Lead Data Engineer

Royal London Group; Alderley Edge; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave (28 days + holidays)

Pension scheme (employer match)

Private medical insurance

Job summary

Royal London Group is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to provide hands-on engineering leadership across our data platform landscape, with a focus on Microsoft Fabric. You will lead a small team and help design, build and operate reliable, secure data solutions in Fabric while supporting the wider data platforms.

You will oversee data pipelines, quality and incident management, while driving adoption of modern technologies and automation.

Qualifications

• Extensive data engineering experience with large-scale systems.
• Proven leadership of engineering teams in Agile environments.
• Strong expertise in Microsoft Fabric and governed analytics.
• Proficiency in Python, Spark, SQL and data tooling.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of Data Engineers to deliver reliable data solutions.
• Oversee pipeline availability, data quality, incident resolution and performance.
• Drive design, development and operation of Fabric-based data platforms.
• Collaborate with IT and data offices to align with data strategy.
• Embed risk controls, regulatory requirements and security across work.

Skills

Python

Apache Spark

SQL databases

Data modeling

CI/CD practices

Tools

Microsoft Fabric

Azure

Git

ETL tools

Job description

Contract type: Permanent
Location: Alderley Park
Working style: Hybrid 50% home/office based

Job Summary

We’re looking for a Lead Data Engineer to provide hands-on engineering leadership across our data platform landscape, with a particular focus on Microsoft Fabric. You’ll lead and support a small team, helping us design, build and operate reliable, secure and high-quality data solutions in Fabric while contributing to the development and improvement of our wider data platforms.

About the role

• Lead and support a team of Data Engineers, setting clear technical standards and helping the team work effectively and efficiently.
• Oversee the day-to-day operation of our data engineering services, including pipeline availability, data quality, incident resolution, change management and performance optimisation.
• Manage data engineering deliverables, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget and to the required quality standards.
• Identify and introduce modern technologies and techniques that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our data engineering processes.
• Design, develop and implement automated solutions that reduce manual data processing and improve speed, accuracy, consistency and repeatability.
• Collaborate with teams across Royal London, including the Group Data Office and IT, to ensure our data capabilities meet business needs and support the wider data strategy.
• Embed effective risk management, operational controls and regulatory requirements throughout the team’s work.

About you

• Deep technical knowledge and a strong track record in data engineering, including delivering and operating large-scale data processing systems.
• Experience of successfully leading development initiatives and supporting or managing technical teams, ideally within an agile delivery environment.
• Strong practical experience of Microsoft Fabric with an understanding of how Fabric supports governed analytics and data engineering at scale.
• A good understanding of data processing technologies and tools such as Apache Spark, data lakes, data warehousing and SQL databases.
• Proficiency in Python and continuous integration and continuous delivery techniques, enabling change to be implemented consistently, securely and to a high standard.
• Experience of cloud-based data storage and processing platforms, particularly Microsoft Azure.
• An understanding of data security and privacy requirements, supported by strong analytical and problem-solving skills and an automation-focused mindset.
• Excellent communication, collaboration and stakeholder-management skills, with the confidence to work independently and constructively challenge where needed.

About Royal London

We’re the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, offering protection, long-term savings and asset management products and services.

Our People Promise to our colleagues is that we will all work somewhere inclusive, responsible, enjoyable and fulfilling. This is underpinned by our Spirit of Royal London values; Empowered, Trustworthy, Collaborate, Achieve.

We've always been proud to reward employees by offering great workplace benefits such as 28 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays, an up to 14% employer matching pension scheme and private medical insurance.

Inclusion, diversity and belonging

We’re an inclusive employer. We celebrate and value different backgrounds and cultures across Royal London. Our diverse people and perspectives give us a range of skills which are recognised and respected - whatever their background.