Lead Data Engineer

Lead Data Engineer United Kingdom £55,000 - £75,000 (GBP) Permanent Lead Data Engineer - Permanent - Swindon (3 days a week) - up to £75k We are seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design, build, and maintain the integrity of our core data platform. You will serve as the technical authority for data engineering, ensuring our organisation has a secure, trusted foundation for reporting, analytics, and strategic insight. As a player-coach, you will lead the BI team, driving data-enabled decision-making while ensuring our architecture is scalable, compliant, and aligned with business objectives. Key Responsibilities Architecture & Implementation: Own the Data Warehouse lifecycle, ensuring high availability, security, and scalability. Data Integration: Build and maintain robust pipelines to ingest and transform data from diverse systems (Salesforce, NetSuite, and digital platforms). Team Leadership: Manage and mentor the BI team, providing technical direction and fostering a high-performance culture. Data Governance & Security: Implement validation practices, metadata management, and data lineage to ensure GDPR compliance and data integrity. Stakeholder Collaboration: Act as a bridge between technical teams and business leaders to translate reporting needs into actionable technical solutions. Strategic Input: Evaluate new technologies and provide expert advice on programs requiring integrated data and analytics. Person Specification Experience & Qualifications Proven experience leading data engineering or BI teams within complex environments. Hands-on expertise in designing and implementing Enterprise Data Warehouses. Track record of building secure data pipelines across multiple source systems. A degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience). Relevant certifications (e.g., Azure/AWS Data Engineer, Snowflake) are highly desirable. Technical Knowledge Methodologies: Strong grasp of Data Vault, Kimball, or equivalent design patterns. Tools: Expert-level SQL, ETL/ELT pipeline development, and modern engineering tools. Platforms: Proficiency with cloud-based services (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and Power BI. Compliance: Deep understanding of data security, GDPR, and governance frameworks. Core Competencies Exceptional leadership and mentoring capabilities. Ability to balance long-term architectural health with pragmatic, timely delivery. Strong communication skills, capable of engaging both technical and non-technical stakeholders.