Principal Data Engineer | Digital Services

Fa Esms Saasfaukgovprod1; Preston; Hybrid; GBP 53,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire County Council is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to lead the design and delivery of modern data solutions that improve services for residents across Lancashire.

You will play a pivotal role in our digital transformation, driving strategy, mentoring teams, and building data foundations that enable smarter decision-making.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in data engineering and cloud platforms (Azure preferred).
• Strong experience with ETL/ELT pipelines and data lakes.
• Advanced SQL and data modelling skills.
• Experience building APIs and integration services.
• Proven leadership and mentoring capability.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of data and integration engineers.
• Design and deliver scalable data platforms and pipelines.
• Own end-to-end data engineering solutions.
• Drive modern cloud data architecture using Azure technologies.
• Collaborate with architects, analysts, and service teams.
• Champion best practice in data engineering and governance.

Skills

Data engineering

Cloud platforms

SQL & data modelling

APIs & integration

ETL/ELT pipelines

Leadership & mentoring

Tools

Azure

Job description

Salary £53,051 - £57,447 Per Annum | Permanent | Full time, 37 hours per week | Hybrid working

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role

Shape the Future of Data in Lancashire

We are looking for an exceptional Principal Data Engineer to lead the design and delivery of modern data solutions that directly improve services for residents across Lancashire. As a senior leader within our Digital Services team, you'll play a pivotal role in our digital transformation journey, driving innovation, influencing strategy, and building the data foundations that power smarter decision-making across the organisation.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Lead and mentor a team of data and integration engineers
• Design and deliver scalable data platforms and pipelines
• Own end-to-end data engineering solutions
• Drive modern cloud data architecture using Azure technologies
• Collaborate with architects, analysts, and service teams
• Champion best practice in data engineering and governance

About You

• Extensive experience in data engineering and cloud platforms (Azure preferred)
• Strong experience with ETL/ELT pipelines and data lakes
• Advanced SQL and data modelling skills
• Experience building APIs and integration services
• Proven leadership and mentoring capability

Closing date

01/11/2026

Why join us?

By joining Lancashire County Council, you can shape the career path that is right for you, with opportunities to gain personal and professional qualifications, coaching, and mentoring. Lancashire County Council truly is the place where you can have the career you've always wanted.

In return for your passion and expertise, we offer a generous benefits package, which includes:

• A competitive salary and Local Government Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions.
• A great holiday entitlement of 26 days annual leave, which increases with length of service. You will also be entitled to 8 Bank Holidays, 2 additional statutory Bank Holidays, and have the option to buy additional leave each year.
• Our staff discount scheme in partnership with Vivup, allowing you to access discounts with a range of UK retailers, saving on everything from weekly food shops to white goods and cars.
• Access to fantastic development and career opportunities.

Local Government Reorganisation

The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028.

If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation.

Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.

We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.

For an informal chat please contact Angela Teasey on 01772 535235.

Job Description & Person Specification