Associate Software Engineer

Overview

An early-career Associate Software Engineer role contributing to production software for FTSE Russell's index data platform, learning from experienced engineers, primarily in Python.

What you'll do

• Write clean, maintainable production code, primarily in Python, with guidance from more experienced engineers
• Build and enhance software components, services, APIs, and shared libraries as part of a collaborative team
• Write automated tests and build software that is reliable, secure, and easy to maintain
• Participate in code reviews, learning from feedback and gradually reviewing the work of others
• Investigate bugs and production issues, understand root causes, and implement well-tested fixes
• Work with relational databases such as Aurora PostgreSQL, learning data modelling, queries, and schema evolution
• Develop software running on AWS using technologies such as Lambda, containerised services, object storage, and other managed AWS services
• Contribute to data-intensive applications that process significant volumes of financial and index data
• Use CI/CD pipelines and development tooling to build, test, and deploy software safely
• Learn how observability, logging, monitoring, and quality controls support reliable production systems
• Work closely with engineers, product colleagues, and other stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver solutions
• Take part in design discussions and learn how experienced engineers evaluate technical options and trade-offs
• Build knowledge of financial indices and how the software supports customers
• Continuously develop engineering skills through hands-on work, feedback, pairing, and knowledge sharing

What you'll need

• A foundation in software development gained through professional experience, internships, graduate programmes, university projects, open-source contributions, or substantial personal projects
• Programming experience in Python or another modern language such as Java, C#, C, C++, Scala, Go, or Rust, together with a willingness to develop strong Python skills
• Understanding of core software engineering concepts such as functions, classes, data structures, APIs, error handling, and automated testing
• An interest in writing readable, maintainable code rather than simply making something work
• Basic understanding of software development practices such as version control, code review, testing, and debugging
• Familiarity with Git or another source control system
• Basic knowledge of relational databases and SQL
• An analytical approach to problem solving and the ability to break problems into smaller pieces
• Curiosity and willingness to learn new technologies, tools, and engineering practices
• Openness to feedback and an interest in learning from more experienced engineers
• Good communication skills and the confidence to ask questions when something is unclear
• A collaborative mindset and enjoyment of solving problems with others

Nice to have

• Experience building applications, APIs, services, or libraries in Python
• Familiarity with Python development practices such as type hints, pytest, linters, and dependency management
• Exposure to AWS or another public cloud platform
• Experience with PostgreSQL or another relational database
• Understanding of REST APIs and distributed or service-based architectures
• Experience with Docker or containerised applications
• Familiarity with CI/CD tooling such as GitLab CI, Jenkins, or GitHub Actions
• Exposure to infrastructure as code such as Terraform or AWS CDK
• Experience with data processing, ETL, or data-intensive applications
• Exposure to Pandas, Apache Spark / PySpark, or similar data-processing technologies
• Familiarity with object storage, data lakes, or technologies such as Apache Iceberg
• Contributions to open-source projects or personal software projects
• Experience in financial markets, financial data, or investment analytics
• An interest in financial markets and a willingness to learn the index domain