At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the technical delivery of GTR's DataHub platform and ensure data governance.
- Company: Join one of the UK's busiest and award-winning rail companies.
- Benefits: Enjoy free travel, a final salary pension, and discounts on retail.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for professional growth and collaboration.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on a large-scale enterprise platform serving over 2,000 users.
- Qualifications: Experience in managing enterprise data platforms and strong technical leadership skills.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 75000 £ per year.
GTR are recruiting a Platform Lead based out of Monument Place. This is a great opportunity for an individual with a proven track record to work for one of the country's busiest and award‑winning rail companies.
Job Purpose
As Platform Lead, you will be accountable for the day‑to‑day technical leadership, delivery and governance of GTR's DataHub platform mainly to the Semantic model layer. You will ensure that data engineering, reporting and platform development activities are delivered in a controlled, consistent and scalable manner. You will own the technical operating model for the platform, ensuring robust Dev/Test/Production lifecycles, documentation, training and adherence to governance standards across all users of the Fabric estate. The role requires strong professional expertise in modern data platforms and delivery practices, with the ability to apply this knowledge pragmatically across a complex enterprise environment.
Key Accountabilities
- Lead all data engineering activity on the DataHub platform, including internally delivered engineering and third‑party contributions.
- Own and enforce platform governance, including environments, access controls, deployment pipelines and release management.
- Regularly balance competing priorities across delivery speed, platform stability, cost, and governance, making informed judgements where trade‑offs are required.
- Ensure Power BI reports and semantic models are developed and deployed in line with agreed standards.
- Work closely with the Data Architect to ensure architectural principles are implemented consistently.
- Ensure platform documentation, onboarding materials and training are available and maintained.
- Oversee platform performance, reliability and cost efficiency.
- Act as the main operational interface with third‑party managed service providers.
- Ensure development follows agreed portfolio and change processes.
Context
The DataHub platform is built on Microsoft Fabric and underpins analytics across GTR. Historically engineering has been delivered via a managed service provider; this role supports the transition to a blended model with increased in‑house capability. While strategic ownership sits with the Head of Data & AI, the Platform Lead holds day‑to‑day accountability for the safe and effective operation of the DataHub platform. DataHub is a large‑scale enterprise platform, serving over 2,000 users, integrating with 50+ systems and encompassing more than 40 data products. The Platform Lead is accountable for the day‑to‑day management and operational integrity of this end‑to‑end ecosystem, ensuring all components function cohesively. The role requires a strong understanding of how data models, pipelines, reporting and access controls interconnect, along with the ability to manage escalations from a wide range of stakeholders across the business. This demands a high degree of technical judgement to resolve issues quickly while maintaining platform stability, governance and long‑term sustainability. The complexity of the platform will continue to increase as wider industry stakeholders, including Network Rail, DfT and GBR/GBRX initiatives, require access, introducing additional integration, governance and operational risk considerations that must be managed effectively.
Knowledge
- Strong understanding of modern data platforms, particularly Microsoft Fabric and Power BI.
- Good understanding of data engineering patterns and CI/CD principles.
Skills
- Strong technical leadership and delivery management skills.
- Ability to balance speed of delivery with platform stability and governance.
- Clear technical communication and documentation skills.
Experience
- Experience owning or leading enterprise data platforms.
- Experience operating formal Dev/UAT/Prod lifecycles.
- Experience managing technical delivery with third‑party partners.
What we can offer you
- Final salary pension.
- Free travel on GTR and sister groups for you and your family.
- 75% off travel on other train operating companies for you, and leisure for your family.
- Discounted Oyster Card.
- GTR offers maternity, paternity and adoption leave and time off for prenatal care, as well as shared parental leave.
- StarHub – our great benefits package which includes discounts with many retailers.
Platform Lead employer: Govia Thameslink Railway
GTR is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment at Monument Place where innovation meets operational excellence. As a Platform Lead, you will benefit from a robust support system, including a final salary pension, free travel for you and your family, and a comprehensive benefits package that promotes work-life balance and professional growth. Join a team that values technical leadership and fosters a culture of collaboration, ensuring you thrive in your role while contributing to one of the UK's busiest rail companies.
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We think this is how you could land Platform Lead
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We think you need these skills to ace Platform Lead
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Projects:In the world of data science, your projects can speak volumes about your skills. Make sure to showcase a few key projects in your CV or portfolio, especially those that highlight your ability to work with data sets, build models, or use relevant tools like Python, R, or SQL. Don’t forget to include links to any GitHub repositories if applicable!
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Craft a Tailored Cover Letter:For a full-time role at Govia Thameslink Railway, your cover letter should reflect your passion for data science and your excitement about the specific projects or values of the company. Dive into why you’re a good fit, how your skills align with their needs, and any unique perspectives you can bring to the team.
Stand Out with Relevant Courses and Certifications:Although experience talks, relevant courses or certifications can be your ticket to impressing hiring managers at Govia Thameslink Railway. Mention any standout courses you've completed that equipped you with essential skills, such as machine learning certifications or data visualisation courses. This shows your commitment to continuously developing your skills in the field!
How to prepare for a job interview at Govia Thameslink Railway
✨Brush Up on Your Statistics
For a data science role, we need to seriously sharpen our statistics skills. Get ready to tackle technical questions on probability distributions, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis. These are often the bread and butter of data science interviews, so don't just skim over them!
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Prepare a killer portfolio showcasing your data science projects. We should include details about the datasets used, the tools and techniques applied, and the impact of your findings. If we can walk them through a particularly challenging project or a cool visualisation that had real-world implications, it’ll really make us stand out!
✨Get Comfortable with Python and R
Most data science positions require us to be proficient in programming languages like Python and R. We should practice common libraries like pandas, NumPy, and scikit-learn, and be ready for live coding exercises or algorithm questions. Showing off our coding chops can really impress the interviewers at Govia Thameslink Railway!
✨Prepare for Case Studies
Expect to encounter real-world case studies during the interview. We might be asked how we’d approach a data problem or analyse a dataset to extract insights. It's essential to think out loud and demonstrate our problem-solving process so that the interviewer can see our logical thinking in action.
