Principal Data Engineer

Principal Data Engineer

Department: Services

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Remote, UK

Compensation: £100,000 - £130,000 / year

Description

As a Principal Data Engineer, you will serve as the bridge between complex technical architecture and strategic business value. This is a high-impact, client-facing leadership role designed for an expert who can navigate deep technical challenges while maintaining a "customer-first" mindset. You will be the primary technical authority for our clients, ensuring their data platforms are resilient, scalable, and aligned with their long-term business goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Customer Excellence & Stakeholder Management: Act as the primary strategic partner to client business owners, aligning technical data solutions with corporate goals while championing reliability and "clean data" for all consumers.
• Solution Architecture & Tech Strategy: Drive the development of complex, large-scale data architectures and multi-year technology roadmaps, balancing technical innovation with cost efficiency and operational stability.
• Delivery & Execution: Oversee "team-of-teams" delivery performance, ensuring the quality and resilience of high-impact data pipelines while managing capacity planning and team velocity.
• Incident Management & Resilience: Lead the triage and resolution of critical platform incidents, taking full ownership of root-cause prevention and maintaining transparent communication with clients during recovery.
• Governance, Risk & Compliance: Implement robust governance frameworks and compliance controls, acting as the authoritative lead on risk mitigation and the primary technical contact for regulatory matters.
• Knowledge Management & Mentorship: Champion an organisational culture of knowledge sharing, representing the firm at industry events and establishing best practices across communities of practice.
• Business Strategy: Influence long-term organizational health by driving platform efficiency, managing engineering budgets, and leading strategic hiring and retention initiatives.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential:

• Proven experience in a principal engineering role.
• Extensive experience with cloud data platforms such as Azure or AWS, with a focus on Databricks.
• Highly skilled with Pythonic data processing tools such as Pyspark and SparkSQL.
• Strong understanding of data modelling concepts relational and non-relational databases.
• Proficiency in SQL and experience with data integration and ETL tools.
• Excellent knowledge of big data technologies and frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of data governance and data security best practices.
• Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail and a consultative approach.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Benefits

• Remote-first working with flexibility around client needs.
• Private health insurance.
• Projects with global brands & public sector leaders, working on real-world impact.
• Exclusive access to AWS & Databricks certifications, training, and partner tools.
• A collaborative culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.
• A lead role in shaping delivery standards and future Data & Consulting practices within the firm.
• Competitive salary, bonus structure, and long-term growth opportunities.