Data Engineer

Harvey Nash; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Harvey Nash is seeking data engineers to help build data foundations for defence and national security projects in the UK. This hands-on role covers production-ready pipelines, data products, and enabling secure, accessible data for real-world operations.

You will collaborate with engineers, analysts and data scientists to design reliable, scalable data solutions that deliver measurable impact.

Qualifications

• Strong SQL and Python skills with experience building data pipelines.
• Experience with large, complex datasets and data quality.
• Knowledge of data modelling, storage and transformation techniques.
• Understanding of distributed computing and cloud platforms.

Responsibilities

• Designing and building data-intensive applications and pipelines, from ingestion through to consumption.
• Developing, testing and improving data products to ensure quality, reliability and performance.
• Working with large, complex datasets to make data accessible, trustworthy and useful.
• Applying data modelling, storage and transformation techniques to support analytical and operational needs.
• Collaborating with technical teams and stakeholders to understand data requirements and deliver effective solutions.

Skills

SQL

Python

data pipelines

analytical mindset

data modelling

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or AI

Tools

Spark

Databricks

AWS

Azure

GCP

Airflow

Job description

We’re looking for talented Data Engineers to help build the data foundations that underpin critical defence and national security projects.

This is a hands-on engineering opportunity to work across a variety of challenges, from developing production-ready data pipelines to delivering proof of concepts and making complex, sensitive or hard-to-access data usable in real-world operational environments.

You’ll work alongside engineers, analysts and data scientists to design reliable, scalable data solutions that make a genuine difference.

What you’ll be doing

• Designing and building data-intensive applications and pipelines, from ingestion through to consumption.
• Developing, testing and improving data products to ensure quality, reliability and performance.
• Working with large, complex datasets to make data accessible, trustworthy and useful.
• Applying data modelling, storage and transformation techniques to support analytical and operational needs.
• Collaborating with technical teams and stakeholders to understand data requirements and deliver effective solutions.
• Sharing knowledge, contributing technical expertise and helping strengthen engineering capabilities across the organisation.

What we’re looking for

• Experience designing and building data pipelines and data-intensive applications.
• Strong SQL skills and experience working with large, complex datasets.
• Strong programming skills, typically in Python, alongside sound software engineering practices.
• Experience with distributed computing, cloud platforms or orchestration tools such as Spark, Databricks, AWS, Azure, GCP or Airflow.
• Experience cleaning, transforming and preparing data, including feature engineering for machine learning.
• Understanding of data modelling, storage, data quality and pipeline reliability.
• An analytical mindset and the ability to work through ambiguity to deliver practical outcomes.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to working with engineers, analysts and data scientists.

A strong academic background in Computer Science, Mathematics, AI or a related discipline is desirable. Experience in defence or national security would be a significant advantage.

Why consider this opportunity?

You’ll have the opportunity to work on technically challenging projects, solve complex data problems and contribute to work where reliable, high-quality data is essential.

You don’t need to tick every box to apply. If you’re passionate about data engineering, enjoy solving difficult problems and want to apply your skills to meaningful work, we’d love to hear from you.