Lead, People Data & Insights Engineer

Lead, People Data & Insights Engineer

Full-Time 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
Arrow McLaren IndyCar

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead data initiatives for People Analytics, transforming HR needs into scalable data solutions.
  • Company: Join McLaren, a pioneering racing team setting high performance standards.
  • Benefits: Hybrid working, private healthcare, gym access, and generous pension contributions.
  • Other info: Work at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre with excellent career growth opportunities.
  • Why this job: Be part of racing history while driving impactful data insights in a dynamic environment.
  • Qualifications: Experience with HR data, advanced SQL skills, and strong analytics capabilities.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

At McLaren, our mission is to set the standard for high performance in sport. And everyone, in every part of the team, has a role to play. So if you want to test your ideas with the world watching and measure your progress in milliseconds, you belong here. High performance starts with you.

Purpose of the role:

  • Part of our People Technology & Data team, acting as the data owner for People Analytics, translating People Team needs into scalable data assets.
  • Partnering with our Workday Product Owner to align data structures, effective dating, security roles, and releases with downstream reporting and analytics requirements.
  • Empowering our People Team with consistent metric definitions and self-serve reporting layers, reducing manual reporting and improving comparability.
  • Acting as a key interface to Data Governance/Privacy/Security, embedding controls, auditability, and access management appropriate for sensitive People data.
  • Collaborating with multiple different stakeholders across Finance, Enterprise Data & IT where needed to reconcile headcount and cost views, explore integration opportunities with non-HR sources, and align with broader analytics standards.
  • Architecture decisions and roadmap priorities are set in partnership with the Head of People Technology & Data. This role is accountable for delivery and continuous improvement within that direction.

Principal Accountabilities:

  • Owning end-to-end People data pipelines into Workday Prism, spanning data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration.
  • Designing and maintaining curated data models (including legacy data) that support consistent, reusable workforce metrics and analysis-ready datasets.
  • Enabling dashboards and reporting through high-quality data sets and clear metric definitions, translating business questions into usable, self-serve outputs.
  • Optimising and evolving key workforce data and insights packs used by leadership.
  • Embedding privacy-by-design and data governance principles to meet policy and regulatory requirements.
  • Creating clear documentation (data dictionary, metric catalogue, lineage) to enable confident and consistent data use.
  • Using analytics (and where applicable data science techniques) to measure the effectiveness of People initiatives and deliver actionable insights.
  • Implementing data quality controls and monitoring to ensure reliability, auditability, and trust in outputs.
  • Developing foundational data structures to support the adoption of AI-driven analytics tools.
  • Supporting ad-hoc data requests and regulatory reporting where needed.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

  • Experience working with HR Data, strategy and processes.
  • Advanced SQL and Power Query skills, and strong experience working with large, complex datasets (ideally People/workforce data).
  • Advanced Workday HCM reporting.
  • Hands-on experience Workday Prism Analytics or equivalent data warehouse, including data modelling and building analysis-ready datasets.
  • Proven experience managing ETL/ELT pipelines.
  • Strong analytics and data visualisation capability (e.g., Power BI and Workday dashboards; Excel for prototyping), with an ability to translate business questions into clear metrics and outputs.
  • Applied data science experience: statistical analysis, experimentation/measurement, forecasting and/or predictive modelling.
  • Strong attention to detail and commitment to data integrity, privacy and security, with practical knowledge of access controls and handling sensitive People data.

What can McLaren offer?

We constantly strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. Our ambition is to be the most pioneering and exhilarating racing team in the world, and our collective task is to set the standards for high performance in sport. We show up every day with energy and enthusiasm, ready to play our part. We encourage and support diversity, equity and inclusion. We will actively promote a culture that values difference and eliminates discrimination in our workplace.

McLaren Racing is based at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) near Woking. Here at McLaren, we offer hybrid working with 3 days a week based in the MTC. Our state of the art, sustainable campus offers many facilities including a gym, restaurant and indoor and outdoor break-out areas, as well as direct access to park and common land. The MTC is connected to Woking mainline station via regular shuttle buses, from which London Waterloo is a 30 minute train ride. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including private healthcare, car schemes, life insurance and generous pension contributions.

Lead, People Data & Insights Engineer employer: Arrow McLaren IndyCar

At McLaren, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that champions high performance and innovation. Our vibrant work culture fosters collaboration and inclusivity, while our state-of-the-art McLaren Technology Centre near Woking provides a stimulating environment for personal and professional growth. With a comprehensive benefits package and a commitment to employee well-being, we empower our team to excel and make a meaningful impact in the world of motorsport.

Arrow McLaren IndyCar

Contact Details:

Arrow McLaren IndyCar Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Lead, People Data & Insights Engineer

Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at McLaren on LinkedIn. Ask them about their experiences and any tips they might have for landing a role in the People Data & Insights team.

Tip Number 2

Prepare for your interview by brushing up on your SQL and data visualisation skills. Be ready to discuss how you've tackled complex datasets in the past and how you can bring that expertise to McLaren.

Tip Number 3

Show your passion for high performance! Research McLaren's mission and values, and think about how your experience aligns with their goals. Bring that enthusiasm into your conversations.

Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you're serious about joining the McLaren team.

We think you need these skills to ace Lead, People Data & Insights Engineer

People Analytics
Data Ownership
Workday HCM Reporting
SQL
Power Query
Data Modelling
ETL/ELT Pipelines Management

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show Your Passion:When you're writing your application, let your enthusiasm for the role shine through! We want to see how your passion for data and insights aligns with our mission at McLaren. Make it personal and relatable!

Tailor Your CV:Don’t just send a generic CV! Take the time to tailor it to the job description. Highlight your experience with HR data, SQL, and any relevant projects that showcase your skills. We love seeing how you can fit into our team!

Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application clear and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make it easy for us to read. We appreciate straightforward communication, especially when it comes to complex data topics!

Apply Through Our Website:Make sure to apply through our official website! It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it gives you a chance to explore more about what we do at McLaren!

How to prepare for a job interview at Arrow McLaren IndyCar

Know Your Data Inside Out

Make sure you’re well-versed in the specifics of People data, especially how it relates to HR processes. Brush up on your SQL and Power Query skills, as you'll likely be asked to demonstrate your ability to work with complex datasets during the interview.

Understand McLaren's Culture

Familiarise yourself with McLaren’s mission and values. They’re all about high performance and teamwork, so think about how your personal values align with theirs. Be ready to discuss how you can contribute to their goal of setting standards in sport.

Prepare for Technical Questions

Expect questions around ETL/ELT pipelines and data governance principles. Have examples ready that showcase your experience with Workday Prism Analytics and how you've implemented data quality controls in past roles.

Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills

Be prepared to discuss how you've tackled challenges in previous roles, particularly in translating business needs into actionable data insights. Use specific examples to illustrate your analytical thinking and how you’ve collaborated with different stakeholders.