Work-Study Software Engineer Program (No Tech Background Required) - Bletchley Fellowship
About the Bletchley Fellowship
The Bletchley Fellowship is a work-integrated fellowship program designed to align how technologists learn with how modern AI products are actually built and deployed.
Rather than treating education and employment as separate phases, the Fellowship intentionally combines structured learning with real, paid work on production systems. Fellows are placed with vetted employer partners while progressing through a rigorous curriculum focused on AI/ML and Data Science.
The Fellowship exists for individuals who want to build durable technical capability, work on meaningful systems, and develop real responsibility earlier and more deliberately than traditional career paths allow.
About The Program
The Fellowship is an 18-month program designed for individuals who have an undergraduate or graduate degree other than computer science, but desire to break into a career in Artificial Intelligence.
Fellows spend 4 months in an immersive engineering program and then are placed with employer partners building AI products or using AI to transform how software is designed, built, and shipped. Alongside their apprenticeship work, Fellows complete structured learning focused on data, machine learning, and AI systems in production environments.
This track is designed to support individuals looking to break into a career in AI, owning intelligent, product-driven systems.
Fellowship Structure
- Full-time commitment: 40 hours/week
- Phase 1 - 4 months
- ~40 hours/week of structured learning and applied coursework with an education partner
- Phase 2 - 14 months
- ~20 hours/week working as an apprentice engineer with an employer partner
- ~20 hours/week of structured learning and applied coursework with an education partner
- Phase 1 - 4 months
- Duration: 18 months
What You’ll Do
- Work as an apprentice AI Product Engineer
- Contribute to production software
- Build and extend systems that incorporate data, ML, and AI-driven workflows
- Collaborate in sprint-based development environments
- Write clean, maintainable, and testable code
- Participate in code reviews, debugging, documentation, and QA
- Apply data and machine learning concepts within real product constraints
- Build a portfolio of production-level work
- Receive mentorship from experienced engineers and product leaders
What You’ll Learn
- Core software engineering skills required for production environments
- How AI-enabled products are designed, built, and shipped in real organizations
- How software engineering, data science, and machine learning intersect in practice
- Patterns for integrating AI responsibly into production systems
- Modern AI development workflows and collaborative engineering practices
- How to reason about AI product requirements, user needs, and technical tradeoffs
- How to grow from a software engineer into a multidisciplinary AI Product Engineer
Who This Fellowship Is For
Requirements
- Must be currently living in the U.S.
- Must be authorized to work in the U.S. (no visa sponsorship available)
- Must be able to commit 40 hours/week for 18 months
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional work experience
- Successful completion of the Bletchley Fellowship Assessment
Preferred Background
- Some prior exposure to programming or technical work (academic, professional, or self-directed)
- Familiarity with basic web or software concepts
- Comfort learning in a fast-paced, applied environment
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
- Curiosity about AI systems and how they change how software is built
Compensation & Commitments
- Hourly Pay: $15/hour for 20 hours/week paid through an employer partner
- Time Commitment: 40 hours/week total (work and education combined)
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Duration: 18 months
Why the Fellowship Model
The Bletchley Fellowship is built on a simple premise: the most durable technical capability is developed in context, alongside real responsibility.
Fellows don’t wait years to apply what they’ve learned. They develop skill, judgment, and experience at the same time.