Principal Data Engineer

JR United Kingdom; Slough; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A cutting-edge SaaS company in Slough is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to join their high-performing team. This crucial role involves designing advanced data architecture and leading the development of industry-specific data solutions, fostering client engagement and technical excellence across multiple platforms.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with data lakes, data warehouses, and complex data pipelines.
• Deep understanding of business process flows, particularly in retail and consumer sectors.
• Experience in leading technical projects and mentoring teams.

Responsibilities

• Designing scalable, reusable data architecture assets aligned with industry needs.
• Building pre-configured, modular components for customer deployments.
• Aligning architecture to core business use cases.

Skills

SQL

Python

Data orchestration tools

Mentoring

Communication

Tools

Spark

Databricks

Mulesoft

Talend

Alteryx

Job description

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We’re working with a cutting-edge SaaS business that's revolutionising how organisations integrate systems, manage data, and deliver insights. This high-growth, product-led company offers a game-changing, AI-powered platform that’s driving digital transformation for global clients.

The organisation are known for their incredible culture and have won multiple awards for their approach to high achieving professionalism balanced with a great work-life balance.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Principal Data Engineer to join a highly skilled team focused on delivering next-gen, data-driven solutions across complex enterprise environments. We’re looking to a Principal Technical Contributor who can also work in a strategic role.

At it’s core, this role is about improving the company’s Product internally, while also listening to and tailoring for clients.

You’ll act as a platform superuser and thought leader, responsible for designing and delivering modular, reusable data architecture components that accelerate implementation and drive value for customers.

This is a key opportunity to influence the development of industry-specific solutions for use by clients, implementation partners, and internal teams. You’ll work closely with product owners, platform architects, and client delivery teams to build scalable, industry-aligned offerings in sectors such as retail and consumer goods.

Responsibilities

• Collaborating with product and delivery teams to define scalable, reusable data architecture assets that align with industry-specific needs.
• Acting as a key platform advocate sharing best practices, collecting feedback, and ensuring continuous improvement in how solutions are built.
• Building a suite of pre-configured, modular components including workflows, data models, connectors, dashboards, and more to streamline customer deployments.
• Leading the technical enablement of platform users by creating clear documentation, templates, and training resources.
• Contributing to the platform roadmap with feature ideas that make solution development faster and more intuitive.
• Aligning architecture to core business use cases (such as order-to-cash) and ensuring that components meet real-world operational demands.
• Driving the adoption of advanced data practices including machine learning models, event-based processing, and clean data lineage.
• Providing guidance and oversight to engineers and analysts, supporting their growth and elevating team capability.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience designing and implementing data lakes, data warehouses, and complex data pipelines using modern tools and cloud-native platforms.
• A interactive, collaborative approach with a strong grasp of client delivery dynamics particularly within data-led transformation projects.
• A deep understanding of business process flows, especially in retail and consumer sectors, and how data supports operational outcomes.
• Strong coding ability with SQL and Python, as well as experience working with data orchestration tools like Airflow or Dataform.
• Commercial experience with Spark and Databricks.
• Familiarity with leading integration and data platforms such as Mulesoft, Talend, or Alteryx.
• A natural ability to mentor others and provide technical leadership across multi-functional teams.
• Exceptional communication skills with the confidence to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders alike.
• A creative, solutions-driven mindset with a passion for getting the most out of emerging technologies.

If this role interests you and you would like to find out more (or find out about other roles), please apply here or contact us via niall.wharton@Xcede