Software Development - Level 4
How long: 30 months
Where: London - Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4 week period. Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.
Salary: £26,559
What you'll need
- 3 GCSEs Grade A* - C or Grade 4 and above in Maths and English language (or equivalent)
- Plus 2 A Levels at grade A*-D (or equivalent)
- As part of the qualifications above you should have an A-Level (A*-D) or GCSE (A*-C) in an IT subject (or equivalent) or existing knowledge of any programming language including conditional statements, arrays, loops and error handling
- You need to be 18 years old by 8 September 2025 to be eligible for this scheme
Job overview
Our software teams write the computer programs which keeps London moving. Learn to write professional, high-quality code using a wide range of technologies, while gaining experience on some of London's largest and most familiar software systems.
What you'll be doing
As an apprentice, your development programme will be made up of 3 - 4 placement rotations. Our aim is to equip you with the range of skills and experience you need for your successful career. We also understand that everyone's career is different, so every apprentice's journey is unique. Here's an example idea of what yours could look like:
Year 1
Initial training - 1 month
You meet fellow apprentices who are starting their software development scheme at the same time as you. Over four weeks you are introduced to the fundamentals of writing object-orientated C# and learn how to test your code, whilst in a supportive and friendly group setting. This informal training is led by current developers from our teams, including recent apprentices, and equips you with the knowledge and confidence to start your first placement.
Placement 1 example - Full-stack Developer - 6 months
Working in a team, under the guidance of an experienced developer, you may create a responsive React web application, which allows London Underground staff to view train timetable information relevant to their station. You collaborate with end users to understand their requirements and demonstrate your product, as it evolves, to get their feedback. Your team may also create a C# API, running in Microsoft's Azure Cloud, which feeds data to the web application. Using pair programming, within a Scrum team, you'll learn how to deliver high quality, clean code with extensive automated tests.
Placement 2 example - Revenue Systems Developer - 6 months
Using C# and Azure, your team delivers a scalable platform for calculating the charges related to road usage. With guidance from Microsoft engineers, you learn how to select the right technology from their ever-changing range of products. Extend your knowledge of testing and learn how to optimise the performance of components before they're released and then how to monitor the live systems for any issues.
Year 2
Placement 3 example - Web Developer - 6 months
You'll add new features to TfL's websites, to improve the experience of Oyster & Contactless customers. By your third placement, you'll be working more independently, picking up your own tasks from the team's backlog, delivering fully tested components of software for review by your team.
Placement 4 example - App developer - 6 months
Join the team creating TfL's mobile apps, with the opportunity to learn Android or iOS development. Combine this with your increasing knowledge of C# to create secure backend services in Azure which push data to devices.
The first placement is fixed, subsequent placements are mutually agreed to ensure you gain experience on the widest possible range of technologies, tools and teams, as this is one of TfL's key differentiators.
Where this career can take you
Our scheme equips you with the skills and knowledge to deliver enterprise software. The experience you gain with large business critical solutions will make you stand out from the competition. You could roll-off as a Junior Developer - Responsible for delivering discrete software stories within a Scrum team, which meet business requirements, are fully tested and meet our standards for code quality. From here you could progress to a Developer (mid-level), then progress to become a Senior Developer and then a Technical Lead, accountable for a team's software design and implementation, including setting the quality standard.