Software Developer (MyUoY)

Role Description

Would you like to make a difference by joining a team of Software Developers in a different type of technology organisation? We have an exciting opportunity for two talented developers to join our student mobile app team.  If you’ve got experience in front-end development using React Native and/or experience as a QA, all the better!

Department

The University of York has set out its vision to become a “University for Public Good” in its 2023 strategy and in IT Services we are actively supporting that commitment.  We’re looking for individuals who want to be part of making a difference using technology to support our vision and to enact change in our services and how we deliver them. Working at a learning organisation, we can offer you a collaborative, flexible environment where growth is supported, teams care for each other and enquiring minds can thrive.

These roles exist with the IT Services department, which is responsible for providing outstanding work, study and research facilities, as well as facilities to enhance the student experience, both on campus and online. 

The IT Services department is critical to the delivery of those objectives, providing innovative, high-quality infrastructure, products and services that support all aspects of the customer experience. The software development teams are responsible for providing the technical infrastructure underpinning many of the University's core enterprise systems (such as the virtual learning environment, student record system, finance and HR systems) and develop a number of in-house products including our student mobile app (MyUoY), our module catalogue, and our staff directory.  

We work on large, complex systems and smaller products, collaborating closely with other departments to integrate, adapt and develop these software applications to meet new requirements emerging in response to a competitive Higher Education environment.

Role

These two roles will be in the MyUoY product team who develop and maintain the MyUoY mobile app, supporting students in managing student life on the go and in accessing important information. The team is responsible for a variety of cloud-based back-end systems and APIs which support MyUoY, including a headless CMS.

These roles will have a full-stack focus: you'll be helping develop new back-end infrastructure to support exciting new features in the app, supporting existing APIs and being exposed to some opportunities for front-end development in React Native.

We have two openings in the MyUoY team, both development roles but with different focuses:

• We are looking for someone with experience of mobile app development, ideally using React Native, to grow our in-house app development capability. We are looking for someone with good technical skills who can also collaborate with colleagues and share their expertise with the team.

• We are looking for someone with experience of manual and automated testing to strengthen our test capability. They will help build out our app test suite to ensure we catch bugs early and often, as well as share best testing practice with the rest of the team.

We are a small, dynamic and supportive team who work on a hybrid basis, with some days present on our York campus.  Most software delivery teams work on site once a week as a team and there are meeting or planning days roughly once a month.  You must be able to attend these days in person in York. 

You’ll be involved in all aspects of software development: planning, writing and delivering software, maintaining automated tests and CI/CD pipelines and contributing to your team’s product roadmap. You will use a mix of modern tools and technologies including AWS, Node.js, React in JavaScript/TypeScript and GitHub Workflows.

You will be working in a highly collaborative environment, with activities ranging from task refinement, feature ideation, optional pair and mob programming, and collaborating on design and technical decisions. You will also have opportunities to attend developer sessions and communities of practice and spend up to one afternoon a week on personal development.

We are committed to supporting our staff to learn new skills and as such would like to actively encourage applications from people who can bring new experiences and ideas and have the right attitude and aptitude. 

Skills, Experience & Qualification needed

To succeed in this post you will need:

• experience developing and supporting real-world software;

• knowledge of software development practices (unit testing, continuous integration etc.);

• a level 3 qualification (e.g. A-levels), or equivalent professional experience;

• to be able to communicate effectively and work collaboratively with others.

Reward

As well as the advertised salary and market supplement we offer a range of excellent benefits including:

• 30 Days annual leave (38 days with bank holidays)

• We offer a flexitime scheme, providing flexibility with start and finish times, and provision to take 3 additional flexi-leave days in a quarter.

• We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff.

• Up to 2 volunteering days per year (pro-rata) as part of the Staff Volunteering Scheme

• Staff training and development courses

• Hybrid working

• Hybrid final salary and contribution based pension scheme with a 14.5% employer contribution rate

The above are a selection of benefits available to members of staff at the University. For full details of all our benefits, please see our HR website.

Interview date: To be confirmed

For informal enquiries: please contact Kara Potts, Development Team Lead, at kara.j.potts@york.ac.uk, or Nicola Meenan, Product Owner, at nicola.meenan@york.ac.uk. Please note we are currently unable to respond to enquiries or accept applications from recruitment agencies.

The University strives to be diverse and inclusive  – a place where we can ALL be ourselves.

We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University. 

We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. #EqualityatYork