Data Engineer (London Area)

Lead Data Engineer – Open Source/Azure/Python/Scala/Contract (Inside IR35) 6 months – £650-£750

We\’re looking for a hands-on, technically heavyweight Lead Data Engineer to step into a high-impact contract role — shaping both the technical direction and the way the team works.

This isn\’t a ticket-taking role. You\’ll lead from the front: spotting the problems worth solving, identifying better tools or patterns, and delivering well-justified, production-grade solutions.

We\’re working at the intersection of data and AI, solving both greenfield and brownfield challenges with modern cloud tooling.

You\’ll need:

-7+ years in data engineering

-Spark, ADF, Python/Scala – solid hands-on skills

-Cloud-first thinking (Azure preferred, but AWS/GCP welcome)

-Experience designing end-to-end pipelines at scale

-A commercial mindset – you think in terms of business value and cost

-AI/ML awareness — you\’ve worked alongside data scientists

-A pragmatic, fail-fast, iterate-forward attitude

-Confidence to lead, influence, and mentor

If you\’re the kind of contractor who doesn\’t just do the work, but defines it — let\’s talk.