It’s time we all started thinking of BBC’s Engineering as one of the best in the world
That’s a bold statement I know, but let me explain exactly why I believe this is true, and why I’m so passionate about it. The BBC which is celebrating its centenary this year is like no other organisation in the world. Our job is simple, to ensure that it remains just as relevant in the future as it has been in the past. More specifically in software engineering, our vision is for the BBC to be as renowned for its engineering as it is for its content. For that, we have to further develop the idea of the BBC as a product and technology company.
Imagine working in a team that develops and runs digital products that are used by millions of users every day.
A team that is not only responsible for some of the biggest websites in the world but on top of that has one of the pioneering and most advanced video streaming services there is, available on hundreds of different devices, alongside an audio streaming service used by millions on a weekly basis.
But that’s not it, there are more services that are truly positioned to do good in the world like helping parents, teachers and kids get all the fun and information they need. Digital products which deliver unbiased news across the world, which join up communities across the UK, and which appear in multiple different languages for audiences at home and abroad. Digital products that are equally used to help you understand what’s happening globally, the latest from the world of sport, to find out the weather outside your front door, and to provide a recipe for you to make this evening.
That’s what we do. That’s our BBC.
I won’t lie to you, this is quite a complex operation but with our mission to inform, educate and entertain, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We pride ourselves in our public service mission: delivering value to all audiences.
The truth is that in the middle of this complexity there is huge opportunity and we continuously strive to improve, not only the quality of our audience experiences but also the quality of all the tech that powers it. We run pretty much all these services and products in the cloud and make the most of that, whilst improving our practices to ensure that the BBC’s digital services are as reliable as its broadcast ones, the best there is.
It’s tricky though, there are hundreds of micro services across our estate so we have cross discipline teams that are responsible for each of these. We do our best to strike that balance between empowering each of these teams and ensuring that we have high collaboration across the board, there is always a lot we can learn from each other and a lot we can do to minimise waste, we are dealing with public money here and never forget that.
Recently, we decided to write down our vision for Software Engineering and we think this gives a pretty good idea of what we are about:
We want the BBC to be as renowned for the quality of its engineering as it is for the quality of its content.
We aspire to be the best, so that we can engineer outstanding digital products, at scale.
Working here in an engineering role means being part of a world-class team — and a chance to do the most meaningful work of your career.
And to help explain more of what this means, we came up with five guiding stars that we use not only to aid our decision making but also our day to day behaviour & focus
- The place to work: We want people in the tech industry to choose the BBC as the best place to grow their career. It’s a place to continuously learn, to be collaborative, to be creative, and to deliver challenging yet rewarding projects
- Building the best: We aim to create the very best digital products, at scale — backed by engineering rigour that ensures audiences can always depend on them
- Strong engineering leadership: At all levels, our engineering leaders work together to deliver on our goals, to build strong, open and diverse teams where people truly belong
- Operationally excellent: The quality of service of our digital products is at the same level as our broadcast services — the best there is
- Clear technical strategy: We have a clear, pragmatic tech strategy, that aligns with our business and product goals, and that we execute on, together
There is lots to do of course and we have some ambitious plans for 2022 and beyond, if you think this is your kind of place, we would love to hear from you. Our team is growing and we want to continue to make it as diverse and inclusive as it can be so do get in touch!
