Principal Data Engineer 201962

Harnham; Hounslow; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Harnham is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to own enterprise-scale data initiatives in a well-established, data-driven organisation. You will combine hands-on leadership with mentorship to elevate data products, ensure security and scalability, and drive best practices across teams.

You will lead design, build, test, and deployment of data pipelines, mentor engineers, and collaborate with stakeholders to deliver valuable data solutions while improving reliability and cost efficiency.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience in SQL development.
• Experience leading technical teams and mentoring engineers.
• Knowledge of cloud-based data architectures, data ingestion, processing, and storage.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, build, testing, and deployment of data pipelines and data products.
• Drive data engineering best practices across development, automation, monitoring, and operations.
• Coach and mentor Data Engineers and Senior Data Engineers.
• Lead incident management, root cause analysis, and service improvement initiatives.
• Define engineering standards, coding practices, and automated testing frameworks.
• Collaborate with product, platform, architecture, and business stakeholders to deliver data solutions.
• Support agile delivery activities including planning, retrospectives, and continuous improvement.
• Improve platform reliability, observability, performance, and cost efficiency.
• Contribute to technical strategy and engineering direction.
• Participate in on-call rota for business-critical data products.

Skills

SQL development

Cloud data engineering

Data architectures

Mentoring

Stakeholder influence

Reliability and scalability

Agile delivery

Tools

Snowflake

AWS

dbt

Job description

This is an opportunity for a Principal Data Engineer to take ownership of enterprise-scale data engineering initiatives within a well-established organisation undergoing significant investment in its data and technology capabilities. You'll combine hands-on technical leadership with team mentorship, shaping engineering best practice while driving the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-performing data products.

The Company

They are a large, complex organisation investing heavily in its digital and data transformation agenda. Data plays a critical role in supporting decision-making, operational efficiency, and innovation across the business. Their engineering teams work in a collaborative environment focused on modern cloud technologies, automation, and continuous improvement. You will join a team that values technical excellence, knowledge sharing, and long-term career development.

The Role

You will lead the delivery and ongoing operation of data engineering solutions, ensuring data products are secure, resilient, and scalable.

Responsibilities include:

• Leading the design, build, testing, and deployment of data pipelines and data products
• Driving data engineering best practices across development, automation, monitoring, and operations
• Coaching, mentoring, and supporting Data Engineers and Senior Data Engineers
• Leading incident management, root cause analysis, and service improvement initiatives
• Helping define engineering standards, coding practices, and automated testing frameworks
• Working closely with product, platform, architecture, and business stakeholders to deliver valuable data solutions
• Supporting agile delivery activities including planning, retrospectives, and continuous improvement initiatives
• Improving platform reliability, observability, performance, and cost efficiency
• Contributing to technical strategy and influencing engineering direction across the wider organisation
• Participating in an on-call rota supporting business-critical data products

Your Skills & Experience

• Strong commercial experience in SQL development
• Expertise in cloud-based data engineering and modern data architectures
• Experience with technologies such as Snowflake, AWS, dbt, or comparable cloud data platforms
• Strong understanding of data ingestion, processing, storage, and optimisation techniques
• Experience building and supporting production-grade data systems
• Knowledge of CI/CD practices, DevOps principles, and agile delivery environments
• Strong understanding of data security, governance, and access control frameworks
• Experience leading technical teams and mentoring engineers
• Ability to influence stakeholders and communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong problem-solving skills with a focus on reliability, scalability, and continuous improvement

What They Offer

• Opportunities to lead high-impact enterprise data initiatives
• Ongoing learning, mentoring, and career development support
• Clear progression within a growing data and engineering function
• Collaborative environment with strong investment in modern data platforms and technology