Web Development Engineer I (UK)

Discovery Education
Discovery Education

Software Engineering

Manchester, UK

GBP 30,500-34,300 / year

Posted on Jun 11, 2026

We are looking for a Web Development Engineer I to support the web platforms and services that power the products our specialist game development team builds, including educational games and experiences.

This is an entry-level role with strong mentoring and clear growth opportunities. You will contribute primarily to back-end services—building and improving APIs, data flows, and operational tooling—with some exposure to front-end work as needed. You will deliver well-scoped features and fixes, learn our engineering standards, and collaborate closely with designers, artists, and engineers to ship reliable, secure experiences.

In This Role You Will:

Back-End Development

  • Build, integrate, and maintain server-side applications, RESTful APIs, and microservices that support our products
  • Work with databases to store and manage learner data, game state, progress tracking, and analytics
  • Develop integrations with third-party education platforms and services
  • Write clean, well-tested code, with appropriate unit and integration tests
  • Support server configuration, deployment pipelines, and monitoring
  • Maintain and improve existing back-end systems by fixing bugs and optimising performance

Front-End Development

  • Contribute to front-end tasks as needed, such as building internal tools, dashboards, or admin interfaces
  • Update and fix web portals and landing pages
  • Collaborate with the UI/UX designer and front-end specialists to implement browser-based features
  • Support integrating game builds into web pages, including loading screens and session management

Collaboration & Growth

  • Participate in code reviews, stand-ups, and team planning sessions
  • Learn from senior engineers and contribute ideas to improve our technical practices
  • Document your work clearly so others can build on it
  • Stay curious about new technologies and approaches relevant to web development and EdTech

Core Competencies for Success:

  • Action Oriented: Takes on assigned tasks promptly; breaks work into clear steps; follows through on commitments and escalates risks early.
  • Collaborates: Works effectively with teammates across disciplines; shares progress, asks for input, and supports team decisions to deliver outcomes.
  • Tech Savvy: Learns new tools and frameworks quickly; applies fundamentals (version control, testing, debugging) to produce maintainable code.
  • Problem Solving: Uses data and logic to diagnose issues; proposes options; tests hypotheses; and documents fixes to prevent recurrence.
  • Ensures Accountability: Takes ownership of code quality and reliability; writes tests where appropriate; communicates status; and meets agreed timelines.

Credentials and Experience:

  • Foundation in back-end web development using at least one server-side language (e.g. Python, Node.js, C#, Java, or similar)
  • Basic understanding of databases, both relational (e.g. PostgreSQL, MySQL) and/or NoSQL (e.g. MongoDB)
  • Familiarity with RESTful API design and development
  • Some exposure to front-end technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and willingness to work across the stack
  • Degree, bootcamp qualification, or equivalent practical experience in computer science, software engineering, or a related field
  • Experience using AI-assisted development tools such as Claude Code, Codex, or similar
  • Experience with cloud platforms (e.g. AWS, Azure, or GCP)
  • Familiarity with containerisation tools such as Docker
  • Legal right to work in the United Kingdom

This role is designed to be hybrid in Manchester, UK.

The hiring range for this position is between £30,500 - £34,300 annually, however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Additionally, this position is eligible for an Annual Bonus.