Senior Data Engineer

Exalto Consulting; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consulting firm is seeking a Senior Python Data Engineer with active SC Clearance to work on innovative machine learning projects for a major government department. The role involves developing robust data pipelines, ensuring data quality, and utilizing frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow. This contract is remote/hybrid with occasional travel and is expected to last for 6 months, starting in early January. Ideal candidates will have strong skills in data exploration, labelling workflows, and version control.

Qualifications

• Must hold active and current SC Clearance.
• UK residency and hold a UK passport required.
• Ability to start contract in early January.

Responsibilities

• Deliver advances in machine learning for a government department.
• Work with a talented team on cutting-edge projects.

Skills

Python (applied ML)

ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow)

Data exploration & quality

Labelling workflows

Pipeline building

Experiment tracking (MLflow, Weights & Biases)

Version control (Git)

Domain bonus: signal processing experience

Job description

Senior Python Data Engineer (Active SC Clearance)

You must hold active and current SC Clearance, have UK Residency and hold a UK passport.

Location : Remote / hybrid with occasional travel to offices (North and South) and customer site (South).

Rate : £625pd, outside IR35.

Contract Length : 6 months initially.

This project is at the cutting edge of machine learning, working with a talented team delivering important advances for a large government department.

Essential Skills and Experience Needed

• Python (applied ML) : pandas, numpy, Jupyter, strong scripting and reusable code
• ML frameworks : PyTorch and or TensorFlow (plus scikit-learn)
• Data exploration & quality : EDA, visualisation (matplotlib / plotly), dataset profiling, class balance, outliers
• Labelling workflows : hands‑on annotation and ontology work, label QA (inter‑annotator agreement), confidence scoring, audit trail mindset
• Pipeline building : reproducible pre-processing and training pipelines (not necessarily Kubernetes), e.g. Python pipelines, Airflow / Prefect / Luigi‑style orchestration, and good experiment hygiene
• Experiment tracking : MLflow and or Weights & Biases (runs, metrics, artefacts, model registry)
• Version control : Git, plus dataset / versioned artefacts (DVC or similar is a plus)
• Deployment not required , but ability to package work for T&E style repeatable runs is important
• Domain bonus : signal processing experience (spectrograms, time‑series, acoustic features), because the data is sonar / acoustics

Please apply immediately if you hold active and current SC Clearance and have the skills required above, as this is an urgent requirement, you must be able to start the contract in the first or second week of January.