Graduate Software Developer in Watford, United Kingdom

Make your mark at BRE!

BRE is a world-leading global organisation for innovation, science and data in the built environment. For over 100 years, we have supported governments, businesses and industry with pioneering research, testing and expertise. We are focused on growth, scale and expanding our global impact with products, services, standards and qualifications that address the challenges of a changing world. Driven by our purpose of helping everyone, in every building, everywhere, we are creating a safer, more sustainable built environment for people and planet.

Help shape the future of BRE!

We're looking for a Junior Developer to join BRE's Digital Services team and help shape the future of our industry-leading digital platforms, including BREEAM and SmartWaste. This is an exciting opportunity for someone early in their software development career who wants to strengthen their technical skills, work alongside experienced developers, and contribute to products used by customers across the built environment sector.

You'll be supported by a collaborative Agile team and given the opportunity to take ownership of development work, build your expertise, and grow into a confident software professional.

About The Role

As a Junior Developer, you'll be part of a Scrum team responsible for developing, enhancing and maintaining BRE's web-based applications. Working closely with Senior Developers, Product Owners and UI Designers, you'll help deliver new features and improvements that support our product roadmap.

This role offers a great balance of learning and responsibility. You'll be involved throughout the software development lifecycle, from understanding requirements and estimating work through to coding, testing and deployment. As your knowledge grows, you'll take on increasingly complex development tasks and play a bigger role in delivering high-quality solutions that meet customer and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and improve web-based applications and services.
• Collaborate with Developers, Product Owners and Designers within an Agile Scrum team.
• Translate requirements into secure, robust and high-quality code.
• Contribute to sprint planning, estimation and delivery activities.
• Develop and maintain database components, including stored procedures and views.
• Create and consume RESTful web services and APIs.
• Support testing activities, including creating and executing test plans.
• Troubleshoot and resolve defects and technical issues.
• Provide regular updates on progress, risks and delivery timelines.
• Follow BRE development standards, processes and best practices.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for a motivated developer with a solid technical foundation, a willingness to learn, and a passion for building high-quality software.

Essential

• Good understanding of web applications development
• Good understanding of Object-Oriented methodologies in analysis and development
• Good understanding of database development background in MS SQL Server (2014 or later), Stored Procedures, Views, etc.
• Good understanding of various design patterns (like dependency injection, service-oriented architecture, etc.)
• Good communication skills
• Good time management skills
• Good administrative skills to maintain records and files of work and revisions
• Good attention to detail that ensures accuracy, consistency and quality

Desirable

• Good understanding of REST APIs, JSON, methods and web services.
• Good understanding of JavaScript including basic DOM manipulation
• Exposure to React or other JavaScript frameworks
• Exposure to C# and .Net/ASP.NET core
• Basic knowledge of HTML and CSS
• Understanding of Agile practices and Sprint teams

Within your first 2 months

• Taking ownership of smaller development tasks.
• Building a foundational understanding of BRE's applications, products and development processes.
• Becoming an active contributor within your Scrum team.

Within 6 months

• Independently delivering larger, straightforward development tasks.
• Demonstrating a strong understanding of BRE's applications and development standards.
• Contributing confidently to sprint planning and delivery activities.

By the end of your first year

• Consistently delivering larger development tasks with minimal supervision.
• Having a solid understanding of the application landscape and wider business context.
• Helping improve development processes and contributing to team best practice.

BRE Benefits

At BRE, we offer a competitive salary, reviewed annually, along with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your financial security, well-being, and career development.

Financial & Security Benefits

• Pension scheme – 5% employer-matched contribution
• Life assurance – 4x your basic salary
• Enhanced maternity package

Health & Wellbeing

• HealthPartners cashback scheme – Reclaim costs on prescriptions, physiotherapy, dental care, and more
• Onsite facilities – Restaurant, nursery, and free parking, including at-cost EV charging points

Career Development

• Learning & development – Free access to BRE Academy and our online learning platform
• Professional membership reimbursement

For full details on our benefits, visit: BRE Employee Benefits

Work Location Options

Hybrid – This role offers a mix of home and office working. You will need to be within commuting distance of our Watford, as you will be expected to attend in person (2-3 times per week).

Our Recruitment Process

As part of our recruitment process we will be conducting 10-30 minute phone screening calls via an AI recruiter called Ryan with all shortlisted candidates. The information gathered from this screening will be used to help assess your suitability for the position.

Note to Employment Agencies

At BRE, we value the relationships we have built with our preferred recruitment partners. We do not accept unsolicited CVs from employment agencies. Any CVs submitted directly to a BRE employee or hiring manager without a signed BRE Employment Agency Agreement and an active engagement for the specific role will be considered unsolicited. In such cases, no fees will be payable should the candidate be hired through this or any other means.

Equal Opportunities Statement

BRE is an equal opportunities employer. We assess all qualified applicants based on merit and do not discriminate on the grounds of race, colour, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

BRE contributes to a thriving and sustainable world by developing science-led solutions to built environment challenges. Our vision is to be the world-leading innovation, science, and data hub for the built environment. We’re ambitious in terms of quality and global scope. We want governments and commercial markets to recognise us and demand our services, products and solutions. We want to be world-class, innovative, science-led and provide solutions.