Principal Data Engineer

Harnham; Hounslow; Hybrid; GBP 93,000 - 127,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

£110,000 + benefits

Career progression

Job summary

Harnham is seeking a Principal Data Engineer in Hounslow, West London for a hybrid role blending hands-on engineering with leadership, mentorship and strategic influence over large-scale data platforms.

You will design and optimise data pipelines, drive DevOps practices, and mentor engineers while collaborating with stakeholders to shape data engineering standards across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience in Data Engineering or related engineering discipline.
• Experience with AWS and cloud-native data platforms.
• Hands-on experience with Snowflake and dbt.
• Strong software engineering and data architecture fundamentals.
• Experience building and supporting production-grade data solutions.
• Knowledge of CI/CD, automation, testing, monitoring, and DevOps practices.
• Experience leading technical initiatives and influencing engineering standards.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to mentor, coach, and develop engineering talent.

Responsibilities

• Leading the design, development, and optimisation of scalable data platforms and pipelines.
• Driving best practices across Data Engineering, Software Engineering, and DevOps.
• Working extensively with AWS, Snowflake, and dbt.
• Troubleshooting complex technical challenges and supporting teams to unblock delivery.
• Coaching, mentoring, and managing engineers to develop technical capability.
• Influencing engineering standards and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborating with stakeholders across technology and business functions.
• Supporting the development of reliable, secure, and high-performing data products.
• Contributing to technical strategy and platform evolution.

Skills

AWS

Snowflake

dbt

Data engineering

DevOps

CI/CD

Mentoring

Stakeholder mgmt

Tools

dbt

Snowflake

AWS

Job description

Principal Data Engineer

Hounslow, West London (Hybrid) | £110,000 + Benefits

This is an opportunity for a technically strong Principal Data Engineer to combine hands-on engineering with leadership, mentorship, and strategic influence. You'll work on large-scale, commercially critical data platforms while helping shape engineering standards across a growing data function.

The Company

They are a large, data-driven organisation investing heavily in modern data capabilities and engineering excellence. Operating within a federated data model, they have embedded data teams working closely with business stakeholders to deliver impactful data products. The environment offers exposure to complex datasets, modern cloud technologies, and the opportunity to influence data engineering at scale.

The Role

You will provide technical leadership while remaining actively involved in engineering delivery and platform development.
Responsibilities include:

• Leading the design, development, and optimisation of scalable data platforms and pipelines.
• Driving best practices across Data Engineering, Software Engineering, and DevOps.
• Working extensively with AWS, Snowflake, and dbt.
• Troubleshooting complex technical challenges and supporting teams to unblock delivery.
• Coaching, mentoring, and managing engineers to develop technical capability.
• Influencing engineering standards and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborating with stakeholders across technology and business functions.
• Supporting the development of reliable, secure, and high-performing data products.
• Contributing to technical strategy and platform evolution.

Your Skills & Experience

• Strong commercial experience in Data Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Expertise with AWS and cloud-native data platforms.
• Hands-on experience with Snowflake and dbt.
• Strong software engineering and data architecture fundamentals.
• Experience building and supporting production-grade data solutions.
• Knowledge of CI/CD, automation, testing, monitoring, and DevOps practices.
• Experience leading technical initiatives and influencing engineering standards.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to mentor, coach, and develop engineering talent.

What They Offer

• Salary of £110,000 plus benefits.
• Hybrid working with three days per week onsite in Hounslow.
• Opportunity to shape engineering standards across a growing data organisation.
• Exposure to large-scale, business-critical datasets and complex technical challenges.
• Leadership responsibility with a blend of hands-on engineering and team development.
• Long-term career progression within a modern data environment.