Junior Software Developer in Bath

Do you want to make a difference in the fight against climate change? We are seeking a Junior Software Developer for Energy Sparks, a charity helping young people to reduce their school’s carbon footprint. We are looking to add extra capacity to our small in-house development team to help us make faster progress in specific areas of our roadmap. In particular, to help develop and improve the internal tools and reports that will allow us to continue to scale our operations.

This is a one year, fixed term contract, with the possibility of future extension. This is a remote position, but we are looking for a developer who is based within easy commuting distance of Bath to allow for some regular (approximately monthly) meetings and co-working sessions with our CTO and other team members.

Salary: up to £30,000 dependent on experience

About us

Energy Sparks is an online energy analysis tool and energy education programme specifically designed to help schools reduce their electricity and gas usage through the analysis of smart meter data. Energy Sparks helps pupils and the wider school community to reduce their school’s carbon emissions, and make a real contribution to addressing the climate emergency. Energy Sparks started in 2017 and is now working with around 1000 schools across the UK. We are a small, remote team of 13 people, with the majority of our team based in the Bath and Bristol area.

Junior Developer Role

• This role will have a specific focus on developing and improving the internal tools used to support the day-to-day operational work required to maintain our energy management platform.
• Work with the CTO to build and maintain an improved suite of internal operational tools and dashboards that will allow us to support users during onboarding, and manage and monitor the loading of energy data into our platform.
• Contribute to the improvement of existing operational tools and reports, so they continue to meet our needs.
• Take responsibility for identifying and fixing bugs and operational issues that are highlighted by other team members or our reporting systems.
• Help maintain and improve code quality and test coverage to ensure we deliver a robust service to our users.
• Help document the software to facilitate maintenance and use by other team members, and to ensure future sustainability.
• Work with the CTO and other Energy Sparks team members to design and deliver new application features, according to project budgets and milestones.
• Work with the rest of the Energy Sparks team to respond to user feedback to improve the Energy Sparks application to maximise user engagement and carbon emission reductions at participating schools.

Required experience:

• A degree in software development/engineering, computer science or related subject, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Several years of demonstrable programming experience in Ruby or similar programming language(s), gained either through study, personal projects, or commercial work.
• Experience with Ruby and the Ruby on Rails framework, gained either through study, personal projects, or commercial work.
• Understanding of relational databases such as Postgres.
• Working knowledge of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, with an interest in writing accessible, user‑friendly interfaces.
• Experience of using Git and GitHub for version control.
• Exposure to testing frameworks like RSpec or Capybara, or enthusiasm to learn test‑driven development.
• A willingness to work in an agile, iterative way and deliver value in small steps.
• A proactive attitude, with the ability to organise your work, solve problems creatively, and stay calm under pressure.
• An interest in sustainability and supporting young people in tackling climate change.
• A clear commitment to learning, growing, and developing your skills.

• Experience building or maintaining web applications, even if small‑scale or academic projects.
• Experience working on data‑focused applications or presenting complex data to users.
• Experience working with third‑party APIs, such as integrating external data or services into an application.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS) or a willingness to learn how to deploy web applications.

Benefits

• Salary up to £30,000 dependent on experience
• 12% employer pension contribution
• 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays
• Flexible working hours. We are happy to discuss part-time or term-time working for the right candidate.
• The opportunity to really make a difference reducing carbon emissions and helping young people to live sustainable lives.

How to apply

Please send the following by email to recruitment@energysparks.uk:

• A full curriculum vitae
• A link to your github profile or projects; and/or a portfolio that demonstrates your previous work and experience
• A covering letter

To be considered for this role, all applicants must currently have the right to work in the UK or will have secured the right to work in the UK by the date of commencement of employment. Energy Sparks is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications regardless of race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.