At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of data infrastructure and pipelines to support business operations.
- Company: Join a fast-paced tech startup with a focus on innovation and quality.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, equity options, private medical insurance, and fun team off-sites.
- Other info: Opportunity for high ownership and career growth in a dynamic environment.
- Why this job: Shape the future of data at Attio and make a real impact across the company.
- Qualifications: Experience in data engineering, cloud-native environments, and modern data tools.
The predicted salary is between 115000 - 145000 £ per year.
About the role
Our Engineering team tackles the toughest challenges, so our users never have to. Real‑time infrastructure, AI‑native architecture, and a frontend that feels effortless — all powered by a team that moves fast, thinks rigorously, and holds an exceptionally high bar for quality.
We’re hiring Attio’s first dedicated Data Engineering Lead to build the infrastructure, pipelines and standards that enable the company to operate on reliable, trusted data at scale. As our inaugural Lead Data Engineer, you’ll own and evolve our internal data platform end‑to‑end — improving reliability, enabling better decision‑making, and shaping the long‑term foundations of data across the business. Your work will directly support teams across Product, Engineering, Marketing, Finance and Go‑To‑Market.
We see this as far more than a traditional Data Engineering role. It’s an opportunity to define and shape Attio’s future data capability from the ground up — operating as a highly hands‑on senior IC initially, whilst helping establish the foundations, standards and strategic roadmap for how the broader data function evolves over time.
The role is ideally suited to someone who enjoys bringing structure to ambiguity, solving complex infrastructure challenges, and working closely with the business in a fast‑moving, product‑led environment. We’re looking for someone who is equally comfortable being hands‑on and building, whilst also thinking strategically about how scalable data systems, processes and teams should evolve over time.
What you’ll do
- Build and stabilise core data infrastructure: Design, build and maintain reliable, scalable pipelines and systems that ensure data flows correctly across the business and support critical operational and reporting workflows.
- Improve data reliability and observability: Own and improve the quality, resilience and maintainability of Attio’s broader data infrastructure — helping reduce operational risk and improve trust in the data underpinning the business.
- Shape Attio’s future data architecture: Partner closely with Product, Engineering and business stakeholders to define how our data platform should evolve over time, balancing immediate business needs with long‑term scalability.
- Enable better business decision‑making: Help create the foundational datasets, transformations and infrastructure required to support experimentation, analytics and operational reporting across the company.
- Operate as a senior technical leader: Bring clarity and direction within ambiguity — taking loosely defined problems, creating clear plans of execution, and driving outcomes with a high degree of ownership and autonomy.
- Help build the future data function: Contribute toward defining best practices, technical standards and longer‑term hiring plans as Attio’s data capability matures and scales over time.
What you’ll bring
- Strong Data Engineering foundations: Deep hands‑on experience designing and maintaining modern data infrastructure, pipelines and transformation layers within cloud‑native environments.
- Technical depth across modern data tooling: Strong hands‑on Data Engineering capability across modern tooling such as BigQuery, DBT, SQL and Python (or equivalent ecosystems e.g. Snowflake).
- Startup or scale‑up experience: You’ve operated within fast‑moving product or engineering‑led environments and understand how to balance speed, ambiguity and long‑term technical quality.
- Translation across abstraction levels: Able to move fluently between ambiguous business problems and precise technical implementation by translating effectively in both directions.
- Quantitative reasoning: Able to translate ambiguous business concepts (e.g. “activated workspace” or “qualified lead”) into clear, measurable and defensible definitions, with strong judgement around whether resulting outputs represent meaningful signal or simply noise.
- High ownership and autonomy: Comfortable operating as a senior IC with minimal direction. You have experience being responsible for problems end‑to‑end and driving them through to resolution.
- Pragmatic technical leadership: You’re able to bring structure and prioritisation to unclear problem spaces, communicate effectively with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, and influence decisions across the business.
- Commercial and operational awareness: You understand that data infrastructure is not just an engineering problem: it directly impacts product velocity, reporting accuracy, experimentation capability and commercial performance.
- Bias for action: You move with urgency, enjoy solving difficult problems, and are equally comfortable operating strategically as you are rolling up your sleeves and building directly.
What we offer
- Competitive salary of £115,000 - £145,000
- Equity in an early‑stage tech company on an incredible trajectory
- Private medical insurance through AXA
- Pension contribution through Hargreaves Lansdown
- Enhanced family leave
- Team off‑site in fun places! (We've been to Barcelona, Lisbon, Malta, and Split so far)
Data Engineering Lead in London employer: Attio Ltd
At Attio, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that fosters a dynamic and innovative work culture. As the first dedicated Data Engineering Lead, you'll have the unique opportunity to shape our data capabilities from the ground up while enjoying competitive salaries, equity in a rapidly growing tech company, and comprehensive benefits including private medical insurance and enhanced family leave. Our collaborative environment encourages personal growth and offers exciting team off-sites in vibrant locations, making Attio not just a workplace, but a community where your contributions truly matter.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Data Engineering Lead in London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to people in the industry, attend meetups, and connect with potential colleagues on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your data engineering projects. This gives you a chance to demonstrate your hands-on experience and technical depth, which is super important for roles like Data Engineering Lead.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by brushing up on your problem-solving skills. Be ready to tackle real-world scenarios and explain how you’d approach complex infrastructure challenges. Remember, they want to see how you think and operate under pressure!
✨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 genuinely interested in joining our team and contributing to Attio's future data capability.
We think you need these skills to ace Data Engineering Lead in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Hands-On Experience:When you're writing your application, make sure to highlight your hands-on experience with data infrastructure and pipelines. We want to see how you've tackled real-world challenges and what tools you've used, like BigQuery or SQL. This is your chance to show us you can walk the walk!
Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application clear and to the point. We appreciate straightforward communication, so avoid jargon unless it's necessary. Make it easy for us to see your skills and experiences without wading through fluff.
Connect Your Experience to Our Needs:Tailor your application to reflect how your background aligns with our goals at Attio. Mention specific projects where you've improved data reliability or shaped data architecture, and explain how that experience will help us build a robust data function.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows us you’re keen on joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Attio Ltd
✨Know Your Data Tools
Make sure you’re well-versed in the modern data tooling mentioned in the job description, like BigQuery, DBT, SQL, and Python. Be ready to discuss your hands-on experience with these tools and how you've used them to build scalable data infrastructure.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare examples of how you've tackled complex infrastructure challenges in previous roles. Highlight your ability to bring structure to ambiguity and how you’ve driven outcomes with minimal direction. This will demonstrate your ownership and autonomy.
✨Understand the Business Impact
Be ready to discuss how data infrastructure impacts product velocity, reporting accuracy, and overall business performance. Show that you understand the commercial side of data engineering and can translate technical concepts into business value.
✨Prepare for Strategic Discussions
Think about how you would shape Attio’s future data architecture. Be prepared to discuss your vision for evolving data platforms and how you would balance immediate needs with long-term scalability. This shows you’re not just a builder but also a strategic thinker.
