Senior Data Engineer (UK)

Rainforest Alliance; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Job summary

Rainforest Alliance seeks a Senior Data Engineer to build and operate a Databricks/ADLS Gen2 data platform and enable Power BI reporting across the organisation.

You will lead a small team of data engineers, define scalable pipelines, implement governance, and collaborate with analysts, survey teams and field staff in a flexible hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• Experience building and operating production data pipelines on Databricks or Spark-based platforms.
• Strong SQL and dimensional modelling skills (star schema / Bronze‑Silver‑Gold).
• Experience with BI data layers and governance for Power BI.
• Clear technical documentation written for non-specialists.
• Ability to coordinate with analysts and field teams across time zones.
• Familiarity with survey/ODK‑style data collection tools.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain robust production data pipelines on Databricks/ADLS Gen2.
• Translate requirements into dimensional models and queries for analysis.
• Develop reusable platform code and maintain SQL-based environment.
• Support Power BI datasets, reports and dashboards for stakeholders.
• Administer Power BI Premium lifecycle governance and onboarding.
• Develop data visualisation methodologies and extraction processes.
• Embed data quality checks with BI Analysts and M&E Analysts.
• Maintain clear end-to-end documentation of ingestion and modelling.
• Collaborate with Data Platform Lead and regional teams to align architecture.
• Matrix-manage a small team (3-5) of data engineers.

Skills

Databricks

SQL

Dimensional modelling

Power BI

Python

PySpark

Data governance

Documentation

Leadership

Unity Catalog

Tools

Azure Data Lake Gen2

ADLS Gen2

Power BI

Job description

POSITION: Senior Data Engineer

LOCATION: We will only consider candidates legally authorized to work in the UK.

WORKPLACE TYPE: Flexible hybrid working environment

CLOSING DATE: 28 October 2026

JOB LEVEL: 15

POSITION SUMMARY:

At the Rainforest Alliance, we believe in the value of data collected at field and company level. With the increasing update of technologies, the amount of data produced will lead to an exponential amount and growth of available information. Unlocking the value of the information and linking it to informed decision‑making will enable our organization in reaching the goal of a world where human and nature thrive in harmony.

Rainforest Alliance is building a Unified Data & AI‑ready Platform on Databricks, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Power BI Premium, using a Bronze/Silver/Gold medallion architecture.

In order to progress to a singular platform, we are looking to onboard additional data engineering capability to support both the existing Azure SQL based services and the new platform, which is in pilot phase, as part of wider improvements to the hours of service that we provide to our global users – A working knowledge of both technologies is therefore required. In addition, to provide escalation cover and time zone management, this role will be responsible for the supervision of a team of ( currently 3) data and data platform engineers.

You will report to the Senior Manager , Enterprise Data Platform.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Pipeline engineering: Design, build and maintain robust , production‑grade data pipelines and core platform components on Databricks / ADLS Gen2, following the Bronze/Silver/Gold medallion architecture.

Dimensional modelling: Translate signed‑off requirements into dimensional models and the queries that take consolidated raw data to the dimensional model.

Platform engineering: Build the generic, reusable functions and production code that reproduce, at scale and across the organisation, the same output as the validated queries; Maintain and continue development of the existing SQL‑based environment.

Reporting: Support the design, development and enhancement of Power BI datasets, reports and dashboards; Provide support to report builders/owners in reviewing and optimising reports and datasets, to ensure accuracy, mantainability and performance.

Power BI Tenant Admin: Support Power BI Premium lifeycle management processes, including user onboarding/offboarding, governance activities (including obsolete workspace and dataset/report cleanup), and performance monitoring/optimisation.

Data visualisation enablement: Develop and support the data visualisation methodologies, views and extractions (e.g. Databricks views feeding Power BI).

Data quality: Work with the Survey Design Specialists, BI Analysts and M&E Analysts to embed data quality checks and troubleshoot issues found.

Documentation & reproducibility: Maintain clear, field‑knowledge-free documentation of ingestion, transformation and modelling logic.

Collaboration: Work closely with the Data Platform Lead, Tech, and Field Implementation to ensure engineering work stays aligned with the wider UDP architecture and governance model (Unity Catalog ).

Leadership: Matrix manage a small team (3-5) of data and data platform engineers, be accountable for escalations and ensure smooth transition between regional teams to support a follow‑the‑sun approach to project delivery and "business as usual" support.

WHAT YOU BRING:

Experience building and operating production data pipelines, ideally on Databricks (or a comparable Spark‑based platform) and cloud data lake storage (ADLS Gen2, S3 or equivalent).

SQL and hands‑on experience with dimensional modelling (star schema / Bronze‑Silver‑Gold or similar medallion patterns).

Experience building the data layer behind BI tools, ideally Power BI, including designing performant, well‑governed semantic models and views.

Write clear technical documentation that a non‑specialist reader can follow.

Comfortable working to formal sign‑off gates (requirements, staging, production) and coordinating with analysts, survey and field teams rather than working in isolation.

Experience with survey/ODK‑style data collection tools (e.g. Survey123, XLSForms).

Familiarity with data governance concepts (data catalogues, access control, e.g. Unity Catalog ) in a multi‑tenant or multi‑partner data platform.

Python and PySpark for pipeline development and testing.

BENEFITS OF WORKING AT THE RAINFOREST ALLIANCE:

Be a part of a global organization with an impactful mission and a collaborative, respectful, and accountable culture.

Enjoy opportunities for professional growth and career development.

Benefit from remote working flexibility and flexible hybrid working environment.

Prioritize your wellbeing. We have numerous ways to promote work‑life balance.

If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: [e-mail] The Rainforest Alliance encourages diversity and inclusion across the global organization . With this commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, disability and any other protected group.