Data Engineer

Data Engineer – The National Archives, UK

Job Overview

• Salary: £45,000 (includes £42,002 base + £2,998 market supplement)
• Contract type: Permanent
• Band: E / HEO
• Closing date: Sunday 25th January at midnight

Shape the Future of the Nation’s Memory

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is already a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history.

Why Join Us

• Your work will directly support the preservation and accessibility of the UK’s documentary heritage.
• We nurture talent, value every voice, and support personal and professional development.
• Work with a modern tech stack including Python, SQL, Shell scripting, Talend, XSLT, XML, CSV, JSON, RDF, RDBMS, NoSQL, and graph databases.
• We invest in your learning, offering opportunities to develop your skills.

What You’ll Do

• Design and develop scalable, repeatable data pipelines (ETL/ELT) to process, transform, and load archival data.
• Automate data cleansing, validation, standardisation, and enrichment.
• Develop and document schemas, ontologies, and models for archival data.
• Integrate data from diverse sources and formats to support better discovery and reuse.
• Collaborate with product teams, archivists, and developers to deliver practical, data-centric solutions.
• Contribute to a culture of openness, quality, and continuous improvement.

Essential Criteria

• Strong experience of accurate, reliable, large‑scale analysis and manipulation of complex datasets using relevant programming languages and tools (e.g. Python, Shell scripting, SQL, XSLT).
• Solid understanding of working with different data formats (e.g. XML, CSV, JSON, RDF).
• Practical knowledge of database technologies (e.g. RDBMS, NoSQL, graph databases, linked data stores).
• Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Strong relationship building and communication skills, user focus.
• Ability to prioritise competing tasks and deliver high‑quality work to agreed deadlines.

Desirable Criteria

• Awareness of the value and meaning of archival data and ethical responsibilities.
• Understanding of probabilistic, messy, or uncertain data handling.
• Experience in Agile development environments.
• Familiarity with archival principles or metadata standards (e.g. EAD, Dublin Core).
• Experience in semantic web technologies and entity extraction tools.

Application Process

• Personal statement and CV (up to 1,200 words).
• On‑site technical interview and test.

Benefits

• Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted cafe, training and development.
• Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per year, rising to 30 days after six years.

Reasonable Adjustments

• Contact careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk early to discuss needs.
• Complete the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of the application form.

Security and Nationality Requirements

SC clearance or willingness to obtain required. Must have resided in the UK for at least three years.

Open to UK nationals, Ireland nationals, Commonwealth nationals with right to work, EU/Switzerland/ Norway/ Iceland/ Liechtenstein nationals and family members with settled status, Turkish nationals with right to work, and certain others as specified.

Contact Point for Applicants

• Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.