Senior Data Engineer

Lead Data Engineer - Permanent - Swindon (3 days a week) - up to £75k

We are seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design, build, and maintain the integrity of our core data platform. You will serve as the technical authority for data engineering, ensuring our organisation has a secure, trusted foundation for reporting, analytics, and strategic insight.

As a player-coach, you will lead the BI team, driving data-enabled decision-making while ensuring our architecture is scalable, compliant, and aligned with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Architecture & Implementation: Own the Data Warehouse lifecycle, ensuring high availability, security, and scalability.
• Data Integration: Build and maintain robust pipelines to ingest and transform data from diverse systems (Salesforce, NetSuite, and digital platforms).
• Team Leadership: Manage and mentor the BI team, providing technical direction and fostering a high-performance culture.
• Data Governance & Security: Implement validation practices, metadata management, and data lineage to ensure GDPR compliance and data integrity.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Act as a bridge between technical teams and business leaders to translate reporting needs into actionable technical solutions.
• Strategic Input: Evaluate new technologies and provide expert advice on programs requiring integrated data and analytics.

Person Specification

Experience & Qualifications

• Proven experience leading data engineering or BI teams within complex environments.
• Hands-on expertise in designing and implementing Enterprise Data Warehouses.
• Track record of building secure data pipelines across multiple source systems.
• A degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Relevant certifications (e.g., Azure/AWS Data Engineer, Snowflake) are highly desirable.

Technical Knowledge

• Methodologies: Strong grasp of Data Vault, Kimball, or equivalent design patterns.
• Tools: Expert-level SQL, ETL/ELT pipeline development, and modern engineering tools.
• Platforms: Proficiency with cloud-based services (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and Power BI.
• Compliance: Deep understanding of data security, GDPR, and governance frameworks.

Core Competencies

• Exceptional leadership and mentoring capabilities.
• Ability to balance long-term architectural health with pragmatic, timely delivery.
• Strong communication skills, capable of engaging both technical and non-technical stakeholders.