Job Description

We use cookies to offer you the best possible website experience. Your cookie preferences will be stored in your browser's local storage. This includes cookies necessary for the website's operation. Additionally, you can freely decide and change any time whether you accept cookies or choose to opt out of cookies to improve the website's performance, as well as cookies used to display content tailored to your interests. Your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer may be impacted if you do not accept all cookies. Let me choose
Reject additional cookies Accept additional cookies
SEARCH JOBS
APPLY NOW
Start
Please wait...
Software Engineering Manager

Job Requisition ID: 33416
Job Closing Date: 09/12/2025
Birmingham, GBR, B1 1AY
| Cardiff, GBR, CF10 1FT
| Glasgow, GBR, G511DA
| London, GBR, W1A 1AA
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne, GBR, NE991RN
| Salford, GBR, M50 2QH
JOB DETAILS
Band: E
Contract: Permanent, Full-time
Department: Digital Distribution - Media Services
Location: London or Salford (preferred), or Glasgow, Cardiff, Newcastle, or Birmingham, with regular travel to London/Salford as part of hybrid working
Salary: 110,000-130,000 depending on skills and experience
We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. If you wish, you can outline your preference when you apply, but there's no obligation at this stage.
PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The BBC aims to be as strong in engineering as we are in content. Our digital products underpin our mission to inform, educate and entertain millions of people every day, and we're looking for a Software Engineering Manager who can blend hands-on technical expertise with confident people leadership.
This is a unique opportunity for an experienced engineering leader who still enjoys engaging with technical decision-making. You will lead several multi-disciplinary teams who design, build and operate the BBC's cloud-based media platform - ensuring it is scalable, resilient and ready for the BBC's digital future.
You will develop and own the technical strategy for Media Services, working closely with product, architecture and operations partners. This is a role where your technical judgement and your leadership will have a tangible impact on the BBC's audience-facing products.
WHY JOIN THE TEAM
Media Services sits at the heart of BBC Digital Distribution, powering iPlayer, BBC Sounds, News and Sport. Our systems handle more than 50 million daily plays and process thousands of hours of content every single day.
You'll work with modern cloud technologies, a DevOps culture and teams who care deeply about engineering quality and continuous improvement. It's an opportunity to help build products and services that truly matter - at a scale few organisations can match.
YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT

• Lead and support several engineering teams delivering high-volume, high-availability media publishing workflows and consumer-facing services using AWS and modern frameworks.
• Provide clear technical leadership, helping teams make thoughtful architectural and engineering decisions.
• Recruit, mentor and develop engineering talent, creating an inclusive, collaborative and high-performing environment.
• Shape and deliver the technical vision and strategy for Media Services in partnership with colleagues across Technology, Product Group and Media Operations.
• Ensure our systems meet high standards of reliability, security and operational excellence.

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Experience leading multiple engineering teams in an Agile environment, ideally with platform or infrastructure exposure.
• A strong track record delivering complex, cloud-based solutions at scale (AWS preferable).
• The ability to provide hands-on technical direction - whether through architecture, code review, prototyping or guiding engineering approaches.
• Confident stakeholder management and the ability to influence across product, architecture and delivery teams.
• Experience line-managing senior engineers and/or team leads and supporting their career development.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

• Familiarity with CI/CD and configuration tools such as AWS CodePipeline, GitHub Actions, Terraform, CloudFormation or Ansible.
• Experience with large-scale media platforms (VOD or live streaming).
• Knowledge of threat-modelling frameworks or zero-trust approaches.
• Experience with event-driven architectures and RESTful API design.
• A passion for improving developer experience, tooling and engineering craft.

Before your start date, you may need to disclose any unspent convictions or police charges, in line with our Contracts of Employment policy. This allows us to discuss any support you may need and assess any risks. Failure to disclose may result in the withdrawal of your offer.
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.
For any general queries, please contact:
Redeployment
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.
Information at a Glance
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.
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:
APPLY NOW
Start
Please wait...
#BBCPUBLICSERVICE
BBC Group and Public Services, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London, United Kingdom, W1A 1AA. BBC Studios Distribution Limited, company no: 01420028, registered address: 1 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London, United Kingdom W12 7FA.
x
Cookie Consent Manager
When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
Required Cookies
These cookies are required to use this website and can't be turned off.
Show More Details
Required Cookies Provider Description Enabled
SAP as service provider
We use the following session cookies, which are all required to enable the website to function:

• "route" is used for session stickiness
• "careerSiteCompanyId" is used to send the request to the correct data centre
• "JSESSIONID" is placed on the visitor's device during the session so the server can identify the visitor
• "Load balancer cookie" (actual cookie name may vary) prevents a visitor from bouncing from one instance to another

Functional Cookies
These cookies provide a better customer experience on this site, such as by remembering your login details, optimising video performance or providing us with information about how our site is used. You may freely choose to accept or decline these cookies at any time. Note that certain functionalities that these third-parties make available may be impacted if you do not accept these cookies.
Show More Details
Functional Cookies Provider Description Enabled
Vimeo
Vimeo is a video hosting, sharing and services platform focused on the delivery of video. Opting out of Vimeo cookies will disable your ability to watch or interact with Vimeo videos.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing service where users can create their own profile, upload videos, watch, like and comment on videos. Opting out of YouTube cookies will disable your ability to watch or interact with YouTube videos.
Advertising Cookies
These cookies serve ads that are relevant to your interests. You may freely choose to accept or decline these cookies at any time. Note that certain functionality that these third parties make available may be impacted if you do not accept these cookies.
Show More Details
Advertising Cookies Provider Description Enabled
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an employment-oriented social networking service. We use the Apply with LinkedIn feature to allow you to apply for jobs using your LinkedIn profile. Opting out of LinkedIn cookies will disable your ability to use Apply with LinkedIn.

Skills Required