Senior Data Engineer

Great Lakes Insurance SE; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Great Lakes Insurance SE is hiring for a Data & BI specialist to design and maintain data transformations in Azure Databricks, build data products and dashboards for business users, and collaborate with IT and actuarial teams to ensure scalable, compliant data solutions.

You will work closely with stakeholders across Underwriting and Actuarial teams, delivering robust data products and reporting capabilities in a fast-paced insurance environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific, mathematical, technical, or business discipline.
• Databricks Certified Data Engineer and Azure Data Engineer Associate qualifications are desirable.
• Experience sustaining strong data engineering performance in the insurance industry is valuable.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain Silver and Gold table transformations within the Azure Databricks lakehouse.
• Contribute technical input into data modelling discussions for Silver/Gold layers with IT.
• Investigate and resolve data quality issues from the data intake platform with the Platform team.
• Build data products for business use, including outputs via Power BI and Databricks Dashboards.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate requirements into robust data products.
• Develop and maintain Power BI reporting and dashboards as needed.
• Explain trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders such as underwriters and actuaries.
• Work across IT, Platform teams and business units to deliver reusable data solutions.

Job description

Together, we engage with everything we have and are, to help humankind act braver and better.

About Great Lakes Insurance SE:

As specialty provider of primary insurance services in the UK, Great Lakes London Branch (“GLLB”) is a substantial part of Great Lakes Insurance SE in Munich. Our interlocked business model is to seize opportunities closely connected to the reinsurance core business and innovation opportunities, in our role as an integral part of the Munich Re Group. Great Lakes Insurance SE operates from its headquarters in Munich, and via branch offices in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy and Australia.

Great Lakes Insurance UK Limited (“GLLS”), regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, is a fully owned subsidiary of Great Lakes Insurance SE and acts as the preferred facilitator of agency insurance business in the UK in the post-Brexit world.

About the role:

This role sits within the Great Lakes Data & BI team, responsible for building and maintaining data products within the Azure Databricks lakehouse, including Silver and Gold table transformations and semantic layer outputs, and for diagnosing and resolving data issues arising from the data intake platform. Reporting to the Data & BI Lead, the successful candidate will work closely with IT on data modelling for Silver and Gold, bringing strong technical input to those discussions, while collaborating with the wider business, from Underwriters to Actuaries.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain Silver and Gold table transformations within the Azure Databricks lakehouse, in line with agreed medallion architecture principles
• Contribute technical input into data modelling discussions for Silver and Gold layers, working closely with IT to ensure models are performant and aligned to Munich Re modelling standards
• Investigate and resolve data quality issues arising from the data intake platform, working with the Platform team where root cause sits upstream
• Build new data products for business consumption, including outputs surfaced through various visualisation mediums (experience with Databricks Dashboards & Power BI preferred)
• Collaborate with the Data & BI team, business stakeholders, and IT to translate technical requirements into robust, well-modelled data products
• Partner with business users to develop data products within the lakehouse, ensuring transformations are built for performance and reusability
• Support code and modelling reviews, helping to build shared confidence between the business data team and IT on business-owned data products
• Build and maintain Power BI reporting and dashboards where required to support business and data team needs
• Explain technical concepts and trade-offs clearly to non-technical stakeholders, including underwriters, actuaries, and other business users
• Work collaboratively across team boundaries, including with IT and the Platform team, and across the wider organisation

Competencies:

Drives results (we think big) – you consistently achieve results even under tough circumstances, with the organisation’s performance in the front of your mind. You make good and timely decisions to keep things moving, using analysis, experience and judgement.

Business insight (we think big) – you can apply your knowledge of the business and the market to advance your business’ and wider organisation’s goals.

Collaboration (we lead the ‘we’) – you identify opportunities and bring the right people together to work on a common goal, encouraging diversity of opinion, whilst maintaining clarity and unity of direction.

Client focus (we grow with our clients) – you build and maintain strong client relationships (internal and external), listening to their needs and working with them to ensure value is created.

Cultivates innovation (we grow with our clients) – you create new and better ways for Munich Re to be successful e.g., generating ideas, creating efficiencies harnessing new technology etc.

Courage (we care and dare) – you are willing to challenge the status quo and address difficult issues, saying what you believe needs to be said. You also continue to operate effectively even when things are uncertain and the way forward is unclear.

Persuades (we are clear and authentic) – you use clear and compelling arguments to gain the support, enthusiasm and commitment of others, whilst ensuring you take time to actively listen to the diversity of views and opinions.

Key Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience in a Data Engineering role within the insurance industry
• Advanced SQL and PySpark skills, with hands-on experience building data transformations and data products
• Demonstrable data modelling experience, including practical experience with medallion architecture, and comfortable contributing technical input into modelling discussions alongside IT
• Experience with Databricks, including Delta Lake; familiarity with Unity Catalog and semantic layer/consumption-layer tooling is a plus (Power BI & Databricks Dashboards)
• Power BI experience, able to build and maintain dashboards and reports where needed
• Proven ability to navigate challenging situations and stakeholders, balancing technical constraints against business urgency
• Strong communicator, able to explain technical work and trade-offs clearly to a non-technical audience
• Self-starter, comfortable working across all parts of the business – from Underwriters to Actuaries
• Experience working in an Agile/Scrum delivery environment, contributing to backlog refinement and sprint ceremonies
• Understanding of data governance principles and version-controlled development workflows
• Strong collaborator, able to work effectively within a close-knit team as well as across team boundaries, including with IT and the Platform team
• Understanding of LLMs, AI, and RAG within the insurance industry (experience with Databricks Genie advantageous)

Desired Qualifications and Educational Background:

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific, mathematical, technical, or business discipline and/or
• Relevant professional/technical qualifications (Databricks Certified Data Engineer, Azure Data Engineer Associate)
• Sustained good performance in a data engineering role
• Experience within the insurance industry, ideally with exposure to Delegated Authority and/or Large Single Risk/Specialty business
• Familiarity with dimensional modelling concepts (star schemas, slowly changing dimensions) as applied within a modern lakehouse environment

Thought Leaders:

You are seen as an expert in your field and will be the ‘go to’ person for your area of specialism within Munich Re. You will be seen as a role model/mentor to others – identifying opportunities to share your knowledge with others.

You will demonstrate and role model inclusive behaviour and encourage your colleagues to play an active role in creating an inclusive culture as well.

You will treat your colleagues and sales and business partners fairly and with respect.

Regulatory & Conduct Requirements:

• Ensuring compliance with Munich Re’s Code of Conduct and the FCA Conduct Rules

Equal Opportunities

At Munich Re, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion foster innovation and resilience and enable us to act braver and better. Embracing the power of DEI is at the core of who we are. We recognise diversity can be multi-dimensional, intersectional, and complex, so we want to build a diverse workforce that includes a wide range of racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender identities; economic and geographic backgrounds; physical abilities; ages; life, school, and career experiences; and political, religious, and personal beliefs. Additionally, we are committed to building an equitable and inclusive work environment where this diversity is celebrated, valued, and has equitable opportunities to succeed.

All candidates in consideration for any role can request a reasonable adjustment at any point in our recruitment process. You can request an adjustment by speaking to your Talent Acquisition contact.