2025 Software Engineering Apprentice - Cheadle

THALES UK LIMITED

Stockport, SK3 0XB

Closes on Sunday 16 February

Posted on 21 October 2024

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Contents

Summary

You will work as part of a diverse team of software engineers, developing the software that provides Sonar products that solve our Royal Navy and export customer’s challenges in areas such as hunting for mines under the sea.

Annual wage
£22,500 a year

Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

• Pension – Thales match, plus 1%, with a maximum contribution of 7% • Health Insurance – 50% of salary for five years • Performance related pay uplifts

Training course
Digital and technology solutions professional (level 6)
Hours
37 Hours a week, Monday - Friday, shifts to be confirmed.

37 hours a week

Possible start date

Monday 1 September

Duration

4 years

Positions available

2

Work

As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.

What you’ll do at work

Key responsibilities will include the development of Human Computer Interfaces, Acoustic processing, Autonomy and Middleware software products using industry standard tools and methods.

We offer our Software Engineering apprenticeships across our defence businesses.

You will help to:

  • Define our solution by working with Systems Engineering to develop requirements and a test strategy
  • Develop our systems by working as a member of a project team to deliver a high quality, robust software deliverable that meets customer requirements, on time and within budget
  • Support our systems by working with customer support functions to ensure that currently deployed software products are maintained on both land and at sea
  • Build our strategy by working with software architects to ensure that skills, technology and ways of working for the future are developed

Where you’ll work

Dolphin House

Ashurst Drive

Stockport

SK3 0XB

Training

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.

College or training organisation

MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Your training course

Digital and technology solutions professional (level 6)

