Staff Engineer (Architect) - Participant Data Platform

Our Future Health; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A health research organization in London is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to oversee the architecture of their Participant Data Platform. The role involves leading design efforts, managing backend systems for data processing, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate has experience with various data systems and cloud technologies, striving to enhance health research processes.

Benefits

Competitive base salary

Generous Pension Scheme

30 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays

Enhanced Parental Leave

Career Growth & Development

Cycle to Work Scheme

Home & Tech Savings

£1,000 Employee Referral Bonus

Wellbeing Support

Flexible and remote working arrangements

Qualifications

• Led architectural design of systems.
• Experience with backend data processing and storage systems.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like Azure, AWS or GCP.

Responsibilities

• Oversee architecture of the Participant Data Platform.
• Support teams ingesting various data types.
• Own the overall architecture for the system.

Skills

Architectural design of systems

Backend systems for data movement

Azure, AWS or GCP

Docker, Kubernetes, Helm

Infrastructure as Code

Data modelling

Agile development practices

Operational software management

Handling sensitive personal data

Job description

Overview

We are hiring for a Staff Software Engineer to oversee the architecture of our Participant Data Platform. This is the area of the Our Future Health platform where the various sets of participant data we hold are brought together. This allows us to produce our data products for research along with other use cases in direct health feedback and clinical trials enablement.

In this role you would be supporting the squads who ingest and make available the varying types of data Our Future Health holds, such as NHS records, genetic data extracted from blood samples participants provide, self-reported questionnaires, and more. You will own the overall architecture for this area of the system.

About Us

Our Future Health will be the UK’s largest ever health research programme, bringing people together to develop new ways to detect, prevent and treat diseases. We are a charity, supported by the UK Government in partnership with charities and industry. We work closely with the NHS and public authorities across all nations and regions of the UK.

Our plan is to bring together 5 million volunteers from right across the UK who will be asked to contribute information to help build one of the most detailed pictures we have ever had of people’s health. Researchers will be able to use this information to make new discoveries about human health and diseases. So future generations can live in good health for longer.

To be successful in this role you will need experience with some of the following:

Technical skills

• You have led the architectural design of systems.
• Knowledge and experience of building backend systems for data movement, processing and storage and provision of services for allowing access to data by non-technical users, using technologies such as Dagster, Prefect, Airflow, Databricks, Spark.
• Understanding of typical methods of access control to data and systems.
• Prior experience with Azure (ideally), AWS or GCP and Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm.
• Comfortable working with Infrastructure as Code, ideally with knowledge of Terraform.
• Knowledge of good data modelling and design patterns; in-depth knowledge of relational databases (e.g. PostgreSQL) and familiarity with other data stores (blob, document, graph).
• Expertise in modern, agile development practices like code review, TDD, CI/CD and pairing using tools like Git and GitHub.
• Experience of operationally managing software components once live, including observability, logging, metrics, error reporting, debugging and live incident management.
• Experience of working with sensitive personal data.

Competencies

• Experience working in/with cross-functional teams consisting of engineers, product, UX and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to communicate with stakeholders and audiences at different levels.
• Understanding of the importance of operational, security and legal factors when designing solutions, with the ability to articulate trade-offs and make informed decisions around design and technology choices.
• Experience working in small, growing organisations with a high degree of ambiguity, where flexibility is valued.
• Strong understanding of software quality principles and practices.
• Experience in mentoring and coaching less experienced engineers.
• Comfortable in facilitating technical discussions, encouraging collaboration and providing direction.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Generous Pension Scheme – We invest in your future with employer contributions of up to 12%.
• 30 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays – Enjoy a generous holiday allowance with the flexibility to take bank holidays when it suits you.
• Enhanced Parental Leave – Supporting you during life’s biggest moments.
• Career Growth & Development – £500 per year to spend on Learnerbly, our learning platform, plus regular appraisals and development opportunities.
• Cycle to Work Scheme – Save 25-39% on a new bike and accessories through salary sacrifice.
• Home & Tech Savings – Get up to 8% off on IKEA and Currys products, spreading the cost over 12 months through salary sacrifice
• £1,000 Employee Referral Bonus – Know someone amazing? Get rewarded for bringing them on board!
• Wellbeing Support – Access to Mental Health First Aiders, plus 24/7 online GP services and an Employee Assistance Programme for you and your family.
• A Great Place to Work – We have a lovely Central London office in Holborn, and offer flexible and remote working arrangements.

Join us - let’s prevent disease together.

We advise not delaying your application, as this advert may close early if a high number of applications are received.

At Our Future Health, we recognise the importance of having a diverse workforce and ensuring that all candidates, regardless of their background, have equitable access to our application process. We proactively encourage applicants who identify as having a disability, neurodiversity, or long-term health conditions to let us know if they require any reasonable adjustments as part of their application process.

If you do require any reasonable adjustments, please email us at [e-mail]