Graduate Software Engineer

About Sava and the role

Sava is a growing profitable business, comprising two enterprises:

•Sava Education – an education and information business that supports the UK residential surveying and valuation sector.

•Sava Technology – a software and data analytics business that provides tools and consultancy services to social housing providers to analyse zero carbon strategies.

We’re a team of 35, based in Milton Keynes and we’re now looking for a Graduate Software Engineer to join us to work on the technical side of the business.

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with a science or mathematics background who is searching for the opportunity to combine their scientific knowledge with a career in software development. At Sava you will learn how to develop professional, customer facing software products as well as extending an improving the calculation models and inferences at the heart of our applications.

It is vital that you have an eye for detail and are able to show organisational skills in order to complete tasks to specific deadlines.

The culture

Sava has a friendly, relaxed culture where we work hard to give our employees a positive environment in which they can thrive and use their abilities effectively. Our customer service is second to none in the industry and we pride ourselves on the quality of our products and the support we offer to customers once they are on board with us.

We work from a modern, open plan office in Wolverton Mill. The office has gym equipment, lounge area, pool table, kitchen / dining area and showers. Our employees benefit from a range of free hot and cold drinks, fruit and ice creams. We have a full and varied social calendar that includes team building events, evenings out and opportunities to get involved in the local community. We work to support various charities in and around Milton Keynes including The Bus Shelter, The Food Bank and Al’s Pals.

At Sava we’re keen to meet people with varied backgrounds. We want to build teams which represent a variety of experiences, perspectives and skills, and we recognise talent based on merit and potential.

We really need you to have

This role is all about finding the right person for our business. We will need you to have:

•A good mathematics or science degree, or very strong A level results in these subjects combined with relevant experience or skills that make you ideally suited for the role.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

A great work ethic where you bring your whole self into the role and where you derive personal satisfaction from delivering a great service to our customers

Meticulous attention to detail with a desire to question when things do not give you the answers you are expecting!

A desire to really understand our business – for instance what we sell and deliver to our customers and why they choose Sava

A passion in using software to predict real-world behaviours and interactions

An interest in learning how to develop professional software products

You possess a ‘can do’ attitude, are solution focussed and enjoy coming up with innovative ideas to solve problems and improve existing systems

That you are team player with an enthusiastic approach to your work

That you are reliable, diligent, and conscientious

A drive to continually develop your skills in accordance to changing technology as well as changes in the external factors that drive customers to buy our products

What you’ll be doing

Initially you will be focused on understanding the energy modelling methodology and developing your software skills to a point where you can modify, extend and debug the calculation, inference and scenario planning engines within the system. You will also learn techniques to manually and programmatically test the models to ensure accuracy.

As you build your development experience you will participate in product release projects, working within the software development team and alongside our test and support engineers. Your main development tool will be Microsoft Visual Studio and you will be developing primarily using C#, HTML and Javascript using the Microsoft .NET Core framework. Our software products are mostly web-based applications, hosted within the Microsoft Azure cloud environment.

As well as learning to develop application you will be expected to get to grips with interrogating and manipulating data within SQL databases, as well as building an understanding of the various Azure components that we use in the architecture of our solutions. You will be involved in all aspects of the software development process including refining specifications, developing new features, extending existing functionality, and fixing bugs reported by the test team. You will learn how to use the tools we use to ensure the quality of our software including source code management, peer review of code changes and automated deployment of software. You will also help the team to diagnose and resolve support incidents.

About Sava

When you join Sava you become part of a team of talented and caring professionals, who strive to deliver the best products to our customers and the sectors we work in.

We look to recruit the best people to work with us who have excellent skills and personal qualities. Maintaining a strong culture anchored in clear values is at the heart of what makes Sava a market leader.

We are committed to the highest standards of ethics, business conduct, and company principles, and every employee is expected to uphold these standards.

As we grow, we are committed to increasing diversity in the team, and continuing to foster an inclusive environment where we can learn from each other.

We want the best people

At Sava we’re keen to meet people with varied backgrounds. We want to build teams which represent a variety of experiences, perspectives and skills, and we recognise talent based on merit and potential. Whilst this position would suit a recent graduate, this is not a pre-requisite and we welcome applications from candidates who have gained experience and skills through more vocational routes.

All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, social background, disability or age.

We particularly encourage applications from people with a disability, or people from a black, Asian, and minority ethnic group who are currently under-represented within the company.

Employment offers will always be made on the merit of the application and performance in the selection process.

Application process

To apply for this opportunity, please write to us with your CV and a covering letter. In the letter we would like you to:

Explain why you want to work as part of the Sava team

Tell us what your skills and attitude can contribute to our business

Anything else you might want to tell us about

The application process is likely to include the following steps:

An initial telephone interview

An online interview using Microsoft Teams

A short assignment to allow you to further demonstrate your abilities to us

Online psychometric and aptitude testing

A face to face second interview at our office in Milton Keynes

Please send your CV and covering letter to careers@sava.co.uk.

Remuneration

The annual salary for this role will be between £28-35k based on the individual. Other aspects of remuneration and employment can be discussed at the interview.

Benefits

Financial

•Life assurance at 4 x salary cover

•If applicable; relocation package

•Paid subscriptions to professional membership bodies

Lifestyle

•25 days holiday plus bank holidays

•Ability to purchase additional holiday

•5 volunteering days in addition to your annual leave each year

Training

•Specific software development training through a blend of courses, self-learning online, mentoring, research projects, shadowing, pair programming and peer reviews

•Support to access training and qualifications even if they are not directly related to your day-to-day work

•We believe that it is fundamental to invest in your development, even if that means that one day you outgrow us

Health & wellbeing

•Open, friendly and supportive environment

•Generous long term sick pay scheme

•Confidential helpline for support with emotional, financial, and legal matters

•24/7 access to online appointments with a private GP

•Support including discounts on gym membership, free counselling for emotional support and health, fitness and lifestyle guidance

Click the apply button below to complete your application today!