Lead Data Engineer

Amber Labs; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 25 days

Private medical insurance

Remote-first working

Training budget

Perkbox discounts

EV scheme after 1 year

Team socials

Referral bonus £3,000

PC or Mac choice

Job summary

Amber Labs is seeking an experienced Lead Data Engineer to drive a large-scale data migration and transformation programme onto an Azure-based platform. You will provide technical leadership across ETL, data modelling, governance and reporting to ensure high-quality data delivery for regulated environments.

You will design and implement ETL into Azure PostgreSQL, establish scalable migration capabilities, and collaborate with stakeholders to optimise data structures for extensive reporting.

Qualifications

• Hands-on ETL design into Azure PostgreSQL
• Strong experience with Azure data platform technologies
• Excellent data modelling and database design skills
• Experience establishing and governing data migration frameworks
• Proven data quality, validation, reconciliation and governance
• Experience designing reporting data structures for large-scale reporting
• Strong stakeholder management and ability to translate business needs
• Experience leading and mentoring engineering teams
• Experience in large-scale public sector or enterprise transformation programmes
• BPSS or SC Clearance, or eligibility to obtain SC Clearance

Responsibilities

• Design end-to-end data migration strategy for CRS
• Lead ETL development into Azure PostgreSQL
• Scale data migration capability within the new platform
• Define data loading approaches for staging and production
• Ensure data quality, validation and governance throughout migration
• Support data feeding for 140+ operational reports
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define reporting needs
• Lead data modelling and database design for operations and reporting
• Provide technical leadership across data engineering and migration workstreams
• Identify and mitigate risks affecting data products and timelines

Skills

ETL to Azure PostgreSQL

Data migration planning

Data modelling

Data quality governance

Reporting data structures

Stakeholder management

Mentoring engineering teams

Public sector / enterprise programs

Tools

Azure PostgreSQL

Azure data platform technologies

Job description

Clearance: BPSS or SC Clearance / eligibility to obtain SC Clearance

About Amber Labs

The digital transformation partner for highly regulated industries.

Our teams deliver digital transformation for organisations operating in complex, highly regulated environments. From securing national borders to supporting critical defence operations, we deliver secure AI, data, cloud and software solutions across high-stakes programmes.

What You’ll Be Doing

We’re looking for an experienced Lead Data Engineer to lead the design and delivery of a large-scale data migration and transformation programme. You'll provide technical leadership across data engineering, migration, modelling and reporting activities, ensuring critical business data is successfully transitioned into a modern Azure-based platform.

You'll be responsible for:

• Designing and delivering the end-to-end data migration strategy for CRS
• Leading the development and implementation of ETL processes into Azure PostgreSQL
• Establishing and scaling the data migration capability within the new platform environment
• Defining approaches for loading and managing data across staging and production environments
• Ensuring data quality, validation, reconciliation and governance throughout the migration lifecycle
• Supporting the migration and transformation of data feeding over 140 operational reports
• Collaborating with business and technical stakeholders to define reporting requirements and optimise data structures
• Leading data modelling and database design activities to support operational and reporting needs
• Providing technical leadership and oversight across all data engineering and migration workstreams
• Identifying and mitigating risks affecting data products, pipelines and programme delivery timescales

What We’re Looking For

You will need:

• Hands‑on expertise designing and developing ETL solutions into Azure PostgreSQL
• Extensive experience with Azure data platform technologies
• Strong data modelling and database design capabilities
• Experience establishing and governing data migration frameworks and processes
• Proven expertise in data quality, validation, reconciliation and governance
• Experience designing reporting data structures and supporting large‑scale reporting functions
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Previous experience leading and mentoring engineering teams
• Experience working within large‑scale public sector or enterprise transformation programmes
• BPSS or SC Clearance, or eligibility to obtain SC Clearance

Key Skills

• ETL to Azure PostgreSQL
• Data migration planning and execution
• Data modelling and database design
• Data quality, validation and reconciliation
• Reporting data structures and optimisation

What’s In It For You

We believe benefits should be practical: things that genuinely support your day‑to‑day, give you flexibility and help you keep developing.

Here are a few of our perks:

• 25 days' annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Private medical insurance with Bupa
• Remote‑first working, with access to our Liverpool Street office
• Personal training budget to support your professional development
• Perkbox membership, with discounts across retail, travel, dining and wellness
• Electric Vehicle Scheme after one year of service
• Regular team socials
• Referral scheme offering up to £3,000 for successful hires
• Your choice of PC or Mac

How We Work

We’ve worked hard to build a team of people who are experts at what they do. Because of that, we’ll trust you to get on with your job and give you the space to do it well. But you'll always have plenty of support around you whenever you need it.

What Happens Next?

Once you've applied, our in‑house Talent team will review your application and, if it looks like there could be a good fit, they'll be in touch. For most of our roles, there are two interview stages: one focused on your technical expertise and another focused on how you communicate and approach your work.