As an Apprentice Engineer - Backend, you will be placed on an engineering team at LinkedIn and build scalable infrastructure or backend business logic to support product use cases. You will help us scale LinkedIn’s infrastructure to handle massive data growth across the LinkedIn ecosystem as we experience dramatic growth in membership and products. You will utilize distributed systems and algorithms, develop applications at scale, learn from fellow engineers and managers, and build key skills that can be applied to a future career in engineering. Apprentices will also be given a percentage of time to focus on their own personal technical development, using both internal and external educational resources. The time in program is a one year minimum and a five year maximum in the apprenticeship. 

At LinkedIn, we trust each other to do our best work where it works best for us and our teams. This role offers a hybrid work option, meaning you can both work from home and commute to a LinkedIn office, depending on what’s best for you and when it is important for your team to be together.

This role is hybrid and will be based out of our Mountain View, CA office.

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work in the US for LinkedIn without requiring visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Our application process is designed to give individuals the opportunity to show us a range of qualities we believe will make them successful engineers. This includes their drive and ability to learn, tenacity and work ethic, unique perspective and passion for engineering. As part of the application process, individuals are required to submit responses to all components of the following three questions and responses will be reviewed for completeness as well as content. 

Please note, resumes and LinkedIn profiles will NOT be considered as part of the evaluation for REACH. Therefore, please make sure that any information you would like us to know is highlighted in your application responses. While working on your application responses, prioritize authenticity. Your genuine narrative, story, and experiences are essential for evaluating your candidacy and helps us understand your unique qualities within the candidate pool.

While LinkedIn profiles will not be reviewed in our hiring process, you must have a LinkedIn profile when applying in order for LinkedIn to receive your application through our applicant tracking system. In case you are new to LinkedIn or if you’d like some help in updating your profile, please visit this page or this video to see tips for creating a LinkedIn profile. 

1. Your Personal Story and Impact

Please answer all parts listed below. We recommend your complete answer to this question be between 400 and 700 words.

a.    At LinkedIn, we strive for a culture that embraces and represents diverse ways of thinking, background, and approaches to solving the world’s problems. Tell us how your unique experiences and background shape the point of view that you will bring to LinkedIn. We are looking to understand your unique perspective, story, and background, along with how that influences the point of view you will bring to LinkedIn and your work as an engineer.

b.    We are looking for apprentices who are committed to reaching their goal of becoming an engineer.  Tell us how you have demonstrated continuous perseverance and tenacity to achieve a long-term goal or overcome challenges and setbacks throughout your life. This could include personal and professional experiences.

 

2. Your Journey into Programming

Please answer all parts listed below. We recommend your complete answer to this question be between 500 and 900 words.

a.    We recognize that there are many paths to programming and we would like you to walk us through yours. Tell us what sparked your interest in becoming a programmer and why you decided to explore that interest.

b.    How have you grown your skills independently or formally (consider personal projects, volunteer work, bootcamps, courses, or professional roles)? Beyond applying to this program, share how you plan to continue mastering coding and how it fits into your long-term goals.

c.       What appeals to you specifically about the Backend Apprentice Engineer role over the other REACH apprenticeship roles? We recommend that you reference the position guidance to understand the role you are applying to. We are looking to understand how this interest has been demonstrated. Consider projects you have worked on, courses you have taken, prior positions you have enjoyed, etc.

 

3. Your Engineering Talent

Please answer all parts listed below. We recommend that your complete answer to this question be at least 400 words, but please use as many words as you need so that we fully understand your coding examples. In your answer, we would ideally like to see direct links to code you have written that you are most proud of, and that demonstrate your awesome ability. For example, you can send us a link to your Github project, but even better would be a link to files inside the Github project that shows off your skills! We also love demo sites, videos, and outside of the box thinking! Do not use formatting or hyperlinks. Include the full URL link to any media (YouTube, GitHub, Vimeo, etc.). 

If you cannot share a link to the code that you’ve written, please make sure to describe the project in detail and give us as much information as you can about the project. We will need to understand your project without seeing the code, so please help us to do that.


Every engineer at LinkedIn writes code. Part of our evaluation process for this program is to understand your coding ability.

a.    Tell us about coding projects that you have completed in the past or are currently working on. Please share links to code you have written, a product or website you have built, an open-source project you have contributed to, and/or your favorite problem that you have solved. Where possible, please include independent or solo projects where we can see your direct contributions. If your examples include group work, please describe your individual contribution to the project.

b.    In addition to your examples, please tell us about what interesting challenges you faced, any gaps in knowledge you had to bridge, or new frameworks, algorithms, or data structures you utilized to solve a problem. Highlight how this coding work demonstrates your interest in this particular role. 

1. Review the job descriptions and application questions in the “Apprenticeship Roles- February 2025 Cohort” section (details will be posted on October 11th, 2024). Please identify the role(s) you feel are the best fit. While we invite you to apply to multiple roles, you can move forward with at most one role. We, therefore, advise you to only plan to apply for the roles you would want to be hired into, and for which you are qualified.
   
   2. Review the application questions for the positions you are interested in (posted in the role-specific pages) and draft your responses per the guidelines given.
   
   3. Submit your application and essay responses between October 11th - October 15th at 11:59PM PT.

Q: When is the next application period?   
A: We accept applications a few times a year, please check back early 2025. The dates will be posted on this site once confirmed.

Q: How many apprentices are you accepting?  
A: We expect to hire approximately 10-35 apprentices each cycle. Exact number of hires will depend on the program’s capacity as well as business need at the time.  

Q: What roles are you hiring for?  
A:    Our available roles vary from cohort to cohort. Generally, we have encompassed roles such as Software Engineering (Backend, Frontend, Mobile, etc.), Data Science, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning, and other roles including User Experience Researcher, Technical Program Manager, and Cyber Security. To access the most up-to-date roles being offered, please refer to the "Apprentieship Roles- February 2025 Cohort" section.

Q: Is relocation offered?  
A:  Yes, relocation is offered. Our standard relocation policies and packages apply.  
  
Q: What office location will these roles be based in?  
A: At LinkedIn, we trust each other to do our best work where it works best for us and our teams. This role offers a hybrid work option, meaning you can both work from home and commute to a LinkedIn office, depending on what’s best for you and when it is important for your team to be together. 

All roles within the February 2025 cohort offer a hybrid work arrangement. The majority of our hybrid teams are based out of our Mountain View, CA office. However, we also have teams located in our San Francisco office, and on occasion, our New York office. To find the precise office location for the track you are interested in, please visit the respective track-specific page.

Q: Will LinkedIn sponsor my visa?  
A: Apprentice roles are not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work in the US for LinkedIn without requiring visa sponsorship now or in the future.  
  
Q: How is team placement determined?  
A: The program team will determine which team an individual joins, keeping in mind the apprentice’s interests. Team assignments will be based on several factors in order to set the individual up for success.  

Q: Are all applications reviewed?
A: Based on high volume of interest, we will not be able to review all applications. However, all applicants within this period will have an equal likelihood of review (i.e. applications will not be reviewed on a first come first serve basis).

Q: Do you need a LinkedIn profile in order to apply?
A: While LinkedIn profiles will not be reviewed in our hiring process, you must have a LinkedIn profile when applying in order for LinkedIn to receive your application through our applicant tracking system. In case you are new to LinkedIn or if you’d like some help in updating your profile, please visit this page or this video to see tips for creating a LinkedIn profile.