Principal Data and AI Engineer

JR United Kingdom; Belfast; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Principal Data and AI Engineer to transform enterprise data operations at scale. In this role, you will lead technical innovation in data ingestion and organization, ensuring the delivery of trusted insights to optimize IT asset management. The ideal candidate will possess strong experience in data architecture and a strategic mindset, focusing on both operational excellence and team leadership.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in large-scale data/content operations and platform engineering.
• Expertise in Microsoft SQL Server, T-SQL, and C#.
• Familiarity with Data Lakehouse architectures, especially Databricks.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the long-term strategy for data and content operations.
• Lead automation efforts in data normalization and quality assurance.
• Design and govern modern, large-scale data architectures.

Skills

Database design

Performance tuning

REST API integration

Data architecture

Agile methodologies

Workflow optimization

Job description

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Reimagine enterprise data and content operations at massive scale! As the Principal Data and AI Engineer at Flexera, you will drive technical innovation and lead a talented team focused on the ingestion, curation, and organization of the world's IT assets. Your mission: transform vast amounts of semi-structured data into trusted insights, empowering customers to manage and optimize their IT landscapes—including hardware, software, SaaS, cloud, containers, AI services, and more.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Ownership

• Define and evolve the long-term strategy for data and content operations at scale.
• Balance current realities with an ambitious roadmap toward future innovation.
• Lead automation efforts in data normalization, enrichment, and quality assurance using AI/ML and Agentic AI.
• Align technical direction with business priorities to shape the roadmap.

Technical Leadership

• Design, optimize, and govern modern, large-scale data architectures.
• Oversee architecture across applications, infrastructure, and ecosystem integrations.
• Apply advanced performance tuning, database optimization, and domain-driven design principles.
• Collaborate with and mentor engineers on system architecture, CI/CD workflows, and API integrations.
• Provide technical oversight in data modeling, system scaling, availability, and reliability.
• Act as a hands-on contributor to unblock teams and drive execution on complex projects.

Operational Excellence

• Champion foundational data metrics: quality, accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.
• Ensure security and cost-effectiveness of operations through thoughtful oversight.

Required Experience

• Proven experience in large-scale data/content operations and platform engineering.
• Expertise in Microsoft SQL Server, including:
• Database design and performance tuning
• Transact-SQL (T-SQL), C#
• REST API integration
• Familiarity with Data Lakehouse architectures, especially Databricks.
• Strong understanding of data architecture, domain modeling, and system design in distributed environments.
• Experience working in Agile environments with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in workflow optimization through tooling, process, automation, and AI augmentation (including Agentic AI).
• Domain knowledge in IT Asset Management, FinOps, or vulnerability intelligence is a plus.

Personal Attributes

• Clear communicator: Crisp, honest, and transparent communication style.
• Data-driven mindset: Always seeks to validate hypotheses with data.
• Detail-oriented and strategic: Able to zoom into details while maintaining a broader perspective.
• Hands-on leader: Actively seeks challenges and empowers the team.
• Storyteller and mentor: Inspires teams through vision and guidance.
• Emotionally intelligent: Maintains composure under pressure.
• Change advocate: Balances incremental improvements with transformative innovation.