Booking.com Compass

Helping students and recent graduates navigate their early and evolving careers

Software Engineering Graduate Programme Shanghai

Offering a broad scope of work to passionate new grads, our Shanghai Software Engineering graduate programme takes you into the heart of travel tech. You’ll gain practical experience across multiple departments, honing your skills while working on real-world projects that impact our travellers and partners. Your colleagues will be experienced engineers, and you’ll receive support throughout your journey, from our onboarding bootcamp to your personal mentor.

What do you need to know?

The 12 months rotation programme is designed for students graduating in 2024 and 2025. It will start in September 2025, and applications for the programme will open in the end of February 2025.

This programme is a unique opportunity to launch your professional journey, develop your technical expertise, and contribute to our mission of making it easier for everyone to experience the world.

As part of the 12 months programme in Shanghai you will

Join our 12-month programme and gain experience across our diverse business units.
As a Graduate Software Engineer at Booking.com, you will be a permanent team member, working alongside experienced engineers to design and deliver services and products, offering customers the best selection of properties and rooms.
Receive guidance and support throughout the programme with a dedicated mentor, onboarding bootcamp, learning exploration, and opportunities to develop technical expertise through two rotations within the engineering business unit.
Launch your professional career and learn software engineering principles and practices at one of the world’s leading travel companies, building the future of travel one line of code at a time.
Collaborate with a team of engineers to develop and deliver high-quality software solutions, coordinate end-to-end project delivery, learn new technologies, contribute to the evolution of engineering processes, and write clear, concise user documentation.

Our people’s perspectives

As a Junior Software Engineer in the Partner Offer Inventory team, I work on exciting projects that help provide customers with competitive partner rates across different scenarios. Starting with manageable tasks that gradually increased in complexity, I have grown from handling basic implementations to tackling medium-complexity tasks independently. The company's strong emphasis on graduate development, combined with my supportive team, has accelerated my learning journey significantly. The mentorship programme and buddy system have been invaluable in helping me navigate both technical challenges and professional growth, making my transition into my first software engineering role smooth and rewarding.

Luke

Junior Software Engineer

Marketplace

During the grad programme, I contributed to our partner authorization system, allowing us to show the right information to the right partners at the right time. It was an amazing opportunity to collaborate with multiple teams, and I was happy to see the impact of my work!

Egon

Junior Software Engineer

Core Platforms

As a Junior Software Engineer, I am now working on both a real-time session data management platform and privacy consent assurance using Java. Ramping up knowledge in two domains at the same time is a challenge for me. Throughout the whole process, my manager and mentor have been consistently supporting me, recapping my learnings and sharing their own experiences, all of which have greatly helped me become more independent and professional in handling tasks.

Kana

Junior Software Engineer

Marketplace

Our interview process

1. Application

Write us a CV that expresses your love of learning and interest in developing your technical skills.

2. Technical at-home test

This is your chance to show off your tech capabilities and how they align with the role.

3. Recruiter phone interview

You’re getting close! Now we want to know more about who you are as a person. Share the experiences that shaped you, your expectations of the role and motivations for joining the Booking.com Team.

4. In-person assessment centre in Shanghai office

Take a deep breath – you’re in for a fun-filled day of getting to know us. You’ll explore the culture of Booking.com and meet your potential team through one-on-one interviews and group activities.

Find your place at Booking.com

Whether at our Amsterdam HQ, Manchester or Shanghai, our apprenticeships, internships and graduate programmes partner you with talented mentors as you develop your skills. Once completed, we’ll help you level up with an offer of a permanent role, so you can get your career in travel tech off to a flying start.

If you have questions about our programmes, you can reach out to us at graduates@booking.com or sign up to our Early Careers Talent Network for special access to our job opportunities and upcoming events.

Join our Talent Network