Software Engineering Graduate Programme
“Ocado Technology, powering the future of retail through sustained disruptive technology innovation...”
Ocado Technology is putting the world’s retailers online using the cloud, robotics, AI, and IoT. We develop the innovative software and systems that power Ocado.com, the world’s largest online-only grocery retailer as well as the global ‘Ocado Smart Platform’. With everything from websites to fully autonomous warehouses that we design in-house, our employees need to be specialists in a wide range of technologies to help drive our business - we’re looking for the next generation of technology specialists and future leaders!
Our Technology graduate scheme suits high achievers with analytical minds, who enjoy creative problem-solving and find satisfaction in seeing complex projects through from start-to-finish.
We champion a value-led culture to get our teams working at their very best and to help create a collaborative working environment that our people love. Core Principles of Trust, Autonomy, Craftsmanship, Collaboration and Learn Fast help drive our innovative culture.
We’re all about innovation and refusing to accept the status quo, so if you’re keen to push the limits of your learning – and our technology – we want to hear from you! See what Life at Ocado Group is like and hear from our current Graduates here.
Find out more about Grads at Ocado Technology here.
Software Engineering Graduate Programme Description
You’re about to leave university with a lot of skills, a lot of knowledge, and a lot of options. What are you going to do with it all? Our graduate rotation scheme is designed to give you first-hand experience of everything from bot software to data science. Want to know where you’ll thrive the most? Here’s your chance to learn. Our culture of risk-taking and the use of bleeding-edge technology attracts the most bright and capable people making it an exciting space to be part of.
Over four six-month placements, you’ll work in teams across the Ocado Technology division, gaining knowledge and insight into the vast number of challenges we solve every day.
Here are some of the teams you could be working in on the scheme:
Bot Software & Hardware teams are at the cutting edge of product development. Our engineers focus on the successful delivery of next-generation bot software. We are a team that does what needs to be done, by identifying gaps in our current bot systems and working with talented engineers across our business to prototype and deliver quality products. We are working on niche projects, all contributing to the improvement of our robots.
Product Management is the intersection between the business and technology making sure you are building something the company needs working out with technology they can do that and more importantly checking it is something the customer wants. As a Product Manager, you will have an amazing opportunity to deliver a product that will changehow the world shops. The mission of the product team is to take the energy and excitement and turn it into real products.
The eCommerce department creates the eCommerce and Fulfilment solutions that power the Ocado Smart Platform. From the secret sauce that drives our 35 million customer searches and product recommendations, to our market-leading delivery punctuality and order accuracy. Our Mobile teams work closely with our Web teams where we plan & participate in the development of our customer-facing, native iOS app, to be used by millions of people all over the world. Each team is cross-functional; comprising of Android, iOS, and backend engineers, product managers, UX designers, and data scientists, to name a few, working together to deliver features to a high standard.
The Simulation and Visualisation team create simulations on Ocado's new automated warehouses with the intention of optimising robotic operations to increase the throughput of the warehouses.
10x are responsible for working on novel projects that involve fast system prototyping and experimentation. The team is made up of software engineers, machine learning specialists and electronics engineers.
The Infrastructure Team consists of teams that develop, maintain, and support the hardware and software that underpins OSP. The department is looking for graduate engineers to join us to help us build a highly configurable, automated, supportable, and monitored platform suited to the forthcoming decade. If you are fascinated by “infrastructure as code” then this is the placement for you.
What to expect once you apply
Our applications for this role will be open for 3 weeks only and will close on January 4th, 11:59 pm. Please get your application in by then to avoid disappointment!
We will then be processing applications from January 4th onwards, so you may not hear from us until later that week. Don’t worry - we will be in touch with every applicant by January 15th to let you know the outcome of your application and any next steps.
From then there are 2 online stages to complete and if successful we will be hosting virtual assessment days in mid-February.
What we look for
We need analytical, passionate, and inquisitive people who can create positive outcomes in a challenging, fast-paced environment and who are looking to join a truly innovative, fast-growing, FTSE 100 business.
Ideally, we are looking for people with a Computer Science or numerate background, this could come from your degree area, a placement year, or hands-on experience. We welcome software engineers from a wide range of disciplines and look forward to receiving your application. We are looking for individuals with demonstrable programming ability in any OO language, as we support training in any alternative languages you may need to know as part of your role.
Equal Opportunities
Be bold, be unique, be brilliant, be you. We are looking for individuality and we value diversity above gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, age, disability or union participation. We are an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to treating all applicants and employees fairly and equally.
What we can offer you
Within our flexible work environment we can offer technically stretching work, a competitive salary and share schemes. Benefits include a generous pension scheme, interest-free season ticket loan, free shuttle bus from Hatfield train station and, of course, healthy Ocado staff discounts (and free delivery) across our Webshops including Groceries and Fetch.
We also have monthly technology division socials, sports clubs such as badminton, running and table tennis (and much more), not to mention the Ocado Technology Academy for a packed schedule of courses, conferences and events such as discussion sessions, conference briefs and external guest speakers.
Right to Work
Applicants must have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom for the duration of the programme. We are unable to sponsor visas for overseas applicants for this programme.
Our Application Process
Applications to our schemes open on Monday 14th December and should be made through the Ocadogroup.com/careers/graduates website. Following online applications, candidates may be invited to complete a series of online tests and a video assessment from week commencing Monday 4th January. Applicants who successfully complete these will be invited to attend a virtual assessment centre. Assessment centres will be held in February and successful candidates will be invited to begin their roles early September 2021.
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