions
• Testing: TDD & Database: PostgreSQL
• Search Engine: Solr, OpenSearch
• Techniques: DevOps, infrastructure, CI/CD

We create and support reliable and scalable cloud-based services on Amazon Web Services, use Git and GitHub for version control and practice pair programming and Test Driven Development where possible.

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.

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.

The BBC is committed to redeploying employees seeking suitable alternative employment within the BBC and they will be given priority consideration ahead of other applicants. Priority consideration means for those employees seeking redeployment their application will be considered alongside anyone else at risk of redundancy, prior to any individuals being considered who are not at risk.

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.

Life at BBC

Here you will benefit from:

• Fair pay and flexible benefits including a competitive salary package, a flexible 35 hour working week, 25 days annual leave with the option to buy an extra 5 days, a defined pension scheme and discounted dental, health care and gym.
• Excellent career and professional development.
• Support in your working life, including flexible working which you can discuss with us at any point during the application, selection or offer.
• A values-based organisation where the way we do things is important as what we do.

Benefits may vary if you are joining on an FTC basis or on an orchestra conditions contract.

Learn more about life at the BBC and our values in our 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.

Disability confident

We are a disability confident employer. If you need to discuss adjustments or access requirements for the interview process, or to carry out this role, please contact us via email and we'd be happy to discuss:

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