Principal Data and AI Engineer

Flexera; Maidstone; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic team at a leading company as a Principal Data and AI Engineer. You will drive technical innovation, transforming IT assets' management through advanced data operations and strategic leadership. Ideal candidates will have expertise in SQL Server and experience in large-scale data environments.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in large-scale data/content operations.
• Expertise in SQL Server, T-SQL, and C#.
• Strong understanding of data architecture and system design.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve strategy for data operations at scale.
• Lead automation efforts in data quality assurance.
• Collaborate with engineers on architecture and API integrations.

Skills

Database design

Performance tuning

REST API integration

Data architecture

Agile methodologies

Tools

Microsoft SQL Server

Databricks

Job description

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.

Engineering Partnership

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.