Expert computing. Goal-oriented tasks. Endless upskilling. 

Full Stack Software Engineer

£40,000 - 50,000 (+ Benefits)

Reports to: Lead Software Engineer

Department: Chief Operating Office

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time 35 hours per week

Location: Stratford, London. Office-based with high flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Visa sponsorship: You must be eligible to work in the UK to apply for this vacancy. Cancer Research UK is not able to offer visa sponsorship. 

Closing date: 20 November 2024 23:55

This vacancy may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received or once a suitable candidate is found, therefore we strongly recommend that you apply early to avoid disappointment. If you require more time to apply as part of a reasonable adjustment, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible.

Recruitment process: Telephone interview followed by a technical exercise and one competency-based interview

Interview date: We will be shortlisting on a rolling basis so please do not delay in applying.

How do I apply? We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to fully complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly, and objectively.

Tech Stack: TypeScript, React, Next.js, AWS Serverless, Node.js, SaaS

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we’re looking for someone talented, someone who wants to develop their skills, someone like you.

Cancer Research UK is looking for a Full Stack Software Engineer with experience in working with 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) solutions and JavaScript/Typescript/ or PHP  who can take our digital products to the next level by partnering with our product teams to develop our software packages, high-quality code; ensure best practices, and deliver technical solutions as part of our ambitious Engineering Strategy.

In this role, you will be part of a portfolio rotating across a range of change initiatives and products used by Cancer Research UK’s Chief Operating Office. This business area brings together several departments (e.g., HR, Finance, Legal, Procurement etc) who use a range of products, SaaS solutions, and cloud-based technologies (including but not limited to; Business World, Workday, Siebel, Salesforce, AWS etc). You will also gain exposure to stakeholders across the charity while collaborating with other Engineers, Product Managers, Testers, Agile Coaches, Architects and Business Analysts to help convert business challenges into technical solutions while continually improving the accessibility, availability, performance, and security of our products.

This is an opportunity for you to gain exposure to a modern tech stack while being part of a diverse Technology team that offers a range of development and progression opportunities, as well as the autonomy to deliver your own projects across a range of products. If you want to use your technical skills to deliver purpose-driven solutions, we would love you to join our mission.

What will I be doing?

• Developing software packages and solutions within our Chief Operating Office portfolio.

  • The Chief Operating Office consists of our corporate head office teams (e.g. HR, Finance, Legal, Procurement etc) who use a range of products, SaaS solutions, and cloud-based technologies (including but not limited to; Business World, Workday, Siebel, Salesforce, AWS etc).

  • This will be predominantly focused on 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) solutions and the back-end, but you will work across the full stack.

• Applying lean and Agile principles to develop high-quality code that has minimal bugs, adheres to Cancer Research UK standards, and is highly supportable.

• Working either independently or in collaboration with Solution Architects to design new solutions and maintain, implement, and improve SaaS solutions in line with the Software Engineering strategy.

• Autonomously delivering backlog items for an existing product.

• Collaborating with the Chief Operating Office product team (e.g., Product Managers, Service Designers, UX Designers, Business Analysts etc) to identify user needs, discuss capabilities and iteratively design solutions.

• Contributing to the Software Engineering capability team to share good practices, develop standards, patterns, automation & tools, and reduce technical debt and operational risks.

• Applying Site Reliability Engineering principles to track and improve the availability, performance, and security of our Chief Operating Office products while supporting the resolution of incidents impacting these products.

What skills will I need?

• Experienced Software Engineer with a proven ability to write clean, readable, and properly tested code based on tried and tested design patterns.   

• Demonstrable knowledge of JavaScript/ TypeScript and/ or PHP and Jest or other modern testing libraries with an ability and willingness to learn new languages, frameworks, and tools. 

• Prior experience working with SaaS solutions.

• Some experience building modern user interfaces and single-page applications (preferably using React).

• Some experience developing REST APIs and other back-end components (preferably using Node.js).

• Some experience with cloud-native architecture and AWS services (including various SQL and noSQL databases).

• Ran critical services in production and designed highly available, scalable, and secure solutions.

• Awareness of accessibility standards and guidelines.

• Ability to communicate with technical and non-technical business colleagues.

Our organisation values are designed to guide all that we do.

Bold: Act with ambition, courage and determination  

Credible: Act with rigour and professionalism   

Human: Act to have a positive impact on people  

Together: Act inclusively and collaboratively

We’re looking for people who can believe in and embody these organisation values and can use them to drive forward progress against our mission to beat cancer.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you.

What will I gain?

We create a working environment that supports your wellbeing and provide a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools. Our policies and processes enable you to improve your work-life balance, take positive steps in your career and achieve your personal wellbeing goals.

You can explore our benefits by visiting our careers web page.

Additional Information

If you want to know more about this role, here is a full job description. Please note this is a generalist profile used for internal & external purposes meaning we don’t expect candidates to meet all the criteria included (we will be shortlisting based on the essential criteria advertised).

For more information about working with us please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].  

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen. Please contact [email protected] or 020 3469 8400 as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.