Senior Engineering Manager - Data Platforms

Compare the Market; Peterborough; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company is seeking a Senior Engineering Manager to lead data platform initiatives in Peterborough. You will manage teams, oversee data architecture, and ensure compliance with regulations. Proven experience in building high-performing data engineering teams and strong leadership skills in a fast-paced environment are essential. This role offers a chance to drive significant impact in a purpose-driven business.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in building high-performing data engineering teams.
• Deep expertise in data platforms and distributed systems.
• Ownership of enterprise-grade data platforms underpinning analytics.

Responsibilities

• Manage and support Engineering Managers.
• Own strategy and design of the data platform.
• Oversee technical risk across multiple data systems.

Skills

Leadership in data architecture

Experience with Databricks

Knowledge of data governance

Strong experience in data platforms

Data engineering team scaling

Tools

Apache Kafka

Apache Spark

Airflow

Job description

Senior Engineering Manager – Data Platforms

Function: Technology, Data Engineering
Location: Peterborough or London

Curious about what’s next? So are we. Join Compare the Market and help to make financial decision making a breeze for millions. At Compare the Market, we’re a purpose-driven business powered by tech and AI. We’re building high-performing, results-driven teams with the skills, mindset, and ambition to deliver outcomes at pace. Every role here plays a part in driving our mission forward, and we create an environment where you can bring your authentic self, grow a truly characterful career, and see the direct impact of your work on the lives of our customers. We’ve carved a meerkat-shaped niche and we’re looking for ambitious, curious thinkers who thrive in a fast-moving, high-impact environment. If you love accountability, embrace challenge, and want to make a real difference, you’ll fit right in.

What you’ll be doing

People & Team Leadership

• Manage and support Engineering Managers, guiding performance, talent, and mobility plans across teams.
• Lead workforce planning and capability development across multiple teams.
• Shape a culture of autonomy, ownership, psychological safety, and continuous learning.
• Champion inclusive, high-performing team practices.

Data Platform Ownership & Architecture

• Own strategy, design, and continuous improvement of the data platform, ensuring it underpins analytics, ML/AI, and real-time decisioning.
• Guide complex data architecture decisions across domains, ensuring platform scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Sponsor continuous improvement initiatives in data quality, observability, and developer experience.
• Mitigate technical dependencies and align data platform evolution with business strategy.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Operate across CTM boundaries, aligning data platform strategy with Product, Delivery, and Data Science needs.
• Represent engineering in key forums and cross-functional planning sessions.
• Ensure data capabilities enable strategic business priorities such as personalisation, pricing, risk modelling, and reporting.

Risk & Compliance

• Oversee technical risk across multiple data systems, identifying, communicating, and mitigating long-term risks.
• Ensure compliance with financial services regulations, GDPR, and security standards.

Capacity Forecasting & QoF

• Own capacity forecasting across data platform missions, coordinating engineering resource planning with Product and Delivery leaders.
• Partner in shaping Quarterly Operating Framework (QoF) inputs, aligning technical dependencies, system maturity, and talent availability to strategic delivery goals.

What we’re looking for

• Proven track record in building and scaling high-performing data engineering teams. Deep expertise in data platforms and distributed systems (e.g. Databricks, Spark, Delta Lake, Kafka). Strong leadership in data architecture, scalability, reliability, and cost optimisation. Ownership of enterprise-grade data platforms underpinning analytics, ML, and decision-making.
• Preferably experience with data governance, lineage, and compliance (e.g. GDPR, IDD). Skilled in orchestration and automation (Airflow, dbt, CI/CD for data). Knowledge of MLOps practices (MLflow, feature stores). Strategic alignment of data platform capabilities with business outcomes.
• Exposure to data mesh / federated operating models. Awareness of security, performance, and optimisation in large-scale data systems. Familiarity with data-as-a-product and real-time use cases.

Why Compare the Market?

We’re a business built for pace and performance. Here, you’ll be encouraged to think differently, act boldly, and deliver brilliantly in a culture that values results and rewards progress.
We believe diverse teams make better decisions, and we’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels empowered to grow, contribute, and thrive.
If you’re ready to stretch yourself, raise the bar, and grow with a team that’s serious about performance, innovation, and purpose, we’d love to hear from you.

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