Data Platform Lead

Sanderson; Cardiff; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson is seeking a Data Platform Lead to own the evolution of the data platform and unlock organisation-wide data value. You will lead delivery, reliability and continuous improvement, combining hands-on technical delivery with people management to shape technology strategy and team development.

You will collaborate with Head of Data, engineering, analytics and business stakeholders to build scalable pipelines, robust data models and governance foundations, enabling AI-ready data and

Qualifications

• Strong technical leadership with hands-on data engineering experience.
• Proven ability to manage engineering teams and stakeholders.
• Experience delivering scalable data pipelines and data models.
• Knowledge of governance, security controls and data quality.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery and evolution of the data platform.
• Own and maintain the data platform roadmap balancing priorities and debt.
• Design, build and maintain scalable data pipelines and models.
• Establish best practices around code quality, testing, deployment and monitoring.
• Ensure platform services are secure, reliable, scalable and cost-effective.
• Enable analytics engineering through well-modeled datasets.
• Build foundations for AI-ready data including governance and lineage.
• Partner with analytics, product, engineering and business teams to deliver solutions.
• Act as escalation point for complex data engineering challenges.
• Line manage and mentor a team of three Data Engineers.

Skills

Technical leadership

Data engineering

Stakeholder management

Hands-on delivery

SQL

Cloud platforms

Databricks

Snowflake

BigQuery

Azure

AWS

CI/CD

Governance

Security controls

Data quality

Data lineage

Team coaching

Tools

Databricks

Snowflake

BigQuery

Azure

AWS

CI/CD

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Data Platform Lead to join a fast-growing fintech organisation that combines the agility of a startup with the backing of a well-established enterprise business. In this key leadership role, you'll own the evolution of the data platform, helping to unlock the value of data across the organisation and laying the foundations for advanced analytics and AI-driven innovation.

Working closely with the Head of Data, engineering teams, analytics professionals and business stakeholders, you will lead the delivery, reliability and continuous improvement of the data platform. This is a hands-on leadership role, combining technical delivery with people management, giving you the opportunity to influence both technology strategy and team development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery and ongoing evolution of the organisation's data platform.
• Own and maintain the data platform roadmap, balancing business priorities, technical debt, resilience and future platform capabilities.
• Design, build and maintain scalable data pipelines, reusable datasets and robust data models.
• Establish engineering best practices around code quality, testing, documentation, deployment, monitoring and operational support.
• Ensure platform services are secure, reliable, scalable and cost-effective.
• Enable analytics engineering through trusted, well-modelled and documented datasets that support reporting and self-service analytics.
• Build the foundations for AI-ready data, including governance, lineage, discoverability, access controls and data quality monitoring.
• Partner with analytics, product, engineering and business teams to deliver scalable technical solutions.
• Act as an escalation point for complex data engineering challenges and production issues.
• Line manage and mentor a team of three Data Engineers, supporting their development and performance.

About You

You will be a technically strong and commercially aware Data Platform Lead who enjoys balancing strategic thinking with hands-on delivery. You'll be passionate about building reliable and scalable data solutions while supporting and developing engineering talent.

• Strong technical leadership and hands-on data engineering expertise.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• A collaborative approach and the ability to work across technical and non-technical teams.
• Experience balancing new delivery, operational support, platform resilience and continuous improvement.
• The confidence to make pragmatic decisions around scalability, governance, security and cost.
• Strong hands-on experience in data engineering and modern data platforms.
• Proven experience designing, building and supporting production-grade data pipelines and reusable data models.
• Strong SQL and software engineering fundamentals.
• Experience with cloud-based data platforms, orchestration tooling and CI/CD practices.
• Strong understanding of data quality, monitoring, testing, documentation and operational support.
• Experience setting technical standards and reviewing engineering outputs.
• Knowledge of data governance, lineage, discoverability and AI-ready data foundations.
• Experience coaching, mentoring or managing engineers.
• Strong prioritisation and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with platforms such as Databricks, Snowflake, BigQuery, Azure or AWS.
• Experience using data transformation and orchestration tools.
• Background within regulated industries or financial services.
• Experience with data governance, security controls and access management.
• Exposure to analytics, machine learning or operational data products.