Principal Data Engineer

Very Group; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working model

Inclusive culture and environment

£1000 flexible benefits allowance

30 days holiday + bank holidays

LinkedIn Learning access

Bonus potential

Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk

Matched pension up to 6%

Career site for more benefits

Job summary

Very Group in the United Kingdom is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to be a key technical voice within our Data Science and Engineering team, shaping the future of our data platforms and engineering practices while remaining hands-on.

You'll collaborate with Architects, Engineering leaders and cross‑functional squads to build scalable, observable data solutions, driving innovation and engineering excellence across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Experienced Data Engineer with leadership and mentoring skills.
• Strong track record building data platforms at scale.
• Ability to influence across multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Hands‑on with data engineering tools and modern development practices.

Responsibilities

• Shape the technical direction of our data platforms and define the roadmap for growth.
• Solve complex engineering challenges to improve scale, reliability and performance.
• Act as a trusted technical leader across multiple squads and guide architectural decisions.
• Coach and mentor engineers to grow their skills and careers.
• Create automated, observable data solutions to enable faster and safer delivery.

Skills

Data platform design

Leadership

Mentoring

System design

Tools

Apache Spark

Kafka

Airflow

Job description

About us

We're the team behind digital retailer Very.

Our purpose, helping families get more out of life, powers everything we do.

And we want our people to get more out of life too! If you’re high-performing, ambitious and make the most of every opportunity, we want to hear from you. In return, you'll enjoy heaps of flexibility, great perks and benefits, and the freedom to be yourself, keep learning and take your career wherever you want it to go.

If you love making a difference, you'll love making it sparkle for millions of Very customers.

About the Role

As a Principal Data Engineer, you'll be one of the most influential technical voices within our Data Science and Engineering team.

You’ll help define the future direction of our data platforms and engineering practices while remaining close to the technology that powers them. Working alongside Architects, Engineering leaders and cross-functional squads, you'll help ensure we're building scalable, resilient and modern data solutions that support our ambitious goals.

This role offers a unique balance of technical leadership, innovation and hands-on engineering influence.

You'll have the freedom to challenge existing thinking, introduce new ideas and drive improvements that impact multiple teams. At the same time, you'll play a vital role in developing engineering capability across the organisation, coaching others and creating an environment where great engineers can do their best work.

You'll help drive the future of data engineering at Very by:

• Shaping the technical direction of our data platforms and helping define the roadmap for future growth


• Solving complex engineering challenges that unlock greater scale, reliability and performance


• Acting as a trusted technical leader across multiple squads, helping teams make confident architectural and engineering decisions


• Raising engineering standards through best practice, code quality and modern development approaches


• Coaching and mentoring engineers, helping them grow their skills and careers


• Creating automated, reliable and observable data solutions that support faster and safer delivery


• Collaborating with Architects and Engineering leaders to introduce new technologies and drive innovation


• Helping teams remove blockers, overcome technical challenges and maintain delivery momentum


• Championing a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing and engineering excellence


• Representing Very within the wider technology community and helping us stay close to emerging trends and innovations

About you

You'll be an experienced Data Engineer who enjoys tackling difficult problems and influencing technical direction beyond your own team.

You combine deep technical expertise with a genuine passion for helping others succeed. You're someone people naturally turn to for guidance, whether that's solving a complex engineering problem, reviewing an architecture decision or supporting career development.

You’ll likely bring:

• Strong experience designing and building modern data platforms and engineering solutions at scale


• A passion for engineering excellence, automation and continuous improvement


• The ability to influence technical decisions across multiple teams and stakeholders


• A collaborative mindset and a natural coaching approach
  
• Curiosity about emerging technologies and how they can create value


• Strong problem-solving skills and the confidence to navigate ambiguity


• A desire to stay hands-on while operating as a technical leader

Most importantly, you'll be excited by the opportunity to shape the future of data engineering while helping others grow alongside you.

Some of our benefits

• Flexible, hybrid working model


• Inclusive culture and environment, check out our Glassdoor reviews


• £1000 flexible benefits allowance to suit your needs


• 30 days holiday + bank holidays


• LinkedIn Learning access


• Bonus potential (performance and business-related)


• Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk


• Matched pension up to 6%


• More benefits can be found on our career site

Diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities

We're building a culture of everyday inclusion, and welcome applications from anyone who believes they can do the job. We don't discriminate based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you need reasonable adjustments to apply, interview, or perform a role, let us know via [e-mail]. We'll be happy to support you.

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer and have nine brilliant colleague networks - including DAWN (Disability Awareness at Very) and Think (Neurodiversity at Very) - that are helping us make Very an even more inclusive place to work.