Lead Data Engineer

Barclays; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Barclays in Glasgow is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design and develop real-time data streaming solutions. You will blend technical leadership with hands-on coding and help shape engineering standards for scalable, low-latency systems.

The role focuses on streaming with Kafka and Flink, building data pipelines, data warehouses, and data lakes to support critical business processes in a dynamic financial technology environment.

Qualifications

• Experience with real-time streaming applications using Kafka Streams (KStream/KTable).
• Experience with Apache Flink including stateful processing and fault tolerance.
• Designing high-throughput, low-latency data pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain data architectures and pipelines for durable, complete data processing.
• Design data warehouses and data lakes with appropriate security and scalability.
• Develop processing and analysis algorithms for complex data volumes.
• Collaborate with data scientists to build and deploy machine learning models.

Skills

Real-time streaming

Kafka Streams (KStream/KTable)

Apache Flink

Low-latency pipelines

Data architectures

Tools

Kafka Connect

AVRO

Confluent Schema Registry

Flink SQL

Table API

Prowide Core

ISO 20022 / MT

Job description

Join us as a Lead Data Engineer, to work on the design and development of real-time data streaming solutions within our engineering team. This role sits within a technology function focused on developing scalable, low-latency data platforms that support critical business processes. You will combine technical direction with ongoing development work, contributing to architecture while remaining close to the codebase. You will contribute to the development of streaming solutions using technologies such as Kafka and Flink, supporting innovation and data-informed outcomes across Barclays. You will also help us shape engineering standards and ways of working, contributing to how we build reliable and scalable systems together.

To be successful as a Lead Data Engineer, you should have experience with:

• Experience working with real-time streaming applications using Kafka Streams, including KStream and KTable concepts.
• Experience working with Apache Flink solutions, including stateful processing, checkpointing, and fault-tolerant approaches.
• Experience working with high-throughput, low-latency data pipelines that process and transform large volumes of data.

Some Other Highly Valued Skills May Include

• Experience working with financial messaging standards (e.g. ISO 20022, MT) and implementing parsing solutions using libraries such as Prowide Core.
• Experience integrating distributed systems using Kafka Connect and working with schemas through AVRO and Confluent Schema Registry.
• Experience applying Flink SQL or Table API to support stream processing use cases.

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills. This role will be based in Glasgow.

Purpose of the role

To build and maintain the systems that collect, store, process, and analyse data, such as data pipelines, data warehouses and data lakes to ensure that all data is accurate, accessible, and secure.

Accountabilities

• Build and maintenance of data architectures pipelines that enable the transfer and processing of durable, complete and consistent data.
• Design and implementation of data warehoused and data lakes that manage the appropriate data volumes and velocity and adhere to the required security measures.
• Development of processing and analysis algorithms fit for the intended data complexity and volumes.
• Collaboration with data scientist to build and deploy machine learning models.

Vice President Expectations

• To contribute or set strategy, drive requirements and make recommendations for change. Plan resources, budgets, and policies; manage and maintain policies/ processes; deliver continuous improvements and elevate breaches of policies/procedures.. If managing a team, they define jobs and responsibilities, planning for the department's future needs and operations, counselling employees on performance and contributing to employee pay decisions/changes. They may also lead a number of specialists to influence the operations of a department, in alignment with strategic as well as tactical priorities, while balancing short and long term goals and ensuring that budgets and schedules meet corporate requirements.. If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L - Listen and be authentic, E - Energise and inspire, A - Align across the enterprise, D - Develop others.. OR for an individual contributor, they will be a subject matter expert within own discipline and will guide technical direction. They will lead collaborative, multi-year assignments and guide team members through structured assignments, identify the need for the inclusion of other areas of specialisation to complete assignments. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions.. Advise key stakeholders, including functional leadership teams and senior management on functional and cross functional areas of impact and alignment. Manage and mitigate risks through assessment, in support of the control and governance agenda. Demonstrate leadership and accountability for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work your team does. Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the organisation functions to contribute to achieving the goals of the business. Collaborate with other areas of work, for business aligned support areas to keep up to speed with business activity and the business strategies. Create solutions based on sophisticated analytical thought comparing and selecting complex alternatives. In-depth analysis with interpretative thinking will be required to define problems and develop innovative solutions. Adopt and include the outcomes of extensive research in problem solving processes. Seek out, build and maintain trusting relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders in order to accomplish key business objectives, using influencing and negotiating skills to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship - our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset - to Empower, Challenge and Drive - the operating manual for how we behave.