Associate Software Developer – AI Focused

Our IT team in Central Services is looking for an enthusiastic Associate Software Developer to join us. This is your chance to be part of a small, friendly team that's committed to innovation and excellence working with bespoke in-house solutions across an array of web, desktop, and mobile applications. Working on implementing LLM integration, and custom agents, and working directly with teams across the business to understand how they operate and to deliver the improvements they need.

About Central Services

Based in Burton-on-Trent, SOCOTEC UK’s Head Office houses our Central Services teams. These teams provide a corporate structure to support the wider business. Central Services is broken down into four main areas: Human Resources, Marketing and Communications, Finance, and IT. Each of these areas is vital to the day-to-day running of SOCOTEC.

What’s in it for you?

As well as a competitive salary we can offer you a wide range of benefits including 25 days holiday with the opportunity to buy more, an electric car scheme (where applicable), employee recognition schemes, family friendly support, employee benefits and discounts app, employee assistance programmes, and enhanced company pension. SOCOTEC UK are proud to be Disability Confident accredited.

As an Associate Software Developer (AI Focused) in our development team, you will:

• Develop and maintain bespoke solutions, working closely with the Software Development Manager.
• Assist in developing and maintaining software applications using modern development frameworks and tools
• Contribute to AI agent development, including designing, building, and optimizing intelligent assistants
• Implement and integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance application functionalities.
• Troubleshoot issues, assist in the configuration and deployment of releases, and provide support to a range of applications.
• Create and deploy custom agents to automate tasks and improve efficiency.
• Build working relationships with business stakeholders, meeting with them to understand their processes, priorities and pain points.
• Carry out gap analysis to identify where current systems and processes do not meet business needs, and propose practical options to close those gaps.

• Implement agreed changes back into the business, supporting testing, rollout, user guidance and adoption.

To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate:

• A degree or foundational course in a computing, mathematics, science or other numerate discipline. Exposure to object-oriented programming is expected, whether through your studies, industry experience or personal projects, which are highly valued.
• Proficiency in at least one programming language (C#.net, Java, Python, JavaScript, etc.)
• Experience with web development frameworks (React, Angular, etc.)
• Familiarity with API development and integration
• Basic understanding of AI/ML concepts and LLM integration
• Confident communicating directly with non-technical business users, both in writing and in person.

Why SOCOTEC?

Here at SOCOTEC UK, we have over 2,000 colleagues across our divisions delivering world-class services to our customers. We provide an unrivalled range of testing, inspection, and certification services throughout the UK, and we deliver excellence to our customers by recruiting and retaining the very best industry talent.

We offer transversal career pathways as well as linear pathways, and we will support you in attaining a portfolio career in one place. Not to mention the possibility of working locally, nationally, or globally, in the office or remotely. We are committed to your personal and professional development, and you will be supported in every step of your journey with us. #YouGrowWeGrow