Junior Software Engineer

Job Title: Junior Software Engineer & Quality Assurance Analyst Department: BBFC Technology Product Development Reports to: Director of Innovation and Emerging Technologies Duration: 12 Month Fixed Term, full time Location: Hybrid (minimum of 2 days in the office) Company Overview: Independent and not-for-profit, the BBFC is here to help everyone in the UK – especially children and families – choose age-appropriate films, videos and websites, wherever and however they watch or use them. We are committed to using AI to evolve and leverage over 110 years of experience in media compliance and regulation. We are on a mission to harness this extensive knowledge to create scalable solutions that align with our core mission of supporting audiences to make safe and informed viewing choices. As a Junior Software Engineer & Quality Assurance Analyst  in our organisation, you'll join a dynamic team and have an opportunity to contribute to innovative new technology. You will gain experience supporting our two main projects currently in progress: an AI solution that identifies and tags content issues, as well as a separate tool that will determine and assign international age ratings.  This role is ideal for a graduate with relevant experience looking to start their career in software engineering and quality assurance. No AI experience is required; however, this is an incredible opportunity to work with our AI team and learn new AI skills and all about the latest AI technologies. Responsibilities: Software Development Support: Assist senior engineers in writing, testing, and debugging clean, scalable code for data-related applications, primarily using Python. Gain exposure to the full software development lifecycle and contribute to code reviews under mentorship. Quality Assurance (QA) and Testing: Execute basic unit, integration, and end-to-end tests for data pipelines and software components to ensure reliability. Learn to design and execute manual and automated tests for internal and external APIs. Accurately document test results, log defects, and verify fixes in collaboration with the development team. Data Pipeline Assistance: Support the team in monitoring and maintaining core data pipelines for acquiring, ingesting, and integrating diverse datasets. Assist with automating basic data pipeline tasks to improve efficiency. Data Preparation and Exploration: Support data scientists with fundamental data cleaning, transformation, and preparation tasks for model development. Perform basic data querying and manipulation using SQL. Cloud and API Learning: Learn about and assist with basic setup and consumption of cloud services (e.g., AWS, including SageMaker) for data and model deployment. Gain experience with leveraging APIs for data access and integration. Web Scraping & Data Acquisition: Learn and assist with basic web scraping tasks to gather relevant public data from online sources under guidance. Emerging Technology Exposure: Develop a foundational understanding of MLOps practices and data-related techniques used in our AI projects. Collaboration: Actively participate in cross-functional team discussions, including data scientists, software engineers, and business analysts, to understand requirements and contribute to solutions. Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field. Some experience in a similar junior role with demonstrated proficiency in core job functions. Strong academic knowledge of software development principles, data structures, and algorithms, typically demonstrated through university projects or coursework. Academic or project-based experience in the following: Python programming for scripting or application development. SQL for basic database querying. Software testing concepts, including unit testing and functional testing. Familiarity with development tools and version control (e.g., GitHub). Enthusiasm and a strong desire to learn about: Cloud computing platforms (AWS is preferred). API functionality and testing methodologies (e.g., Postman). Data architecture, modelling, and ETL/data pipeline concepts. Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to proactively seek guidance and learn new technologies. Strong verbal and written communication skills for effective team collaboration. Passion for leveraging technology, specifically AI, for social good. Nice to have Exposure to Generative AI concepts or frameworks like LangFlow. We look forward to welcoming you to our team as we collectively strive to make a positive impact through AI for good.