Data Engineer

Data to Insight; Salford; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Salford City Council seeks an experienced data engineer to design, build and operate modern data platforms in a public sector context. You will own data pipelines, lifecycle management and governance, delivering robust, scalable solutions that support analytics and AI use cases.

You will work with lakehouse-style architectures and cloud platforms, ensuring data is secure, high quality and fit for purpose across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Experience designing, building and operating data platforms in production environments.
• Experience with cloud-native platforms and data pipelines.
• Ability to balance robustness, scalability and cost while ensuring data quality.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and run data engineering solutions supporting analytics, insight and AI use cases.
• Take ownership of data pipelines and data lifecycle management.
• Shape how data is ingested, structured, governed and shared across the organisation.

Skills

Data pipelines

Cloud platforms

Data governance

Data architectures

Job description

About us

Salford is an ambitious, globally connected city with a strong digital and innovation ecosystem centred around MediaCity and the University of Salford. Salford City Council is investing in modern data and digital platforms to transform how public services are designed, delivered and improved.

Our growing AI & Data function sits at the heart of this transformation. We are building modern, cloud-based data platforms that enable trusted insight, support intelligent services, and provide the foundations for responsible AI. Our work directly supports the council’s ambition to create a fairer, greener and healthier Salford by making better use of data across the organisation.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced data engineer to play a key role in building and operating the council’s modern data platforms. You'll design, develop and run data engineering solutions supporting analytics, insight and AI use cases. Working with lakehouse-style architectures and cloud platforms, you'll take ownership of data pipelines and data lifecycle management.

The role is hands‑on and delivery‑focused and you'll work closely with analytics, AI and digital portfolio teams to translate service and reporting needs into sustainable data solutions. You'll shape how data is ingested, structured, governed and shared across the organisation, ensuring data is secure, high quality and fit for purpose.

This role is ideal for someone who wants to apply strong data engineering expertise in a complex, meaningful environment and help lay the foundations for long‑term data and AI capability in the public sector.

About you

You're a data engineer with demonstrable experience of designing, building and operating data platforms in production environments. You're comfortable working in cloud-native platforms and have strong experience with data pipelines, modern data architectures and managing data across its full lifecycle.

You can balance robustness, scalability and cost of solutions whilst maintaining high standards of data quality. You enjoy working collaboratively, translating service needs into technical solutions and supporting others to make effective use of shared data platforms and data governance.

You're passionate, continuously developing your skills, and motivated by the opportunity to use data to improve public services.

If you have any queries about the role, contact Adam Grant (Head of AI and Data) : [e-mail]

What we need from you if you are invited to interview:

• Passport/ID - You will be required to provide original documentation confirming your right to work in the UK. Successful candidates will also be required to provide proof of address.

• Qualifications/registrations if applicable for the role

Want to know more about Salford?

As an authority we are dedicated to improving the lives of our residents, and as an employer we are passionate about helping individuals to thrive in their work. We are committed to developing a diverse and inclusive culture and are proud of our professional accreditations which champion this.

Find out about our city as a place to live, work & grow, and learn more about the amazing work we are doing. You’ll also find out about the wealth of benefits we have to offer you on our Salford pages!

Privacy Statement and Data Protection

Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the council’s primary Recruitment and Employment Privacy Notice which can be found at https://www.salford.gov.uk/gdpr.

Supporting Documents

Role Profile