Equal to degree

Course contents
  • Analyse a business problem to identify the role of digital and technology solutions.
  • Identify risks, determine mitigation strategies and opportunities for improvement in a digital and technology solutions project.
  • Analyse a business problem in order to specify an appropriate digital and technology solution.
  • Initiate, design, code, test and debug a software component for a digital and technology solution.
  • Apply relevant standard processes, methods, techniques and tools. For example, ISO Standards, Waterfall, Agile in a digital and technology solution project.
  • Manage digital and technology solutions projects. For example, identifying and resolving deviations from specification, applying appropriate Project Management methodologies.
  • Work effectively within teams, leading on appropriate digital technology solution activities.
  • Apply relevant organisational theories. For example, change management principles, marketing approaches, strategic practice, and IT service management to a digital and technology solutions project.
  • Apply relevant security and resilience techniques to a digital and technology solution. For example, risk assessments, mitigation strategies.
  • Initiate, design, implement and debug a data product for a digital and technology solution.
  • Determine and use appropriate data analysis techniques. For example, Text, Statistical, Diagnostic or Predictive Analysis to assess a digital and technology solutions.
  • Plan, design and manage simple computer networks with an overall focus on the services and capabilities that network infrastructure solutions enable in an organisational context.
  • Report effectively to colleagues and stakeholders using the appropriate language and style, to meet the needs of the audience concerned.
  • Research, investigate, and evaluate innovative technologies or approaches in the development of a digital and technology solution.
  • Apply relevant legal, ethical, social and professional standards to a digital and technology solution.
  • Identify and define software engineering problems that are non-routine and incompletely specified.
  • Provide recommendations as to the most appropriate software engineering solution.
  • Use appropriate analysis methods, approaches and techniques in software engineering projects to deliver an outcome that meets requirements.
  • Implement software engineering projects using appropriate software engineering methods, approaches and techniques.
  • Respond to changing priorities and problems arising within software engineering projects by making revised recommendations, and adapting plans as necessary, to fit the scenario being investigated.
  • Determine, refine, adapt and use appropriate software engineering methods, approaches and techniques to evaluate software engineering project outcomes.
  • Evaluate learning points arising from software engineering work undertaken on a project including use of methods, analysis undertaken, selection of approach and the outcome achieved, in order to identify both lessons learnt and recommendations for improvements to future projects.
  • Extend and update software development knowledge with evidence from professional and academic sources by undertaking appropriate research to inform best practice and lead improvements in the organisation.
  • Analyse client needs and determine how to advise them strategically through improved business processes, new ideas, or technology solutions.
  • Effectively communicate value add to the client through a variety of media. For example, presentations, written reports, Storytelling in a professional setting through performing socio-technical process improvements in a range of environments.
  • Make evidence based recommendations taking into account risks, costs, and benefits.
  • Participate in walk-throughs for Information Technologies, to identify, document and evaluate key risks within a client’s organisation.
  • Perform stakeholder analysis to identify, determine and deepen understanding of system requirements and develop client relationships.
  • Effect change within an organisation through evaluation of a new system, process or initiative.
  • Ensure legal and ethical requirements are accommodated in the development of digital and technology solutions.
  • Evaluate the  success of new systems, processes, or initiatives.
  • Use requirements elicitation, analysis and documentation to produce an acceptable solution for business problems or further opportunities.
  • Conduct Process Analysis, Definition, Mapping and Modelling within a business situation without supervision.
  • Produce Use Cases which are of value to all stakeholders of a system.
  • Use tools and benchmarking to support modelling and requirements gathering and recommend approaches to team members as required.
  • Produce a business case to scope a proposed project including business benefits and recommendations.
  • Use products of analysis in the design and development of a system.
  • Evaluate the impacts of model selection and how they inter-relate with each other when generating business analytics.
  • Recommend and use appropriate software tools to implement Business Analysis tasks and outcomes.
  • Discover, identify and analyse security threats, attack techniques and vulnerabilities and recommend mitigation and security controls.
  • Undertake security risk assessments for complex systems without direct supervision and propose a remediation strategy relevant to the context of the organisation.
  • Recommend improvements to the cyber security approaches of an organisation based on research into future potential cyber threats and considering threat trends.
  • Manage cyber security risk.
  • Use appropriate cyber security technology, tools and techniques in relation to the risks identified.
  • Lead cyber security awareness campaigns and evaluate their effectiveness.
  • Analyse cyber security requirements against other design requirements for systems or products, identify conflicting requirements and recommend appropriate solutions with clear explanation of costs and benefits.
  • Lead the design and build of systems in accordance with a security case to address organisational challenges.
  • Define Data Requirements and perform Data Collection, Data Processing and Data Cleansing.
  • Apply different types of Data Analysis, as appropriate, to drive improvements for specific business problems.
  • Find, present, communicate and disseminate data analysis outputs effectively and with high impact through creative storytelling, tailoring the message for the audience. Visualise data to tell compelling and actionable narratives by using the best medium for each audience, such as charts, graphs and dashboards.
  • Identify barriers to effective analysis encountered both by analysts and their stakeholders within data analysis projects.
  • Apply a range of techniques for analysing quantitative data such as data mining, time series forecasting, algorithms, statistics and modelling techniques to identify and predict trends and patterns in data.
  • Apply exploratory or confirmatory approaches to analysing data. Validate and and test stability of the results.
  • Extract data from a range of sources. For example, databases, web services, open data.
  • Analyse in detail large data sets, using a range of industry standard tools and data analysis methods.
  • Identify and collate stakeholder needs in relation to computer network requirements, plans and designs.
  • Plan, design, document, and develop the relevant elements of a computer network within an organisation or between organisations, taking into account customer requirements (performance, scale), constraints (budget, equipment availability), and define policies for their use.
  • Monitor performance and ensure networks are configured correctly and perform as expected by designers or architects. Undertake capacity management and audit of IP addressing and hosted devices.
  • Investigate, troubleshoot and resolve data network faults in local and wide area environments, using information from multiple sources, Physically or Remotely by console connection. Recommend and implement short term fixes to restore service and, or, quality of experience and recommend longer term changes to prevent recurrence or reduce impact of future occurrences.
  • Implement computer networks from a design including testing and validation. This includes populating variables in configurations, for example, IP addresses and subsequent application of configuration to equipment such as routers, switches, firewalls.
  • Secure network systems by establishing and enforcing policies, and defining and monitoring access. Support and administer firewall environments in line with IT security policy.
  • Research and evaluate emerging network technologies and assess relevance to current network requirements. Provide an objective opinion on how new features and technologies may be incorporated as required by the organisation.
  • Investigate security concerns or attacks. For example, Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS), port scanning, assessing key metrics and indicators, evidencing the chosen steps to mitigate.
  • Analyse a business problem to identify the role of digital and technology solutions.
  • Identify risks, determine mitigation strategies and opportunities for improvement in a digital and technology solutions project.
  • Analyse a business problem in order to specify an appropriate digital and technology solution.
  • Initiate, design, code, test and debug a software component for a digital and technology solution.
  • Apply relevant standard processes, methods, techniques and tools. For example, ISO Standards, Waterfall, Agile in a digital and technology solution project.
  • Manage digital and technology solutions projects. For example, identifying and resolving deviations from specification, applying appropriate Project Management methodologies.
  • Work effectively within teams, leading on appropriate digital technology solution activities.
  • Apply relevant organisational theories. For example, change management principles, marketing approaches, strategic practice, and IT service management to a digital and technology solutions project.
  • Apply relevant security and resilience techniques to a digital and technology solution. For example, risk assessments, mitigation strategies.
  • Initiate, design, implement and debug a data product for a digital and technology solution.
  • Determine and use appropriate data analysis techniques. For example, Text, Statistical, Diagnostic or Predictive Analysis to assess a digital and technology solutions.
  • Plan, design and manage simple computer networks with an overall focus on the services and capabilities that network infrastructure solutions enable in an organisational context.
  • Report effectively to colleagues and stakeholders using the appropriate language and style, to meet the needs of the audience concerned.
  • Research, investigate, and evaluate innovative technologies or approaches in the development of a digital and technology solution.
  • Apply relevant legal, ethical, social and professional standards to a digital and technology solution.

Your training plan

As a Software Engineering Apprentice you will be studying towards a BSc in Digital and Technology Solutions, following the Software Engineering Pathway.

This is a Gold accredited programme by Tech Partnership Degrees. For the duration of this 4-year programme you will be given one day per week in which to attend Manchester Metropolitan University. For the other four days you will be working in the business, applying your university learning and gaining a breadth of experience within the software function. 

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE or equivalent in:

  • 5 GCSEs including Maths & English (grade 9 - 4 or A*-C)
  • A level (grade Minimum 104 UCAS points- BCC)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • IT skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Organisation skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Administrative skills
  • Analytical skills
  • Logical
  • Team working
  • Creative
  • Initiative

About this company

Together, we create the ingenious technological systems and innovations that impact and improve people's lives every single day. Even if you haven't heard the name Thales before, you've definitely benefited from our inventiveness. We reinvest 20% of our sales in Research & Development in the UK. Together we supply invention across 4 core areas: Aerospace, Space, Defence and Security, Digital Identity and Security.

https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/uk-career (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

• Healthcare Cash Plan • 80 hours (10 days) volunteering in your first 2 years depending on length of programme • 201 hours annual leave (plus a company day and bank holidays) • Discount Portal

Disability Confident

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

  • At the end of the apprenticeship you will be working as a software engineer within the Thales UK businesses

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

suppearlycar@uk.thalesgroup.com

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000283266.

Apply now

Closes on Sunday 16 February

When you apply, you’ll be asked to sign in with a GOV.UK One Login. You can create one at the same time as applying for this apprenticeship.

After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.