Lead Data Engineer

Women in Data®; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Women in Data® is seeking a Lead Data Engineer in London to build and lead the data engineering function. You will shape standards, own critical pipelines and influence how data products are delivered at scale.

You will work closely with product and tech leaders, develop engineers, and maintain high-quality delivery with robust AI-enabled data platforms. Hybrid work with four days in the office.

Qualifications

• Experience building a Data Engineering function or significantly improving an existing team’s practices.
• Proven line-management experience and a track record of developing engineers.
• Strong hands-on SQL and Python skills.
• Solid experience in data modelling, cloud infrastructure and deployment automation.
• The judgement to balance delivery demands with maintainability and technical quality.

Responsibilities

• Own engineering standards, tooling and ways of working.
• Line management, mentoring and future recruitment.
• SQL-led transformation pipelines and Python orchestration.
• Code review, automated testing, Git workflows and CI/CD.
• Data modelling, deployment controls and production reliability.
• Integration of AI outputs into production data pipelines.
• Practical adoption of AI engineering tools, supported by validation and quality controls.

Skills

SQL

Python

Data modelling

Cloud infrastructure

Deployment automation

Line management

Mentoring

CI/CD

Data pipelines

Tools

Git

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Location: London | Four days per week in the office

Ref: J13197

A scaling AI-powered SaaS business is looking for a Lead Data Engineer to build and lead its Data Engineering function, shaping the team, setting the standards and creating the foundations for its next stage of growth.

You’ll have real ownership and a direct influence on how the business builds and delivers its data products. From improving engineering practices to delivering critical pipelines, you’ll see the results of your work in live products and the value they create for customers.

Working closely with technical and product leaders, you’ll develop engineers, bring structure to delivery and stay hands-on with the most complex technical challenges. It’s an opportunity to build a function you can be proud of, with strong engineering principles at its core.

What you’ll own:

• Engineering standards, tooling and ways of working.
• Line management, mentoring and future recruitment.
• SQL-led transformation pipelines and Python orchestration.
• Code review, automated testing, Git workflows and CI/CD.
• Data modelling, deployment controls and production reliability.
• Integration of AI outputs into production data pipelines.
• Practical adoption of AI engineering tools, supported by validation and quality controls.

What you’ll bring:

• Experience building a Data Engineering function or significantly improving an existing team’s practices.
• Proven line-management experience and a track record of developing engineers.
• Strong hands-on SQL and Python skills.
• Solid experience in data modelling, cloud infrastructure and deployment automation.
• The judgement to balance delivery demands with maintainability and technical quality.

This would suit a Lead Data Engineer or hands-on Data Engineering Manager who has raised engineering standards, developed people and made delivery more reliable.