Lead Data Engineer

SR2; Greater London; Remote; GBP 100,000 - 134,000; Full time

Job summary

SR2 is seeking an experienced Lead Data Engineer for a major Central Government programme. The role focuses on building and maintaining core data pipelines, streaming data into downstream products, and leading engineering delivery.

You will mentor junior engineers, set engineering standards, and drive secure, scalable data solutions while working primarily remotely with occasional on-site meetings in the UK.

Qualifications

• Experience leading data engineering teams in large projects.
• Strong background designing scalable data pipelines and streaming data.
• Hands-on with Java, Kafka, Kubernetes and AWS in production.
• Familiarity with Terraform and CI/CD pipelines, preferably Drone.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain scalable data pipelines.
• Lead technical delivery and support architectural decisions.
• Establish engineering standards and best practices.
• Mentor junior engineers while remaining hands-on with development.
• Support delivery of reliable, secure data solutions.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Architectural design

Security best practices

Tools

Java

Kafka

Kubernetes

AWS

Terraform

Drone CI/CD

Job description

Location: Primarily Remote (Occasional Onsite Meetings)

Contract: 5 Months Initially (Potential Extension)

Start Date: ASAP

IR35 Status: Inside IR35

Clearance: Active SC Clearance Essential

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Lead Data Engineer to support a major Central Government programme. The role will focus on developing and maintaining core data pipelines, streaming data into downstream products and leading engineering delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain scalable data pipelines.
• Lead technical delivery and support architectural decisions.
• Establish engineering standards and best practices.
• Mentor junior engineers while remaining hands-on with development.
• Support the delivery of reliable, secure data solutions.
• Strong experience in Java - preferably from a software engineer background.
• Hands-on expertise with Kafka, Kubernetes and AWS.
• Experience with Terraform and CI/CD pipelines (ideally Drone).
• Proven experience leading data engineering teams.
• Active SC clearance.

All candidates must have a full right to work in the UK & an active UK security clearance.