Lead Data Ops

Allwyn UK; Watford; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Allwyn UK is seeking a BI Operations Specialist to ensure efficient data pipeline management and system performance. This role offers the chance to work with cutting-edge AWS technology in a dynamic environment focused on delivering to good causes. The ideal candidate has strong automation, incident management skills, and experience with the AWS BI stack. Participate in a journey to create a better National Lottery while working collaboratively with cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in Production Support for AWS BI/Data Engineering.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with AWS BI stack.
• Experience in incident management and performance optimization.

Responsibilities

• Ensure smooth running of BI data pipelines and reporting systems.
• Investigate and resolve L2 incidents, implementing fixes for stability.
• Automate manual processes to improve efficiency and reliability.

Skills

Automation

Incident Management

Data Governance

SQL

Communication

Tools

AWS Redshift

AWS Glue

AWS Airflow

Power BI

Job description

Description

Join our journey to create a new experience for the National Lottery and help us to power change for the greater good.

About us:

We are Allwyn UK, part of the Allwyn Entertainment Group – a multi-national lottery operator with a market-leading presence in Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Italy. We have been officially awarded the Fourth Licence (10 year licence) to operate the National Lottery starting February 2024.

We’ve developed ground-breaking technologies, built player protection frameworks, and have a proven track record of making lotteries better. Our aim is to create one of the UK’s most inclusive organisations – where people can bring the best of themselves, to do their best work, every day, for the benefit of good causes.

While the main contribution of the National Lottery to society is through the funds to good causes, at Allwyn we put our purpose and values at the heart of everything we do. Join us as we embark on a once-in-a-lifetime, largescale transformation journey to build a bigger, better, and safer National Lottery that delivers more money to good causes.

Key Responsibilities:

BI Operations & System Monitoring:

• Ensure day-to-day smooth running of BI data pipelines, reporting systems, and cloud-based ETL/ELT workflows (AWS, Redshift, Glue, Airflow).Monitor system uptime and performance, proactively addressing issues to maintain SLA compliance.Setup monitoring dashboards and look after systems availability and operations.
• Strong observability setup skills to constantly look for thresholds and alerting mechanisms.
• Automation skills to be able to identify automations which would reduce manual efforts.

Incident, Release/Change & Problem Management (L2 Support):

• Investigate, triage, and resolve L2 incidents, escalating L3 issues when necessary.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement fixes to improve system stability.
• Perform deployments on production environments and ensuring change management process is followed.
• Approve or review changes published by Dev/Test teams on Production environments.

SLA & Performance Compliance:

• Maintain SLAs for uptime, latency, and data freshness, using monitoring tools like AWS CloudWatch.
• Track and optimise system performance, reducing recurring issues.

Data Governance & Quality:

• Oversee data validation, ensuring compliance with governance frameworks (Ataccama or similar).
• Reduce flagged data anomalies and drive improvements in data quality KPIs.

Automation & Continuous Improvement:

• Automate manual support processes (alerting, monitoring) to improve efficiency and reliability.
• Identify and implement workflow optimisations to reduce operational bottlenecks.

Stakeholder & Team Collaboration:

• Work closely with cross-functional teams (DevOps, Data Engineering, AI) to align on fixes and enhancements
• Provide regular updates on incident resolution progress to key stakeholders and leadership.

Essential Skills & Experience

Experience:

• 5+ years of experience (minimum 3 years in Production Support for AWS BI/Data Engineering).

Technical Experience:

• Hands-on experience with AWS BI stack (Redshift, Glue, Airflow, S3, Step Functions).
• Data Engineering & ETL: Redshift, Glue, Airflow, S3 Step Functions, Spark.
• Reporting & Visualisation: Power BI (preferred), Business Objects, Qlik.
• Data Warehousing: Data modeling, ETL processes, and reverse engineering.
• Database Expertise: Strong SQL scripting, database optimisation, and troubleshooting.

Operations Experience:

• Incident & Problem Management: Identify root causes, troubleshoot, and implement fixes for data pipeline and platform issues. Manage L2 escalations effectively, ensuring timely resolution and minimizing business impact.
• Monitoring & Automation for Stability: Track data pipeline health, dependencies, and performance metrics using monitoring tools. Implement automated alerting and self-healing mechanisms to reduce manual intervention.
• SLA Compliance & Reporting: Ensure adherence to uptime, latency, and data freshness SLAs. Proactively monitor for performance bottlenecks and report insights to key stakeholders.
• Change & Access Management: Oversee deployments, version control, and rollback strategies to ensure smooth transitions. Manage user roles, security controls, and production access to maintain compliance.
• ITIL Framework & Continuous Improvement: Apply ITIL best practices for incident, change, and problem management. Drive process automation and workflow optimisations to enhance operational efficiency.
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including DevOps, Data Engineering, and AI, to coordinate issue resolution and system enhancements. Provide clear updates on incident progress and operational improvements.

Lead experience in:

• Team Management: Hiring, retention, and mentoring of a motivated team, providing regular feedback and career growth opportunities.
• Management Reporting: Collaborating with Heads of Functions and key stakeholders to report on team performance, status updates, and operational insights.
• Vendor & Service Provider Management: Overseeing Managed Service Providers (MSPs), tracking efficiency, and ensuring smooth collaboration.
• Process & Performance Optimisation: Driving continuous improvement initiatives, optimising workflows, and ensuring best practices are followed.
• Communication & Leadership: Strong interpersonal skills, fostering a collaborative culture, and ensuring clear communication across teams.
• Communication & Leadership: Strong interpersonal skills, fostering a collaborative culture, and ensuring clear communication across teams.

Desirable Skills & Experience:

• Experience with multiple programming languages, including Python, Shell Scripting, Spark, and Scala.
• Experience with Amazon Sagemaker.

Allwyn is an Equal Opportunity Employer which prides itself in being diverse and inclusive. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or victimisation in the workplace. All employment decisions at Allwyn are based on the business needs, the job requirements, and the individual qualifications. Allwyn encourages applications from individuals regardless of age, disability (visible or hidden), sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.