Lead Data Engineer in Charlestown

This role will be based in the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS) team. NDQIS is a national service for policing that uses rule-based methods to improve the quality, consistency and comparability of police recorded crime data submitted to the Home Office.

As a Lead Data Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, delivering and supporting high-quality end-to-end data solutions that enable effective data-driven decision making. Working across the full delivery lifecycle, you will translate complex business requirements into robust, scalable and secure data pipelines, ensuring compliance with Home Office data quality, governance and security standards.

You will lead the design and implementation of complex data integrations and text analysis methodologies, ETL processes and automated workflows, bringing together information from multiple internal and external sources. Working closely with technical and business stakeholders, you will ensure solutions are reliable, resilient and aligned with organisational objectives.

You will shape and implement the data engineering vision and roadmap, promoting best practice, innovation and continuous improvement. Driving automation and championing data quality, you will ensure solutions remain maintainable, cost-effective and scalable. You will build strong relationships across technical and non-technical communities, influencing decision-making and ensuring services align with organisational priorities and user needs.

Main Responsibilities:

• Managing data sources to improve data quality and conform them for analysis, developing processes to balance data availability, capacity and data archiving, while continually improving processes and efficiency in the acquisition and ingestion of data.
• Developing, maintaining and supporting data workflows, pipelines, ETL processes and end-to-end data solutions covering requirements review, data profiling and source system analysis, design, coding, testing, deployment and documentation of complex and large-scale data products.
• Exercising key stakeholder management skills in order to manage expectations, listen and interpret business needs, communicate progress and facilitate difficult conversations, while building a 'service culture' around data.
• Keeping abreast of best practice in industry and government, ensuring data solutions comply with data privacy and information security requirements, working closely with relevant specialists.
• Managing the performance of suppliers and the data engineering team to improve capability, as well as creating the roadmap which balances immediate user needs with long-term investment.
• Line management, coaching and professional development of the team, where required.

Essential Skills:

• Effectively leading and managing teams, leading and delivering technical products and projects in data analysis, solution design and end user reporting.
• Translating natural-language data quality rules into automated, testable and documented pipeline logic, applying modern programming languages and data analysis techniques (particularly Python and related libraries, regex and NLP).
• Advising and leading the use of best practice IT programming and automation techniques and tools.
• Leading the use of Cloud Data technologies, solutions and future Cloud Data Strategies.
• Working with stakeholders to gather requirements and deliver findings, presenting complex ideas and recommendations that inform decisions in a clear way to technical and non-technical audiences and senior customers.
• Using tools such as industry standard ETL tools, network databases and scheduling and orchestration tools.
• Familiarity with data visualisation tools and emerging tools such as LLMs.
• Data engineering in the context of AI, Machine Learning, or automation-enabled products or services.

Benefits:

• A Civil Service Pension with employer contribution rates of at least 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service.
• 8 days of public holidays, plus 1 additional privilege day.

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, compressed hours are available.