Lead Data Engineer

ITV; London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Join ITV as a Lead Data Engineer in a dynamic role where your work will impact millions. You'll manage and optimize our data pipeline infrastructure, lead a dedicated team, and contribute to innovative projects in the digital streaming space, leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Databricks. This permanent role located in London offers a competitive salary and an engaging work environment.

Qualifications

• Experience leading teams of data engineers.
• Strong programming skills, especially in Python and SQL.
• Proven knowledge in designing data pipelines with Databricks.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and oversee the data engineering team.
• Design, develop, and maintain scalable data pipelines.
• Implement data governance and ensure compliance with regulations.

Skills

Python

Databricks

SQL

Data Governance

ETL Processes

Tools

Apache Spark

AWS

Azure

GCP

Tableau

Job description

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Shaping culture is in the DNA of ITV. So, it’s not surprising that you’ll find us in every home in the UK, our productions are famous all over the world, and we’re at the forefront of the digital streaming revolution.

When you join us, you enter a fun working environment with opportunities to learn, grow, and make a real difference. We are small enough that your impact is felt within the business but large enough that it reaches millions of people.

Come develop your skills, change TV, and shape your career. Don’t just watch it—be part of it. Join ITV.

Lead Data Engineer

Data Insights

Permanent

Office location: ITV White City

Hiring range: £85,000 - £95,000

Your work matters to millions.

Our data team helps us realize the value of data, from upskilling staff to increasing revenue through experimentation and personalization. The team includes Data Scientists, Operational Researchers, and Behavioral Scientists, blending science with creativity. As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, you will have the opportunity to work on groundbreaking innovations.

As a Lead Data Engineer, you will develop, maintain, and optimize our data pipeline infrastructure using our proprietary platform (Symphony) based on Databricks. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and implement scalable data solutions, ensuring efficient data ingestion, transformation, storage, and analysis.

This is a hands-on leadership role, overseeing a small team of data engineers. You will work with your delivery and product managers to plan and distribute work, and motivate your team to contribute enthusiastically.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing technical leadership, monitoring productivity, setting objectives, and participating in performance reviews.
• Designing, developing, and maintaining scalable data pipelines and infrastructure using Databricks, including data ingestion, processing, and storage solutions.
• Collaborating with stakeholders to develop and optimize ELT processes, ensuring smooth data flow and quality.
• Adhering to data architecture principles, designing data models, and optimizing storage and retrieval.
• Monitoring and optimizing data pipelines for performance and reliability, resolving bottlenecks and data issues.
• Defining data quality standards and working with QA to automate quality checks.
• Implementing data governance, ensuring compliance with privacy and security regulations, and establishing access controls and retention policies.
• Ensuring data products meet observability and dashboard requirements.
• Supporting cross-functional teams with data engineering support, documenting pipelines and workflows.
• Communicating complex solutions clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, including presentations.
• Staying updated on industry trends and emerging technologies.

Minimum skills and experience:

• Leading small teams of data engineers.
• Designing and building Databricks data products.
• Strong programming skills in Python (PySpark preferred), Scala, or SQL.
• Experience with enterprise-level data pipelines, data integration, and ETL processes.
• Proficiency in production-grade coding, automated testing, and CI/CD deployment (e.g., Github Actions, Jenkins).
• Experience with distributed frameworks like Apache Spark, data modeling, database systems, and SQL optimization.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and services like S3, Redshift, BigQuery.

Additional desirable qualities:

• Knowledge of UK broadcast industry & digital marketing.
• Familiarity with data design for classification, regression, A/B testing, and statistical modeling.
• Understanding of Data Mesh, Data Architecture, BI Architecture, and Enterprise Architecture.
• Knowledge of data governance, privacy, and security principles.
• Experience with data management tools—data engineering, governance, quality, metadata, and master data management.
• Experience in building data visualization solutions with Tableau, AWS QuickSight, Looker, or ThoughtSpot.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and mentoring skills, with excellent communication and stakeholder influence at all levels.