Graduate Vacancies
Sinara is currently looking for talented graduates to join our software development team in 2023. If you want to pursue a career in Software Development, and are a recent graduate or expect to graduate in 2023, you might like to apply to join us as a Graduate Software Engineer, to start in the summer of 2023.
Successful applicants will receive a starting salary of £40,000 per year plus a guaranteed bonus, 25 days paid holiday plus 8 bank holidays and other benefits.
If you have a couple of years programming experience and are looking to move on from your current position you are also welcome to apply. The package on offer will be adjusted according to the relevance of your experience. Just follow the process described below and we will see what we can do.
Please keep reading to learn more about what it’s like to work at Sinara and about the kind of people you’ll be working with. You will see what we expect from you, and how your career might develop from the initial stages through to becoming an experienced Software Engineer.
The Opportunity
Sinara gives you the chance to work on a variety of projects and platforms. Your first project may involve working on applications such as trading systems, options pricing algorithms, or market surveillance tools, including web, desktop and mobile front-ends, as well as back-end algorithms, communications and databases.
Designing appropriate solutions to the technical challenges you encounter will require creative thinking and attention to detail. You may need to consider what is really needed not just the stated requirements.
At Sinara, your colleagues will be as talented and committed as you are yourself. Sinara is a small company, where you can reasonably expect to know who everyone in the company is, and we encourage effective teamwork and inter-team collaboration. We value every member of the company, and we are keen to show that with regular technical seminars, social lunches, and other personal and professional support.
Sinara employs a flexible working policy where you can either work from home or attend our office located south of Tower Bridge. There may also be opportunities to work on-site, perhaps at a leading exchange or other financial institution.
About You
At the centre of Sinara’s activities is software development, so you will need to show good programming skills. Some knowledge of C# or JavaScript would be very helpful, but not essential, as would an understanding of databases and networking.
You will need to be capable of picking up new technical skills quickly and grasping new domain knowledge as and when needed. Although we work within the finance industry, a prior knowledge of this sector is not required.
You will need to exchange information and ideas not only with your colleagues but also with clients who may not always be as technically aware as you are. Therefore, you will need to possess excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal.
We expect graduate applicants to have obtained, or realistically expect to obtain a 2:1 degree in a numerate subject.
Starting Work at Sinara
When you start work at Sinara you will take part in a two-week induction programme where you will get to know our software development approach and learn the basics of certain key technical skills, in particular C#. Then it’s down to work; you will join a team working on one of our current projects, developing your existing skills and learning new ones, collaborating on a variety of activities with staff from around the company.
Your first project may involve working on applications such as trading systems, options pricing algorithms, or market surveillance tools, including web, desktop and mobile front-ends, as well as back-end algorithms, communications and databases. The work is often technically challenging and may require an imaginative design.
Career Development
As your career progresses, the emphasis of your work may change. You might choose to continue focusing on programming and technical excellence, or to shift towards other parts of the engineering process such as business analysis and project management, or to find a balance somewhere in between. We encourage everyone within Sinara to take responsibility in a variety of areas including client relationship management, product & library development, technical quality, recruitment, and mentoring.
An experienced mentor will support you throughout your career, but you will be expected to be self-motivated and to demonstrate initiative from the start.
Your progress through Sinara will be limited only by your abilities, not by bureaucracy or organisational politics, and you will be rewarded accordingly.
All staff are actively encouraged to work on technical interests outside of client project work and you will be allocated time to do this if you so wish.
Graduate Profiles
How did you come to Sinara?
Nicole: I started here as a graduate software engineer in 2014, the autumn after completing my Computer Science degree.
Adeiza: I came to work at Sinara quite randomly after doing a google search for Software Engineering roles and Sinara came up in the results. I applied for the role during my last year of university and was pleasantly surprised in the interview when one of the directors took the time to talk to me about the company, explaining the goals and the culture at Sinara. This led to me joining Sinara in 2017.
Jake: First encountered programming during my Mathematics degree at the University of Bath. It was one of the most enjoyable parts of my degree and so I decided to pursue a career in software development. This choice was further established by my placement in developing customised indices. In my final year of university, I found the graduate job opportunity at Sinara. It seemed an excellent fit, combining development and finance, and willing to take on graduates without a degree in Software Engineering. Fortunately, I was successful and have been working at Sinara since September 2020.
What projects have you worked on?
Nicole: I’ve worked on a variety of things across the whole tech stack – Sinara R&D initiatives as well as bespoke systems. That includes a trading calendar, a website for viewing up-to-the-minute market data, and various back-end applications for interfacing with third-party systems.
Adeiza: I’ve worked on various applications ranging from web applications that allow customers to carry out trades to systems that handle the allocation and distribution of products to buyers when products need to be delivered. At Sinara, you’ll get the chance to work on a variety of projects on both the front end and back end.
Jake: During my time at Sinara I have worked on futures and options pricing for the LME, a system to expedite the delivery of agricultural contracts for Euronext and ongoing development and improvement of internal libraries. All the projects have been challenging but provide many opportunities for learning, both in improving my skills as a developer and in understanding the businesses we develop for.
How much support have you received?
Nicole: Throughout my time at Sinara, I’ve always found people willing to share their experience and help each other with solving problems. I’ve learnt a lot from my colleagues, whether about the trading business we work with, about the technologies we use, or about running software projects effectively. As a senior developer and team lead, I now get to be part of passing that on to new developers; I spend my time training and mentoring our junior staff as well as designing and developing software myself.
Adeiza: There’s always support from colleagues and managers when you need help. We also have bi-yearly appraisals where our professional development manager helps us to determine our goals and things to improve.
Jake: Having had limited exposure to software development before starting at Sinara, I was concerned I would be out of my depth when coming to the company. When I raised this concern and asked if there were any good resources to use to get started, Sinara offered to pay for a subscription to a training platform. With this resource and the 2-week induction period, I felt much more confident when starting project work. Frequent catch ups and appraisals are held to inform you of your progress and areas to develop, and the project leaders are always looking for opportunities to improve the skills of junior developers within projects.
What is it like working here?
Nicole: I really enjoy working at Sinara. Because we are a consultancy working with a mix of client projects, I never feel like I’ve been doing a single thing for too long; and because we are a small company, I get a great sense of the “big picture” and can understand where the work I’m doing fits into that.
Adeiza: Right from my interview, I was given the impression that Sinara is a company that cares about the development of its employees, and I can say that in my time at Sinara this has indeed been very true. Sinara is the perfect place for a graduate software engineer to develop their skills.
Jake: From the start it was clear that Sinara cares about the wellbeing of employees. During the Covid-19 pandemic there was a focus on mental health, with weekly ‘coffee mornings’ and ‘afternoon teas’ used to give us all a chance to socialise and take our minds off work. Now we are returning to the office the company is offering lunch on Tuesdays, perhaps to encourage everyone to roll out of bed for the ‘all hands’ day. The management is keen to hear the opinions of its employees – there are monthly surveys to allow anonymous feedback and questions to management, and recently a question on the company’s environmental policy kickstarted a review.
About Sinara
Sinara is a well-established London-based software house providing software development services and software products to exchanges, financial institutions and market data vendors. We combine strong technical expertise with a pragmatic, flexible approach to deliver and support business-critical IT systems. We are based just south of Tower Bridge and are well located in the thriving Bermondsey district with excellent transport links including quick and easy access to London Bridge.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or relationship status.
To Apply
To apply for this position please complete all sections of the application online using the link below.
Note to Recruitment Agencies:
Sinara does not seek or acknowledge unsolicited Agency actions.
