Company Overview
Bright Network is a leading data and tech platform focused on building the workforce of tomorrow. With over 1 million members and partnerships with 300+ global companies including Amazon, Google, and HSBC, they’re on a mission to connect talent with opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. The company has secured £10M+ in venture capital backing and is expanding internationally, having launched in the German market in 2022.
Company Mission and Purpose
Bright Network’s mission is centered around the belief that “talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.” They aim to change this by:
- Empowering the next generation with insights, advice, and guidance
- Connecting members with leading employers
- Using first-class technology and a personal approach to change the graduate careers landscape
- Building innovative features that solve real-world problems for student members and employer clients
Core Values
Bright Network’s culture is guided by three core values:
1. Growth Mindset
- Proactively seeking opportunities for self-improvement
- Learning fast from failures and trying again
- Seeking improvement rather than perfection
- Embracing feedback from everyone
2. Will to Win
- Consistently exceeding expectations
- Delivering high-quality results for the business
- Bringing focus, resilience, and passion
- Thinking commercially to achieve incredible things
3. Trusted to Deliver
- Being a dependable team player
- Taking time to listen, empathize, and understand
- Making business-led decisions
- Delivering on commitments
- Being honest about mistakes and asking for help when needed
- Avoiding politics and seeking positive solutions to challenge
Company Culture
Bright Network has built what they describe as an “incredible & high-performance culture” with these characteristics:
- “No egos” environment focused on high performance with psychological safety
- Significant autonomy and influence on technology and processes
- Limited bureaucracy (“very little red tape or unnecessary constraints”)
- Evidence and data-driven decision-making
- Balance between ambitious objectives and personal development
- Collaborative and supportive team environment
- Comfort with experimentation, innovation, and failure
- Focus on world-class engineering to build high-quality, scalable products
Employee Benefits
Bright Network offers a comprehensive benefits package including:
- Flexible wellbeing budget (£50 monthly)
- Private healthcare through BUPA
- Generous annual leave (28 days + 2 weeks Christmas closure + bank holidays)
- Enhanced pension contribution (5% employer contribution via Aviva)
- Flexible and hybrid working with “work from anywhere” policy
- Home office budget
- Learning opportunities (monthly Lunch & Learns and training budget)
- Team socials and office spaces in London & Edinburgh
- Financial incentives (annual bonus scheme, employee referrals, peer-nominated awards)
Tech & Product Team
- Currently a team of 14 members
- Building innovative features for student members and employer clients
- Key projects include:
- Talent Tracker: Employer analytics platform built with React, Shadcn, GraphQL API, Prisma, and Elasticsearch
- New AI-Driven Project: A greenfield initiative leveraging Vercel AI SDK, TanStack, Redis
- Services eployed on AWS and managed with Terraform
- Evolving architecture based on growing needs
Interview Process for Senior Software Engineer
The interview process consists of three stages:
- Initial call: 30-minute Zoom call with Senior Talent Partner
- 1st round: Technical test followed by a technical interview
- Final round: Values & culture interview and final meeting with Platform CEO
What Technical Organizations Look For
In technical interviews, Bright Network looks for candidates with:
- Strong technical knowledge specific to the job role
- Thirst to learn more about relevant technologies and the industry
- Problem-solving abilities
- Good reasoning and analytical skills
- Ability to handle pressure
Types of Technical Interview Questions
Technical interview questions at Bright Network typically focus on:
- Technical work required in day-to-day role
- Understanding of broader technical activities of the organization
- Relevant modules from degree courses
- Technical problem examples and how candidates would respond
Company Achievements
Bright Network has received several awards and recognitions:
- Great Place To Work certification
- Tiara Awards 2022: Workforce Solution of the Year (with EY)
- Institute of Student Employers Award 2022: Outstanding Employer and Supplier Recruitment Partnership (with EY)
- Tiara Awards 2022: Learning Solution of the Year (with Lloyds Banking Group)
- RAD Awards nomination: Championing diversity and inclusion (with Clyde & Co)
- Institute of Student Employers Award 2021: Outstanding Employer and Supplier Recruitment Partnership (with Clyde & Co)
Company Growth and Future
- Recently launched internationally into the German market in 2022
- Further growth planned
- Strong internal progression opportunities (approximately 20% of team receive promotions yearly)
- Evolving architecture and technological choices as needs grow