Senior Software Engineer BBC Search

JOB DETAILS

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: 60000 - 70000 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

Were happy to discuss flexible working. If youd like to please indicate your preference in the application though theres 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 UKs 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. Theyve been instrumental in pioneering innovative products and unique features that have firmly positioned us at the forefront of our industry. We dont 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 Childrens 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. Were 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 peoples 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

Demonstrable experience building backend services using at least one of the teams core languages (TypeScript JavaScript Java or Python). Able to follow structured engineering practices and deliver high-quality maintainable code.

2.Experience developing and supporting cloud-based services

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.

3.Familiarity with modern DevOps and CI/CD practices

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).

4.Ability to collaborate effectively in cross-functional engineering teams

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.

5.Commitment to learning and contributing to team culture

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.

In a nutshell we seek someone who champions inclusivity nurtures talent and upholds the BBCs values all while driving technical excellence. If this sounds like your cup of tea wed love to hear from you.