Principal Data Engineer

Lloyds Banking Group; Bristol; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading banking institution in the UK is seeking a Principal Data Engineer for the Personalised Experiences and Communications Platform. You will architect resilient data systems, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and ensure high-performance standards. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience with cloud platforms, big data technologies, and data streaming. The role offers a competitive package, with a focus on diversity and inclusivity, along with a wide-ranging benefits package including generous pension contributions and flexible lifestyle benefits.

Benefits

Generous pension contribution of up to 15%

Annual performance-related bonus

Share schemes including free shares

30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays

Wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in designing and supporting distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of data structures and algorithms.
• Experience with data warehouses and data lakes.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement scalable, resilient, low-latency data systems.
• Ensure systems meet performance and reliability standards.
• Collaborate with engineering leadership to deliver solutions.

Skills

Data systems architecture

Automation and CI/CD

Coding/scripting (Python, SQL, Java, Scala, Go)

Operational data stores

Big data technologies

Real-time streaming technologies (Kafka)

Cloud platforms (GCP, Azure, AWS)

Education

GCP 'Cloud Architect', 'Cloud Developer', 'Professional Data Engineer'

Apache Kafka (CCDAK)

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Spark

Hadoop

Job description

Principal Data Engineer – Personalised Experiences and Communications Platform

Join our Personalised Experiences and Communications Platform as a Principal Data Engineer. You'll work within multi-functional product engineering teams to deliver top-quality data capabilities, demonstrating your engineering expertise and cloud opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement scalable, resilient, low‑latency data systems.
• Ensure systems meet performance and reliability standards.
• Collaborate with engineering leadership and stakeholders.
• Set technical strategy and best practices for data engineering.
• Deliver solutions for multiple entities within the group.
• Ensure alignment with business needs and cloud opportunities.
• Promote secure, high‑quality data pipelines.
• Implement standards for data integrity and compliance.
• Identify and eliminate recurring issues through automation.
• Improve operational efficiency and reduce manual intervention.
• Provide guidance and technical leadership. Extensive industry experience in designing, building and supporting distributed systems and large‑scale data processing systems in production with a proven track record.
• Proven experience and knowledge of automation and CI/CD.
• Best practice coding/scripting experience developed in a commercial/industry setting (Python, SQL, Java, Scala or Go).
• Strong working experience with operational data stores, data warehouse, big data technologies and data lakes.
• Experience in using distributed frameworks (Spark, Flink, Beam, Hadoop).
• Good knowledge of containers (Docker, Kubernetes etc.) and experience with cloud platforms such as GCP, Azure or AWS.
• Strong experience working with real‑time streaming, such as Kafka technologies.
• Clear understanding of data structures, algorithms, software design, design patterns and core programming concepts.
• Good understanding of cloud storage, networking, and resource provisioning.

Desired Certifications

• GCP "Cloud Architect", "Cloud Developer", "Professional Data Engineer"
• Apache Kafka (CCDAK)

About Lloyds Banking Group

At Lloyds Banking Group, we are driven by a clear purpose; to help Britain prosper. Across the Group, our colleagues are focused on making a difference to customers, businesses and communities. With us you'll have a key role to play in shaping the financial services of the future, whilst the scale and reach of our Group means you'll have many opportunities to learn, grow and develop.

We keep your data safe. So, we'll only ever ask you to provide confidential or sensitive information once you have formally been invited along to an interview or accepted a verbal offer to join us, which is when we run our background checks. We'll always explain what we need and why, with any request coming from a trusted Lloyds Banking Group person. We're focused on creating a values‑led culture and are committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the customers and communities we serve. Together we’re building a truly inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference.

We're on an exciting journey and there couldn't be a better time to join us. The investments we're making in our people, data, and technology are leading to innovative projects, fresh possibilities, and countless new ways for our people to work, learn, and thrive. About working for us: Our focus is to ensure we’re inclusive every day, building an organisation that reflects modern society and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We want our people to feel that they belong and can be their best, regardless of background, identity or culture. We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer initiative. And it’s why we especially welcome applications from under‑represented groups. We're disability confident. So if you'd like reasonable adjustments to be made to our recruitment processes, just let us know. We also offer a wide‑ranging benefits package, which includes:

Benefits

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%
• An annual performance‑related bonus
• Share schemes including free shares
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• 30 days’ holiday, with bank holidays on top
• A range of wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies