Principal Data and AI Engineer

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

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Principal Data and AI Engineer dedicated to revolutionizing enterprise data management. The role involves strategic leadership in data operations, technical innovation, and fostering collaboration within teams to drive exceptional results in IT asset management.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in large-scale data/content operations.
• Expertise in Microsoft SQL Server: T-SQL, REST API integration.
• Experience in Agile environments with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

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

Skills

Data-driven mindset

Clear communicator

Detail-oriented

Hands-on leader

Change advocate

Tools

Microsoft SQL Server

Databricks

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.