Head of Data Engineering

Harnham; London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Share options

Hybrid working model

Private health and life cover

Generous holiday allowance

Pension scheme

Job summary

A leading data solutions firm in London is seeking a Head of Data Engineering to lead the development of a scalable data platform. This hands-on leadership role requires 5+ years in data engineering and strong expertise in AWS, Snowflake, and data architecture. You will mentor a team and drive modern engineering practices in a hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years as a Data Engineer and 2+ years in a technical leadership or management role.
• Proven experience designing scalable data architectures and building robust pipelines.
• Strong knowledge of AWS, Snowflake, orchestration (Airflow), transformation (dbt), and large-scale processing (Spark or equivalent).
• Proficiency in Python and SQL.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic direction, architecture, and delivery of a modern, scalable data platform.
• Oversee the ingestion, transformation, and processing of large-scale datasets.
• Grow and mentor a team, modernise tooling, and define best practices.
• Drive adoption of modern engineering practices—CI/CD, testing, infrastructure-as-code, and data governance.
• Partner with other data leaders to deliver business-aligned solutions.
• Lead technical initiatives such as re-architecting pipelines and real-time processing.

Skills

Data Engineering

Leadership

Scalable Data Architectures

Python

SQL

AWS

Snowflake

Apache Spark

Airflow

CI/CD

Tools

AWS

Snowflake

Apache Spark

Airflow

dbt

Job description

Overview

HEAD OF DATA ENGINEERING – HYBRID – LONDON

THE COMPANY
This high-growth, product-led scale-up is redefining how data powers decision-making in the mobility and financial services space. By processing vast streams of behavioural and location data, the business delivers real-time insights that shape pricing, onboarding, and risk models. As they scale their data capabilities, this role will directly shape the architecture, tools, and team that underpin their most critical data products.

THE ROLE

As Head of Data Engineering, you will lead the strategic direction, architecture, and delivery of a modern, scalable data platform. You’ll oversee the ingestion, transformation, and processing of large-scale datasets, enabling high-performance analytics, real-time insights, and advanced ML use cases. This is a hands-on leadership role where you’ll grow and mentor a talented team, modernise tooling, and define best practices across the engineering organisation.

Specifically, you can expect to be involved in the following:

• Leading and mentoring a team of Data Engineers
• Designing and evolving a scalable, reliable data platform using AWS, Snowflake, Apache Spark, Airflow, dbt, Python, and SQL
• Overseeing ingestion of high-volume signal data and integrating external data sources
• Driving adoption of modern engineering practices—CI/CD, testing, infrastructure-as-code, and data governance
• Partnering with other data leaders to deliver business-aligned solutions
• Leading technical initiatives such as re-architecting pipelines, implementing real-time processing, and modernising platform tooling

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

The successful Head of Data Engineering will have the following skills and experience:

• 5+ years as a Data Engineer and 2+ years in a technical leadership or management role
• Proven experience designing scalable data architectures and building robust pipelines
• Strong knowledge of AWS, Snowflake, orchestration (Airflow), transformation (dbt), and large-scale processing (Spark or equivalent)
• Proficiency in Python and SQL
• Track record of delivering in fast-paced, product-led environments (start-up/scale-up experience preferred)
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to grow and inspire high-performing teams

BENEFITS

The successful Head of Data Engineering will receive the following benefits:

• Annual bonus
• Share options in a high-growth business
• Hybrid working: 1 day per week onsite in central London (Bank/Monument)
• Private health and life cover
• Generous holiday allowance and pension scheme
• Opportunity to shape the data strategy and platform of a scaling, data-led business

HOW TO APPLY

Please register your interest by sending your resume/CV to Joana Alves via the Apply link on this page.