Senior Data Engineer

First Central Services; Haywards Heath, Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading insurance company as a Senior Data Engineer, where you'll leverage your expertise in cloud data solutions and analytics to build innovative data pipelines. This role offers the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment, mentoring fellow engineers while contributing to cutting-edge projects that enhance data-driven decision-making. With a strong focus on employee well-being, the company promotes flexible working arrangements, ensuring a healthy work-life balance. Embrace the chance to be part of a supportive team that values your contributions and encourages your professional growth.

Benefits

Simply Health Cash plan

Flexible bank holidays

Electric Car Scheme

Flexible working options

Dedicated leave for life events

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in end-to-end cloud data solutions, preferably in Azure.
• Strong coaching skills and a passion for helping others grow.

Responsibilities

• Designing and implementing complex data pipelines and solutions.
• Coaching and mentoring Data Engineers and Associate Data Engineers.

Skills

Data & Technology

Self-starter

Mentorship

Data Lifecycle

Cloud Data Engineering

Tools

Azure Data Factory

Databricks

Synapse Analytics

PowerBI

Python

C#

PowerShell

Job description

Location: Guernsey, Haywards Heath, Home Office (Remote) or Manchester
Salary: £50,000 - £77,500 - depending on experience
Department: Technology and Data

We’re 1st Central, a market-leading insurance company utilising smart data and technology at pace. Rapid growth has been based on giving our 1.4 million customers exactly what they want: great value insurance with excellent service. And that’s the same for our colleagues too; we won Insurance Employer of the Year at the British Insurance Awards 2024, and our Glassdoor score is impressive!

Are you ready for a thrilling new career in a fast-paced, dynamic workplace? If so, today might be your lucky day! We’re seeking a Senior Data Engineer to join our cutting-edge technology and data teams.

This hands-on technical role involves building data solutions for various projects and persistent data products. You’ll design and implement complex data pipelines, manage database populations, and ensure your solutions align with technical designs and data platform standards.

While this role doesn’t include direct people management, you will support, coach, and mentor data engineers and associate engineers, helping them develop their skills.

Could you be the right fit? We promote flexible working—most of your time can be spent working from home, with occasional office visits, or more office-based if you prefer. Our offices are in Haywards Heath, West Sussex; Salford Quays, Manchester; and Guernsey. We also welcome remote applications from further afield.

Core skills required:

• Data & Technology: Passion for data, analytics, and technology, with experience in metadata-driven pipelines.
• Self-starter: Ability to triage workloads and work autonomously to achieve goals.
• Mentorship: Ability to mentor and inspire colleagues.
• Data Lifecycle: Understanding of data lifecycle and design principles.
• Cloud Data Engineering: Extensive experience working with cloud data platforms.

Making it happen. Together

What’s involved:

• Contributing to low-level data solution designs, translating high-level architecture into workable designs.
• Ensuring quality and standards in data pipelines and database solutions.
• Developing coding standards and design patterns for data engineers.
• Building secure, governed, high-quality data pipelines from various data sources.
• Ensuring data is cleansed, transformed, and optimized for storage and use.
• Implementing data observability and quality measures into pipelines.
• Creating data solutions for data lakes, warehouses, BI, and analytics.
• Designing physical data models to meet business needs and optimize storage.
• Performing unit testing, peer reviews, and ensuring comprehensive testing of solutions.
• Maintaining clear documentation for transparency and understanding.
• Coaching and mentoring Data Engineers and Associate Data Engineers.
• Developing complex BI solutions, including data marts and visualizations in tools like PowerBI.

Experience & Knowledge:

• Extensive experience in end-to-end cloud data solutions, preferably in Azure.
• Experience with big data technologies like Databricks and/or Synapse Analytics using PySpark.
• Solution design experience across the data lifecycle.
• Proficiency with Azure services such as Data Factory, Azure Functions, ADLS Gen2, Key Vault, Synapse SQL, and Azure SQL.
• Programming skills in Python, C#, and PowerShell.
• Understanding of infrastructure as code.
• Experience with data modeling, testing, and operational support documentation.
• Excellent communication skills and a proactive approach to data value extraction.
• Experience with CI/CD methods and working in agile, self-managing teams.
• Strong coaching skills and a passion for helping others grow.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Creative problem solver with strong multitasking abilities.
• Ability to translate business challenges into effective data solutions.
• Proactive, positive, and able to manage multiple priorities effectively.
• Team-oriented, supportive, and focused on shared outcomes.
• Enjoys mentoring and supporting less experienced engineers.
• Committed to high standards and continuous improvement.

This is just the beginning. The journey’s yours to shape.

What can we do for you?

People first. We’re passionate about our colleagues and providing an excellent working environment. Our workplaces are energetic, supportive, and inspiring. See our full perks here.

Interested? Our Talent team can share more about what we seek and offer, so feel free to get in touch.

Employee Benefits:

86% of people recommend us to friends. Benefits include a Simply Health Cash plan, flexible bank holidays, an Electric Car Scheme, flexible working options, and dedicated leave for life events.