Principal Databricks Engineer

Nimble Approach; Manchester; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Champion Fund £2k annually for L&D

Competitive salary

Company pension

£3,000 referral scheme

Cycle scheme and EV salary sacrifice

Private healthcare

Mental health first aiders

Social & capability meet ups

Job summary

Nimble is seeking a Principal Databricks Engineer / Architect to define technical direction for major engagements and elevate delivery teams. You will be the senior technical voice, shaping architecture, governance and data platform strategy while maintaining hands-on involvement with code and designs.

You will lead from the front, mentor consultants, and build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, translating complex problems into pragmatic paths with clear trade-offs.

Qualifications

• Significant hands-on Databricks experience with end-to-end platform implementations.
• Proven architecture ownership across Azure, AWS or GCP.
• Strong command of Spark, SQL and Python; data modelling and governance.

Responsibilities

• Design robust, pragmatic Databricks solutions using cloud services.
• Lead and coach delivery teams; set coding and architectural standards.
• Advise senior clients on technical vision and trade-offs.

Skills

Databricks

Spark

SQL

Python

Data modelling

CI/CD

Observability

Cloud platforms

Architectural leadership

Mentoring

Tools

Databricks Platform

Job description

Principal Databricks Engineer / Architect

This is a defining role for a technology leader who wants to build things that matter and build the teams that deliver them. As a Principal Databricks Engineer / Architect at Nimble, you won't just be writing code or drawing diagrams; you'll be setting the technical direction for our most significant client engagements and lifting the engineers around you as you go.

You'll be a senior technical voice in our Databricks capability advising on architecture, leading delivery teams, and being the person our clients trust when the problem is hard and the path isn't obvious. We're looking for a hands-on leader who can hold both a room of engineers and client stakeholders with equal confidence, and who has strong opinions (loosely held) about what good data engineering actually looks like.

Your Impact

1. Architectural Vision & Technical Ownership

• Design for the Real World: Use the entirety of the Databricks platform, in combination with cloud provider services, to design robust, pragmatic solutions. You know when to build, when to buy, and how to advocate for the right choice.
• End-to-End Accountability: Own the architecture across the full lifecycle of ingestion, transformation, governance, orchestration, serving and consumption whilst staying close enough to the code to know your designs hold up in practice.
• Data Engineering Fundamentals: Bring rigour to how we model, test, deploy and operate data platforms: dimensional and medallion modelling, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, observability, cost management and data quality by design.

2. Leading Teams of Engineers

• Lead from the Front: Build and lead high-performing delivery teams, setting direction, breaking down ambiguity and unblocking the people around you.
• Set the Standard: Establish the bar for "what good looks like" across multiple teams through design reviews, coding standards, architectural principles and reusable patterns. Your expertise and engagement will help to ensure we maintain high operational standards.
• Empower Others: Mentor and coach Senior and Lead consultants, giving them the confidence and support to drive technical initiatives of their own. Helping to grow the capability, not just build solutions.

3. Leading Our Clients

• Trusted Technical Advisor: Build lasting relationships with senior client stakeholders and become their go-to person for technical vision, strategy and the honest answer.
• Translate Complexity: Diagnose the real problem behind the stated requirement, and explain trade-offs, risks and options in language that lands with both engineers and executives.
• Bring Clients With You: Uplift client engineering teams as well as your own, leaving them more capable than you found them.

What You Bring

• Databricks Expertise: Significant hands-on experience with Databricks, having delivered multiple platform implementations end to end, backed by certifications (Databricks Data Engineer Professional or equivalent preferred; Data Engineer Associate as a minimum). Databricks Champion status is a strong plus.
• Solution Architecture: A proven track record of designing and owning data platform architectures at scale, across at least one major cloud (Azure, AWS or GCP), with a clear grasp of the non-functional requirements that make or break them.
• Data Engineering Depth: Strong command of Spark, SQL and Python, data modelling, streaming and batch patterns, performance tuning, and engineering practice (version control, testing, automated deployment).
• Engineering Leadership: Demonstrable experience leading teams of engineers — technically and as people — in a consultancy, product or in-house environment.
• Client Leadership: Confidence and credibility with senior stakeholders, and the judgement to know when to push back, when to compromise and when to ***
• Engaging Communicator: Exceptional interpersonal skills, able to build rapport quickly and explain hard technical ideas to non-technical audiences without losing the substance.

Why Nimble?

We don't just want you to work here; we want you to grow here. We offer a flat structure where your voice shapes our goals and our future.

• Autonomy & Growth: £2k annual "Champion Fund" to spend entirely as you wish on your own L&D, plus dedicated time to learn.
• Reward: Competitive salary, company pension, and a £3,000 referral scheme for every successful hire you bring in. You’ll also get access to a cycle scheme and EV scheme through salary sacrifice.
• Wellness: Private healthcare (for you and a family member), regular 1-1s with mental health first aiders, and a supportive, "egoless" culture.
• Community & Culture: An active community of Nimblers with a range of shared interests. From capability meet ups, tech talks and meals to escape rooms, bouldering walls and gin tasting, we genuinely enjoy each other's company.
• Flexibility: Top-tier equipment (Mac or Windows) and a relaxed environment that focuses on client outcomes.