Principal Data Engineer - Hounslow

Hackajob Ltd; Hounslow; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Staff travel benefits

Discounted airfares

Job summary

British Airways is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to lead data engineering across delivery teams, designing, building, and operating secure, scalable data pipelines and products. You will drive reliability through monitoring, incident management, and strong standards for code, testing, and documentation.

You will line-manage Senior Data Engineers, participate in on-call rotations, and partner with business teams to translate complex requirements into robust data platforms using Snowflake,

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on technical leadership in data engineering.
• Deep understanding of cloud-based data ingestion, processing and storage techniques.
• Expert knowledge of data processing, testing and monitoring practices.
• Strong understanding of enterprise data management, optimisation and security at scale.
• Confidence influencing technical direction and engineering standards.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills across business and technical teams.
• Ability to break down complex problems and work effectively in ambiguous environments.
• Delivery-focused, accountable, and pragmatic mindset.
• Collaborative approach with a focus on capability building and knowledge sharing.
• Excellent SQL development experience.
• Highly experienced in data ingestion, processing, and storage techniques on cloud-native tooling.
• Experience with cloud data management such as Snowflake, AWS, DBT, or similar PaaS and SaaS offerings.
• Experience in enterprise data management and security at scale.
• Knowledge of data modelling and optimisation.
• Expertise in data processing, testing, and monitoring practices and frameworks.
• Experience supporting production data systems and resolving operational issues in CI/CD processes and agile development workflows.
• Expert knowledge of information security principles and access control within data environments.
• Degree or equivalent training in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline is desirable

Responsibilities

• Act as a technical leader for data engineering best practice across delivery teams.
• Lead the design, build, test, and deployment of secure and scalable data pipelines.
• Maintain and operate data products, ensuring availability, performance, and resilience through monitoring and incident management.
• Provide assurance on code quality and automation used to manage data flows.
• Lead service reviews, health checks, and root cause analysis to improve reliability and reduce operational overhead.
• Set and embed standards for data processing documentation and version control.
• Support and coach engineers on engineering patterns, coding standards, and automated testing.
• Lead agile ceremonies, delivery planning, and retrospectives to support continuous improvement.
• Define and improve developer experience by working with data product teams to resolve data processing issues.
• Line manage Senior Data Engineers and support their development.
• Participate in an on-call rota to support live data products

Skills

Data leadership

Cloud ingestion

SQL development

Data security

CI/CD

Stakeholder engagement

Data modelling

Monitoring

Team mentoring

Ambiguity handling

Education

Degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

DBT

Snowflake

AWS

Job description

Salary: £100,000 - 100,000 per year

Requirements:

• Strong hands-on technical leadership in data engineering
• Deep understanding of cloud-based data ingestion, processing, and storage techniques
• Expert knowledge of data processing, testing, and monitoring practices
• Strong understanding of enterprise data management, optimisation, and security at scale
• Confidence influencing technical direction and engineering standards
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills across business and technical teams
• Ability to break down complex problems and work effectively in ambiguous environments
• Delivery-focused, accountable, and pragmatic mindset
• Collaborative approach with a focus on capability building and knowledge sharing
• Excellent SQL development experience
• Highly experienced in data ingestion, processing, and storage techniques on cloud-native tooling
• Experience with cloud data management such as Snowflake, AWS, DBT, or similar PaaS and SaaS offerings
• Experience in enterprise data management and security at scale
• Knowledge of data modelling and optimisation
• Expertise in data processing, testing, and monitoring practices and frameworks
• Experience supporting production data systems and resolving operational issues in CI/CD processes and agile development workflows
• Expert knowledge of information security principles and access control within data environments
• Degree or equivalent training in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline is desirable

Responsibilities:

• Act as a technical leader for data engineering best practice across delivery teams
• Lead the design, build, test, and deployment of secure and scalable data pipelines
• Maintain and operate data products, ensuring availability, performance, and resilience through monitoring and incident management
• Provide assurance on code quality and automation used to manage data flows
• Lead service reviews, health checks, and root cause analysis to improve reliability and reduce operational overhead
• Set and embed standards for data processing documentation and version control
• Support and coach engineers on engineering patterns, coding standards, and automated testing
• Lead agile ceremonies, delivery planning, and retrospectives to support continuous improvement
• Define and improve developer experience by working with data product teams to resolve data processing issues
• Line manage Senior Data Engineers and support their development
• Participate in an on-call rota to support live data products

Technologies:

• AI
• AWS
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• Incident Management
• Support
• PaaS
• SQL
• Security
• Snowflake
• dbt

More:

We are British Airways, the UKs flag carrier, with more than 100 years of history connecting Britain with the world and the world with Britain. In this Principal Data Engineer role, you will join either our Data & AI Delivery team or our Commercial data team, helping us build secure, scalable, and high-performing data products that support data-driven decision-making across our business. We offer competitive rewards, excellent staff travel benefits including unlimited basic and premium standby tickets on British Airways flights, and up to 30 discounted Hotline airfares each year for yourself, friends, and family. We also support career development, internal progression, and an inclusive culture where everyone is encouraged to bring their originality, creativity, and identity to work.