Senior Data Engineer

AstraZeneca plc; Spain; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

AstraZeneca plc in Barcelona is seeking a Senior Data Engineer for the Drug Development Data Platform (3DP). You will contribute to solution development, provide technical guidance, and help deliver scalable AWS-based ETL/ELT pipelines while coordinating with global stakeholders.

The role blends data engineering with API design, DevOps practices, and data analysis, with collaboration across teams in Spain, Mexico, India, Poland and the UK.

Qualifications

• Solid development skills with Python and Git
• Experience with big data, ETL, and cloud tools (AWS-based)
• Automated testing mindset
• Hands-on AWS experience
• DevOps-first approach with GitHub Actions
• SQL experience (PostgreSQL preferred)
• Experience in globally distributed teams
• Ability to document development best practices
• Experience designing REST APIs
• Strong analytical and data manipulation skills
• Experience guiding data/analytics teams
• Collaborative approach to delivery
• Front-end exposure with JavaScript/TypeScript (data/backend focus)

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable ETL/ELT pipelines
• Design and maintain REST APIs for system integration
• Support stakeholders with technical data questions
• Maintain AWS base infrastructure
• Tune SQL and ETL pipelines for performance
• Identify opportunities for efficiency and automation
• Investigate data issues and resolve end-to-end problems
• Stay current with new technologies and practices
• Maintain and refine a front-end application

Skills

Python

Git

AWS

ETL/ELT

API design

SQL

Data pipelines

Terraform

Data analytics

JS/TS

Tools

AWS (Cloud)

Terraform

Glue

S3

SQS

ECS

GitHub Actions

Job description

Role Barcelona onsite - 3 days at the office/2 days at home

Company

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-focused biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines for some of the world's most serious diseases. We're more than one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies - we're proud to nurture a workplace culture that encourages innovation and collaboration. Here, employees are supported to share diverse perspectives and are made to feel valued, energised, and appreciated for their ideas and creativity.

Department - Data & Analytics, R&D IT

R&D IT is a global IT capability supporting Drug Research, Drug Development, Product & Portfolio Strategy, Medical Affairs, Finance, HR, Compliance, Legal, and Global Business Services. We are organised around seven key capability areas: Business Partnering, Solution Delivery, Architecture, Application Support, Data & Analytics, and Change & Operations - with colleagues based across the US, UK, Sweden, India, and Mexico.

The Data & Analytics team provides technical support for the analytics, data, and insight services that are central to the Data and AI/ML strategy of R&D Science IT and AstraZeneca. The team is organised into groups specialising in Information Architecture, Data Engineering, Visual Engineering, Knowledge Management, Data Science, Data Analysis, and Information Governance.

We have taken on a meaningful goal: helping to transform antibody discovery at AstraZeneca by significantly shortening the time it takes to identify a clinical candidate, supported by world-class technology and advanced data and AI capabilities.

Role

As a Senior Data Engineer on the Drug Development Data Platform (3DP), you'll contribute to solution development and testing, offer technical guidance, and share responsibility for delivery. This is a partially business-facing role, so your communication and technical skills are equally valued - you'll be helping to set expectations, share progress, and build relationships with stakeholders.

You'll bring a broad range of knowledge and experience across data and analytics, working almost exclusively on our AWS data platform. You'll join a team responsible for key systems that make clinical trial data available to stakeholders through scalable, cloud-based ETLs managed via a web application.

You'll be part of a team of engineers who work closely with IT colleagues across Mexico, Spain, India, Poland, and the UK. You'll serve as a technical point of reference within the team, and a collaborative delivery approach will help you thrive. We generally favour Agile, though we choose the best-fit approach for each team and set of stakeholders, so familiarity with a range of delivery methods is welcome. You'll offer technical guidance throughout our software development lifecycle - from early concept development through to identifying opportunities to reduce operating costs in existing production services.

Key Accountabilities

• Design, build, enhance, and maintain scalable ETL/ELT pipelines for efficient data ingestion and processing.
• Design, develop, and maintain REST APIs intended for system integration.
• Support stakeholders - including data, design, product, and executive teams - with technical data questions.
• Help keep the AWS base infrastructure well maintained .
• Tune SQL queries and ETL pipelines for performance.
• Identify opportunities for efficiency and automation.
• Investigate data issues, analyse end-to-end pipelines, and partner with users to resolve them.
• Stay current with developments in recent technology and industry practices.
• Maintain and refine a front-end application.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Solid development skills, with practical knowledge of Python, source control (Git), and versioning.
• Experience with big data, ETL, and cloud tools and techniques (we currently use AWS-based Python, Terraform, Glue, S3, SQS, and ECS).
• A mindset oriented toward automated testing.
• Good hands-on experience within the AWS ecosystem.
• A DevOps-first approach, with extensive experience using GitHub / GitHub Actions (or similar tools).
• SQL experience (PostgreSQL preferred).
• Experience triaging and resolving tickets.
• Experience working within a globally distributed team.
• Ability to design and document development best practices.
• Good experience in API design (documentation, REST, etc.).
• Solid analytical and data manipulation skills.
• Experience providing technical guidance within data and analytics teams.
• Great interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach to delivery.
• Comfortable partnering with, and building trusted relationships with, business colleagues.
• Some exposure to front-end development and JavaScript/TypeScript, with a stronger focus on data and backend work.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Familiarity with Agile practices, using tools such as Jira.
• Experience with visualisation technologies (we focus on Power BI).
• A good unde