At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and delivery of secure, scalable data solutions for critical operations.
- Company: Join Leonardo UK, a leader in defence and technology with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Generous leave, award-winning pension, mental health support, and flexible working options.
- Other info: Opportunities for continuous learning with access to 4,000+ online courses.
- Why this job: Shape data strategy and make a real impact in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Strong Python and SQL skills, experience in data engineering, and leadership abilities.
The predicted salary is between 53269 - 68000 £ per year.
Job Description
Leonardo UK operates a grade‑based salary framework with broad bands.
The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market.
Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.
Your impact
As a Principal Data Engineer you will lead the design and delivery of secure, scalable data solutions that underpin critical defence, government and commercial operations.
You will act as a technical authority and people manager, guiding engineering teams through the full data lifecycle—from raw data to actionable insight across hybrid and cloud environments.
This role blends technical leadership, stakeholder engagement and team development, offering the opportunity to shape data strategy and capability across multiple programmes.
The role will involve a blended hybrid working model, with a mixture of working from home and working on site at one of Leonardo’s offices to ensure close collaboration with the wider team and with customers.
What you will do as a Principal Data Engineer
- Provide technical leadership and oversight for data engineering delivery within your team.
- Lead the design, implementation and maintenance of end‑to‑end data solutions: acquisition, integration, storage, processing and analysis.
- Implement scalable data solutions using big‑data architectures and workflow management systems.
- Guide the development of tools for data‑driven insights and task automation.
- Continuously test and monitor systems to improve performance and reliability.
- Research and adopt emerging technologies.
- Work with cloud platforms and diverse operating systems.
- Support development and deployment of machine‑learning models.
- Collaborate with Dev Ops engineers, data scientists, analysts and cyber consultants.
- Mentor and coach junior data engineers, while managing project tasks across your own and their workloads.
- Support technology assessments, feasibility studies and roadmap development.
- Engage with stakeholders and customers, presenting and defending technical solutions.
- Manage a small team of direct reports, providing guidance, mentorship and support for their career development.
- Support the effective operation of the wider team through utilisation tracking, chairing team meetings and resource management.
- What you’ll bring
- Demonstrated leadership in data engineering, with experience managing and mentoring others.
- Ability to take ownership of engineering delivery and drive team performance.
- Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
- A proactive mindset with a commitment to continuous learning and capability development.
- Proven ability to work across disciplines and collaborate effectively in multi‑functional teams.
- A strategic approach to problem‑solving and technical decision‑making.
- Core Areas (must have)
- Strong Python and SQL skills.
- Experience with ETL flows, data pipelines and orchestration tools.
- Understanding of database architecture (SQL and No SQL).
- Experience with cloud technologies and platforms.
- Experience with CI/CD practices.
- Experience with big‑data tools such as Spark, Hadoop and Ni Fi.
- Experience managing direct reports, providing regular guidance and performance feedback.
- Ability to create delivery plans with estimated timelines for personal and team workloads.
- Experience supporting machine‑learning model deployment and Dev Ops collaboration.
Desirable
- Degree in STEM, Data, AI or a related field.
- Awareness of data security best practices.
- Experience designing data architecture.
- Experience scaling infrastructure and code (e. g. Kubernetes).
- Exposure to Ansible and Terraform.
- Understanding of machine‑learning algorithms and deployment.
- Security Clearance
This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).
Further personnel security controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, which could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV).
For more information and guidance, see the company’s security and vetting page.
Why join us
Time to Recharge
Generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi‑days each year.
Secure your Future
Award‑winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
Your Wellbeing Matters
Free access to mental health support, financial advice and employee‑led networks championing inclusion and diversity.
Rewarding Performance : All employees at management level and below are eligible for the bonus scheme.
Never Stop Learning : Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and Linked In Learning.
Refer a friend : Receive a financial reward through the referral programme.
Tailored Perks : Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
Flexible working : Flexible hours with hybrid working options.
Additional information: Primary location – GB – Bristol – Coldharbour Lane. Contract type – Permanent. Hybrid working – Hybrid.
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