Lead Data Engineer

NewDay Technology Limited; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

NewDay Technology Limited is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to lead a pod of Data Engineers in building reliable, scalable data products and platforms that empower smarter decision‑making. This hands‑on management role combines technical excellence with people leadership, shaping the engineering approach and setting standards for quality while guiding data teams to solve complex data challenges at scale.

You'll stay hands-on, designing and developing data pipelines using dbt, Python, SQL and

Qualifications

• Hands-on dbt data transformations in a complex data environment.
• Python and SQL programming to solve large-scale data problems.
• Lead and develop Data Engineers with hands-on delivery ownership.
• Experience in data modelling, ETL/ELT, data warehousing and scalable pipelines.
• Interest in AI and automation to improve engineering quality and productivity.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a pod of Data Engineers.
• Shape technical direction for data within your area.
• Design and develop complex data pipelines using dbt, Python, SQL and cloud technologies.
• Improve testing, data quality, observability and automation.

Skills

dbt

Python

SQL

Data modelling

ETL/ELT

Leadership

AI & automation

Tools

AWS

EMR

Athena

Lambda

S3

Glue

Step Functions

Snowflake

Spark

Scala

Airflow

Git

GitHub

CI/CD

GitHub Actions

Job description

As a Lead Data Engineer, you'll lead a pod of Data Engineers to build reliable, scalable data products and platforms that continue to help NewDay make better decisions and get more value from our data. This is a hands-on management role where you'll combine technical expertise with people leadership. You'll role-model our engineering approach, standards for quality and support your team to solve complex data challenges at scale. We also want to keep evolving how we use AI and automation within data engineering, giving you the opportunity to bring your ideas and curiosity to help us explore smarter, more efficient ways of working.

How you'll contribute

You'll lead and develop a pod of Data Engineers, creating an environment where people can learn, collaborate and deliver high-quality engineering. You'll shape the technical direction for data within your area, providing guidance across data modelling, data warehousing, ETL/ELT and scalable data platforms. You'll remain hands-on, designing and developing complex data pipelines and solutions using dbt, Python, SQL and modern cloud data technologies. You'll champion engineering quality, improving testing, data quality, observability and automation to make our data products more reliable and easier to operate. You'll collaborate across technology and the business, turning complex requirements into practical data solutions and exploring how AI and emerging technologies could improve the way your team engineers and delivers.

Essential skills

• Hands-on experience using dbt to design, build and improve data transformations within a complex data environment.
• Engineering experience using Python and SQL, with the ability to solve complex data problems at scale.
• The ability to design and guide modern data engineering solutions, with knowledge of data modelling, ETL/ELT, data warehousing and scalable data pipelines.
• The ability to lead and develop Data Engineers, combining hands-on technical contribution with coaching, technical direction and ownership of delivery.
• An interest in AI and automation, with the technical curiosity to explore how emerging technologies could improve engineering quality, productivity and ways of working.

Additional assets

• Experience using AWS or another major cloud platform. Our environment includes EMR, Athena, Lambda, S3, Glue and Step Functions, but we're open to transferable experience solving similar problems.
• Experience with Snowflake, Spark, Scala or Airflow, or transferable experience with comparable technologies and solving similar data engineering challenges.
• Experience with Git, GitHub and CI/CD practices, including tools such as GitHub Actions.
• Knowledge of real-time data processing, data governance, data quality or observability.
• Experience using AI-enabled engineering tools or automation to improve data engineering productivity, quality or reliability.

Externally this job title might also be known as Data Engineering Lead, Data Platform Lead or Principal Data Engineer.

At NewDay, we value all types of diversity. We're an equal opportunity employer and believe that our differences create a vibrant, authentic working culture. We want all our colleagues to feel able to bring their whole selves to work. We don't discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics or identities. We make sure that every job is crafted to be inclusive and that people with disabilities or caring responsibilities can take part in the application and interview process. Tell us if you need accommodations: We'll put reasonable adjustments in place to support you. We work with Textio to make our job design and hiring inclusive.

#LI-Hybrid #LI-TM1

Permanent We help people move forward with credit and help our colleagues to move their careers forward too. Through innovative consumer credit and embedded finance products powered by groundbreaking technology, we deliver over 300 million transactions every year. Our brands include Aqua, Marbles, Fluid, Bip and NewPay. We partner with leading brands such as AO, Argos, Boohoo, John Lewis and Lloyds Bank. Over 5 million UK customers are supported by our award-winning customer service.