At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the design and delivery of scalable cloud-native data solutions.
- Company: Join a major financial services transformation programme.
- Benefits: Competitive day rate, hybrid work, and potential for contract extension.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with opportunities for mentoring and career growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in modernising data platforms with cutting-edge technologies.
- Qualifications: Proven experience as a Principal Data Engineer and strong stakeholder management skills.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
- Principal Data Engineer
- London (Hybrid) | Contract | Inside IR35 | Up to £650 per day
- Principal Data Engineer | Financial Services Transformation Programme
We are supporting a major financial services transformation programme and are seeking an experienced Principal Data Engineer to play a pivotal role in the delivery of a modern cloud-based data platform.
This role is ideal for a senior engineering professional who combines strong technical expertise with a consultative approach.
You will work closely with business stakeholders, Data Architects, Product Owners, and engineering teams to shape solutions, provide technical direction, and remain actively involved in the hands-on delivery of critical data initiatives.
You will be responsible for designing and building scalable data solutions, establishing engineering best practices, and driving the successful migration of data assets from legacy technologies to a modern cloud-based architecture.
While this role carries significant influence across the programme, it is not purely strategic and requires someone who enjoys being deeply involved in the technical implementation.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the design and delivery of scalable, cloud-native data solutions across multiple workstreams.
- Work closely with business and technical stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into practical data solutions.
- Provide technical leadership and guidance to Data Engineers and delivery teams.
- Remain hands-on with the design, development, testing, and deployment of data pipelines and data products.
- Design and implement modern Lakehouse architectures using Databricks and AWS services.
- Establish engineering standards, development practices, and data quality frameworks.
- Collaborate with Data Architects to deliver target-state platform architecture and technical roadmaps.
- Support and execute the migration of data assets from legacy platforms to modern cloud technologies.
- Drive optimisation, performance tuning, and operational excellence across data platforms.
- Contribute to architecture reviews, governance forums, and technical design discussions.
- Mentor engineers and promote engineering excellence across the wider team.
- Act as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, balancing business objectives with technical best practices.
Essential Experience
- Technical Leadership & Delivery
- Proven experience operating as a Principal Data Engineer, Lead Data Engineer, or Senior Data Engineer within large enterprise environments.
- Experience delivering complex data transformation and cloud modernisation programmes.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Ability to influence technical direction while remaining actively involved in hands-on delivery.
- Experience working across cross-functional teams including Architecture, Product, Engineering, and Business stakeholders.
- Data Engineering & Platforms
- Databricks
- Delta Lake
- Unity Catalog
- dbt
- Spark / Py Spark
- Data pipeline development and optimisation
- Lakehouse architecture
- Data integration and ETL/ELT frameworks
- Data platform design and implementation
- Cloud Technologies
- AWS
- Glue
- Airflow
- IAM
- Lambda (desirable)
- Data Modelling & Architecture
- Data Vault
- Kimball
- Data warehousing principles and best practices
- Dimensional modelling
- Enterprise data architecture concepts
- Modernisation Experience
Experience delivering migrations and modernisation initiatives involving technologies such as:
- Teradata
- Hadoop
- Oracle
- SAS
- Preferred Experience
- Financial Services or Banking sector experience.
- Experience working within regulated environments.
- Large-scale cloud transformation programmes.
- Agile delivery methodologies.
- Experience working alongside Data Product Owners and Data Architects.
- Exposure to data governance and metadata management frameworks.
- CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, and Dev Ops practices within data platforms.
Skills & Attributes
- Strong hands-on engineering capability.
- Consultative approach with the ability to challenge and guide stakeholders.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Ability to operate effectively across both strategic and technical discussions.
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Delivery-focused mindset with a commitment to engineering quality.
- Passion for mentoring and developing engineering capability.
- Comfortable operating within fast-paced transformation programmes.
- Contract Details
- Day Rate: Up to £650 per day
- Contract Type: Inside IR35
- Duration: Initial contract through to December, with potential for extension
- Location: London (Hybrid, subject to confirmation)
- Start Date: ASAP / Short notice preferred
- Apply
If you are an experienced Principal Data Engineer with expertise across Databricks, dbt, Spark, and AWS, and enjoy combining technical leadership with hands-on engineering delivery, we'd like to hear from you.
Apply with your latest CV for immediate consideration.
Senior Data Engineer in London employer: Empresaria Group plc
As a Commercial Manager with us, you'll thrive in a dynamic work environment that values innovation and collaboration. We offer competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, and ample opportunities for professional development, all while being part of a supportive team that prioritises your growth and success. Join us in a location that fosters creativity and engagement, making every day at work both meaningful and rewarding.
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