At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design of innovative data services and ensure data reliability across multiple products.
- Company: Join Black Duck Software, a pioneer in application security and data solutions.
- Benefits: Enjoy a hybrid work model, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with flexible hours and minimal travel.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by building secure, high-quality data products that drive innovation.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in data platforms, strong SQL and Python skills required.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
Black Duck Software, Inc. helps organizations build secure, high-quality software, minimising risks while maximising speed and productivity. Black Duck, a recognised pioneer in application security, provides SAST, SCA, and DAST solutions that enable teams to quickly find and fix vulnerabilities and defects in proprietary code, open source components, and application behaviour.
What you’ll do:
- Lead the design and build-out of cross-product data services for multiple product lines from one governed data plane.
- Define the “customer data plane” model: canonical customer identifiers, shared dimensions, and consistent facts used across products.
- Build and operationalise ingestion patterns for batch, streaming, and event data, with repeatable onboarding for new sources.
- Own the operational playbook for data reliability: data contracts, quality checks, lineage, monitoring, and incident response.
- Implement and run access methods that make data usable: curated datasets, secure query interfaces, and product-ready data APIs where needed.
- Productise customer-facing data products (datasets, metrics, exports, and feeds) with versioning, documentation, and clear ownership.
- Design data models that fit both operational systems (RDS) and analytics stores (columnar/OLAP), including performance and cost tuning.
- Ensure data products also power ML workflows: trusted training datasets, feature-ready outputs, and consistent definitions for decision-making.
- Enable AI automation by delivering reliable, low-latency, governed data products that can be used safely in automated workflows.
- Partner closely with product, engineering, and security stakeholders to align data products to roadmap priorities and customer outcomes.
- Raise the technical bar through architecture reviews, standards, and mentoring—while staying hands-on in key systems.
Required:
- Significant experience building and operating production data platforms at scale, including on-call and operational ownership.
- Strong SQL skills and strong Python skills, used to build pipelines, services, and automation.
- Hands-on experience running cloud systems on AWS and Google Cloud (IaaS level: compute, storage, networking, IAM).
- Practical experience with both operational databases (RDS-style) and analytics stores (columnar/OLAP), including performance tuning.
- Strong data modelling ability, including schema evolution, conformed dimensions, and “one source of truth” metric definitions.
- Track record of delivering data products that other teams or customers depend on, with clear contracts and reliability expectations.
- Ability to make sound engineering tradeoffs across latency, accuracy, cost, and security without creating brittle complexity.
- Experience with lakehouse patterns and open table formats (or similar), including governance and table maintenance.
- Experience with orchestration and streaming systems used in production (batch + real-time), and managing backfills safely.
- Familiarity with ML data needs (training/serving splits, feature-ready datasets, evaluation datasets) and AI-adjacent workflows.
Preferred:
- Experience building self-service data platforms (catalog, discoverability, access controls) used by multiple teams.
- Experience in regulated or security-sensitive environments, including retention, auditing, and data access controls.
Work model, location & travel:
- Location: Belfast, UK
- Reports to: VP of Data Engineering
- Work model: Hybrid (details TBD)
- Collaboration hours: Flexible; overlap with UK and US time zones
- Travel: Minimal
Black Duck considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, gender preference, national origin, age, disability, or status as a Covered Veteran in accordance with federal law. In addition, Black Duck complies with applicable state and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment in every jurisdiction in which it maintains facilities. Black Duck also provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with a disability in accordance with applicable laws.
Principal Data Engineer in Belfast employer: Black Duck Software
At Black Duck Software, Inc., we pride ourselves on fostering a dynamic and inclusive work culture that empowers our employees to excel in their roles. As a Principal Data Engineer in Belfast, you'll have the opportunity to lead innovative projects while collaborating with talented teams across the globe, all within a hybrid work model that promotes flexibility. We are committed to your professional growth, offering mentorship and resources to help you thrive in the fast-paced world of application security.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Data Engineer in Belfast
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to folks in your industry, especially those at Black Duck. A friendly chat can open doors and give you insights that a job description just can't.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! If you've got a portfolio or projects that highlight your data engineering prowess, make sure to share them during interviews. It’s all about proving you can walk the walk.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on SQL and Python. We know these are key skills for the Principal Data Engineer role, so practice coding challenges and be ready to showcase your problem-solving abilities.
✨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 the Black Duck team.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Data Engineer in Belfast
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV is tailored to the Principal Data Engineer role. Highlight your experience with data platforms, SQL, and Python, and don’t forget to mention any cloud systems you’ve worked with. We want to see how your skills align with what we’re looking for!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you’re passionate about data engineering and how your background makes you a great fit for our team. Be sure to mention specific projects or achievements that relate to the job description.
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:In your application, give examples of how you've tackled challenges in previous roles. Whether it’s building data pipelines or ensuring data reliability, we love to see how you approach problems and come up with solutions that work.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply through our website for the best chance of getting noticed. It’s super easy, and you’ll be able to keep track of your application status. Plus, we love seeing applications come directly from our site!
How to prepare for a job interview at Black Duck Software
✨Know Your Data Inside Out
As a Principal Data Engineer, you'll be expected to have a deep understanding of data platforms and models. Brush up on your SQL and Python skills, and be ready to discuss how you've built and operated production data platforms at scale. Prepare examples of your past projects that highlight your experience with data reliability and operational ownership.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Be prepared to discuss specific engineering trade-offs you've made in previous roles. Think about scenarios where you had to balance latency, accuracy, cost, and security. This will demonstrate your ability to make sound decisions under pressure, which is crucial for the role.
✨Familiarise Yourself with Cloud Systems
Since the job involves working with AWS and Google Cloud, make sure you can talk confidently about your hands-on experience with these platforms. Be ready to explain how you've managed cloud systems, including compute, storage, and networking, and any challenges you've faced along the way.
✨Prepare for Collaboration Questions
You'll need to partner closely with product, engineering, and security stakeholders. Think of examples where you've successfully collaborated with different teams to align data products with customer outcomes. Highlight your communication skills and how you’ve raised the technical bar through mentoring or architecture reviews.
