Lead Data Engineer in Manchester

Energy Jobline ZR; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 77,000 - 104,000; Full time

Job summary

Energy Jobline ZR in Manchester is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to shape a growing data platform. The role combines hands‑on engineering with technical leadership, owning data architecture, standards, and mentoring engineers.

You will work with stakeholders to define how data is built, consumed, and governed, as the team modernises on AWS with lakehouse and real‑time analytics, focusing on scalable, maintainable solutions.

Qualifications

• Significant experience as a Senior or Lead Data Engineer in data‑intense environments.
• Strong AWS experience including Glue, Lambda, S3, Redshift, and related tooling.
• Proficient in Apache Spark and large‑scale data processing.
• Experience with streaming systems such as Kafka.
• Expert SQL and data modelling capabilities.
• Experience designing modern data warehousing and lakehouse architectures.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and provide technical leadership.
• Excellent communication to influence both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across the Data Engineering team.
• Define engineering standards, patterns, and best practices for data development.
• Design and oversee scalable data pipelines and ETL/ELT in AWS.
• Lead architectural decisions across data warehousing and lakehouse platforms.
• Mentor Data Engineers and grow team capability.
• Drive reliability, performance, observability and data quality improvements.
• Collaborate with Data Scientists, Analysts, and Engineering to deliver data solutions.
• Contribute to long‑term platform strategy and roadmap planning.
• Support migration and optimisation of cloud‑based data platforms.
• Promote automation, CI/CD, monitoring and infrastructure as code.

Skills

AWS

Apache Spark

Kafka

SQL

Data Modelling

Mentoring

Leadership

Tools

Glue

Lambda

S3

Redshift

CI/CD

Monitoring

Infrastructure as Code

Job description

Job Description

Lead Data Engineer - Manchester (Hybrid)

£90,000 + Benefits

The Role

We're looking for a Lead Data Engineer to help shape the future of a growing data platform and lead the next phase of its evolution.

This is a role for someone who enjoys balancing hands‑on engineering with technical leadership. You'll remain close to the technology, but you'll also take ownership of data architecture, engineering standards, technical direction, and the development of other engineers within the team.

Working closely with engineering leadership, analytics teams, and business stakeholders, you'll help define how data is built, consumed, and governed across the organisation.

The Opportunity

The team is investing heavily in its data capabilities and modernising its data estate within AWS. Existing initiatives include the migration of a large‑scale data warehouse into AWS and the adoption of modern lakehouse architecture, real‑time data processing, and advanced analytics capabilities. As Lead Data Engineer, you'll be responsible for ensuring the platform scales effectively, engineering standards remain high, and solutions are designed with long‑term maintainability in mind. This is an opportunity to influence technology choices, mentor engineers, improve ways of working, and establish best practices across the wider data function.

What You'll Be Doing

• Providing technical leadership across the Data Engineering team.
• Defining engineering standards, patterns, and best practices for data development.
• Designing and overseeing scalable data pipelines and ETL/ELT solutions within AWS.
• Leading architectural decisions across data warehousing and modern lakehouse platforms.
• Supporting and mentoring Data Engineers, helping to develop capability across the team.
• Driving improvements in reliability, performance, observability, and data quality.
• Working closely with Data Scientists, Analysts, and Engineering teams to deliver high‑value data solutions.
• Contributing to long‑term platform strategy and roadmap planning.
• Supporting the continued migration and optimisation of cloud‑based data platforms.
• Promoting modern engineering practices including automation, CI/CD, monitoring, and infrastructure as code.

What You Bring

• Significant experience as a Senior or Lead Data Engineer within high‑volume, data‑intensive environments.
• Extensive AWS experience including services such as Glue, Lambda, S3, Redshift, and wider cloud- data tooling.
• Strong knowledge of Apache Spark and large‑scale data processing.
• Experience working with streaming technologies such as Kafka.
• Expert SQL and data modelling capabilities.
• Experience designing modern data warehousing and lakehouse architectures.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and provide technical leadership.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Why Apply?

This role offers the chance to help define the future of Data Engineering within a business that is heavily investing in cloud, analytics, and platform modernisation. You'll have the autonomy to influence technical direction, develop engineering capability, and work on large‑scale data challenges that have genuine business impact