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For Companies At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and build data platforms, ensuring reliability and scalability.
- Company: Join Instil, a company that values happy, motivated people.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, competitive salary, and a performance bonus.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in data engineering and shape team capabilities.
- Qualifications: 8+ years in data engineering with strong leadership and problem-solving skills.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
We're looking for a Principal Data Engineer with extensive commercial experience building, supporting and leading data platforms and pipelines. You'll work hands-on across our cloud data stack, partnering with engineers, analysts and senior stakeholders to deliver reliable, well-modelled data that supports analytics and downstream use cases. This role is focused on practical delivery and technical leadership, designing, building and improving data pipelines, setting engineering standards, and helping shape how we approach data engineering as a discipline. You'll bring depth across modern data engineering practices and play a key role in growing the capability of the team around you.
Essential Skills
- 8+ years' commercial experience in a data engineering or data-focused software engineering role, including experience operating at a senior or lead level.
- Experience owning data platforms end-to-end, including considerations around reliability, scalability, cost and governance.
- A track record of setting technical direction, establishing standards and leading architectural decisions across data workstreams.
- Experience mentoring and growing engineers, and contributing to how the team works as well as what it builds.
- Strong problem-solving skills and an ability to navigate ambiguity, shaping solutions from incomplete or evolving requirements.
- Clear communication skills and experience collaborating with both technical teams and senior non-technical stakeholders.
- Commercial experience including a combination of the following:
- Python for data processing, transformation, pipeline development and the design of reusable frameworks or shared tooling.
- AWS data services such as S3, Lambda, Glue (or comparable cloud services), including platform design and cost-aware architecture.
- Designing, building and maintaining ETL/ELT pipelines in production environments at scale.
- Expert SQL skills, including complex queries, performance tuning and warehouse optimisation.
- Deep experience with a cloud data warehouse such as Snowflake (or similar), covering data models, pipelines, warehouse objects and governance.
- Handling semi-structured data (e.g. JSON, Parquet) alongside structured datasets.
Desirable Skills
- Experience with data orchestration or scheduling tools, including patterns for reliability and observability.
- Exposure to CI/CD practices for data pipelines, including testing strategies and deployment automation.
- Familiarity with analytics or BI use cases and the consumers of data.
- Experience with data governance, access control, lineage or security concepts at a platform level.
- Exposure to streaming or event-driven data architectures.
- Experience working in agile, delivery-focused teams and influencing how those teams operate.
Why Join Instil?
At Instil, we believe great work starts with happy, motivated people. That's why we've built a benefits package that supports your wellbeing, growth, and life outside of work, because when you thrive, so do we.
- Recognition That Matters: A discretionary annual performance bonus that rewards your impact and contribution to our success.
- Flexibility Built In: Flexible working arrangements and summer hours, because life isn't 9 to 5, and balance matters.
- Financial Security: A highly competitive pension scheme with generous employer contributions, private healthcare, and life assurance for peace of mind.
Principal Data Engineer TLNT1_NI in Belfast employer: Instil Software
Contact Detail:
Instil Software Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Data Engineer TLNT1_NI in Belfast
✨Network Like a Pro
Get out there and connect with people in the industry! Attend meetups, webinars, or even just grab a coffee with someone who’s already in a data engineering role. You never know when a casual chat could lead to your next big opportunity.
✨Show Off Your Skills
Don’t just talk about your experience; demonstrate it! Create a portfolio showcasing your projects, especially those involving data pipelines and cloud services. This will give potential employers a clear view of what you can bring to the table.
✨Ace the Interview
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your SQL skills and data engineering concepts. Practice explaining your thought process clearly, as communication is key when working with both technical teams and stakeholders.
✨Apply Through Our Website
We love seeing applications come through our website! It shows you're genuinely interested in joining our team. Plus, it makes it easier for us to track your application and get back to you quickly.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Data Engineer TLNT1_NI in Belfast
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences mentioned in the job description. Highlight your 8+ years of experience in data engineering and any leadership roles you've held. We want to see how you’ve built and supported data platforms, so don’t hold back!
Showcase Your Projects: Include specific examples of projects where you've designed and built data pipelines. Talk about the technologies you used, like Python and AWS services, and how you ensured reliability and scalability. This is your chance to shine, so let us know what you've accomplished!
Communicate Clearly: Since this role involves collaborating with both technical teams and senior stakeholders, make sure your application showcases your communication skills. Use clear language and avoid jargon where possible. We want to see that you can explain complex concepts simply!
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 at StudySmarter!
How to prepare for a job interview at Instil Software
✨Know Your Data Engineering Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your data engineering skills, especially around cloud services like AWS and tools like Snowflake. Be ready to discuss your experience with building and maintaining data pipelines, as well as any challenges you've faced and how you overcame them.
✨Show Off Your Leadership Skills
Since this role involves technical leadership, think of examples where you've set standards or mentored others. Prepare to share how you've influenced team dynamics and contributed to the overall success of projects.
✨Communicate Clearly
Practice explaining complex technical concepts in simple terms. You'll need to collaborate with both technical teams and non-technical stakeholders, so being able to bridge that gap is crucial. Think of scenarios where you've successfully communicated across different audiences.
✨Prepare for Problem-Solving Questions
Expect questions that test your problem-solving abilities, especially in ambiguous situations. Have a few examples ready where you had to shape solutions from incomplete requirements, and be prepared to walk through your thought process.