Salary: £125,000 + Benefits/Bonus

Own the rebuild of a modern data platform from the ground up.

Were working with a business in the middle of a high-impact data transformationmoving away from legacy constraints towards a scalable, cloud-first architecture. Theyre looking for a Principal Data Engineer to take a leading role in that journey.

This isnt a role where you inherit a polished environment. Its an opportunity to shape, modernise, and influencefrom refactoring legacy pipelines to building best-in-class data products using tools like Databricks, Azure, and GCP.

Youll operate as the technical authority within the data function, setting standards, mentoring engineers, and working closely with both internal teams and external delivery partners.

The RoleData Engineering & Pipeline Development

• Transform legacy batch processes into scalable, observable data pipelines
• Build and deliver high-quality data products in line with architectural designs
• Work across modern cloud platforms including Databricks, Azure, and GCP

Engineering Leadership & Collaboration

• Act as the technical authority for third-party and contract engineers
• Contribute to engineering communities and help define best practices
• Drive adoption of global standards across security, performance, and code quality

Operational Performance

• Troubleshoot and resolve critical data issues with urgency
• Deliver long-term fixes rather than short-term patches wherever possible
• Optimise pipelines and queries to improve performance and control cloud costs

Stakeholder Engagement & Mentorship

• Partner with Business Analysts to ensure data solutions deliver real value
• Mentor and support engineers through pairing and knowledge sharing
• Champion engineering excellence across the team

About You

• Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
• Strong experience (typically 5+ years) in data engineering roles
• Advanced skills in Python and SQL
• Hands-on experience with Databricks, Azure, and GCP/BigQuery
• Proven ability to work across both legacy systems and modern cloud environments

Key Skills

• DevOps mindset you automate wherever possible and write clean, testable code
• Pragmatic approach focused on delivering value without overengineering
• Strong communicator confident engaging with stakeholders across the business

Why Apply?

• High-impact role with real ownership of platform direction
• Opportunity to modernise and shape a large-scale data estate
• Work in a collaborative, engineering-led environment
• Influence tooling, standards, and long-term strategy