Technical Lead, Data Platform Engineer

United States Digital Space LLC; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

London office

Flexible-first

Barista coffee

Subsidised lunches

Award-winning parental leave

Job summary

Funding Circle’s Data Platform team is building a Snowflake‑based platform and migrating to a federated \"Data as a Product\" model. This role will lead the engineering of that platform, shaping architecture, RBAC, ingestion, orchestration (Airflow) and CI/CD.

You’ll mentor engineers, establish standards, and partner with data scientists, analysts and AI agents to enable safe, scalable data products across the business.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Data & Analytics with architectural leadership experience.
• Deep Snowflake knowledge including Iceberg/Open table formats and RBAC.
• Advanced SQL, Python and enterprise‑grade dbt model development.
• Experience designing end‑to‑end data pipelines (batch, streaming, Kafka/CDC) with Airflow.
• Strong data security/governance understanding and IAC/CI‑CD skills.
• Ability to write clear design docs and communicate risks to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Experience architecting AI solutions and training builders across the company.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical direction of the Data Platform and translate target architecture into a plan.
• Own platform quality: Snowflake infra, RBAC, ingestion patterns, orchestration, observability, cost controls.
• Make technical decisions, document them, and escalate cross‑domain issues.
• Grow and mentor engineers, promote fast but deep review culture.
• Enable domain teams, data scientists, analysts and AI agents to build on the platform.
• Lead Snowflake migration workstreams and decommission legacy systems.
• Maintain on‑call quality, incident follow‑ups, runbooks and disaster recovery planning.
• Oversee security/governance and vendor relationships; communicate trade‑offs to leadership.
• Collaborate with Principal Engineer to deliver platform engineering plan.

Skills

Snowflake

RBAC

SQL

Python

dbt

Airflow

CI/CD

Data governance

Tools

Kafka

Iceberg/Open table formats

Pyspark

Job description

We’re on a mission to back the UK’s small businesses like no one else Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and we’re here to help them win. We’ve built a platform that uses clever data to get them the funding they need in minutes, not weeks.

At Funding Circle, we have the restless energy of a fintech start-up with the stability of a public company. It’s a unique mix that gives Circlers the autonomy to take ownership and the scale to make an impact that truly counts.

We’re a high-performing team that chooses to lift each other up. We challenge, we champion, and we have each other’s backs - because we know that when we stand together, we move faster and build better.

The impact is real: Last year alone, the businesses on our platform generated £7.2bn for the UK economy Come and join a mission that matters!

[Read our Impact Report] | [See our Trustpilot]

The role London (Hybrid) | 2 days in the office | Competitive Salary + Benefits

The Data Platform team builds and runs the platform that all Funding Circle data teams use. This includes our Snowflake platform, streaming and batch ingestion, orchestration, data contracts and the Data Product Portal.

We are in the middle of a big change. We are moving to Snowflake and to a federated "Data as a Product" model. This role will lead the engineering of that platform

• Lead the technical direction of the Data Platform. Turn the target architecture into a clear, sequenced engineering plan, and keep the team aligned to it.

• Own the technical quality of the platform: Snowflake infrastructure and RBAC, ingestion patterns, orchestration (Airflow), CI/CD, observability and cost controls.

• Make and record technical decisions. Run the decision‑document process. Make the final call when the team cannot agree, and escalation cross-domain decisions to the architecture review board.

• Grow the team. Mentor engineers, spread knowledge so that no system depends on one person, and set a review culture that is fast and deep.

• Make it easy for domain teams, Data Scientists, Analysts and AI Agents to build on the platform. Define standards and reusable patterns. Make sure that DP reviews do not block the domain teams, and work closely with the teams that use the platform.

• Lead the platform side of the Athena Snowflake migration: source landing, reconciliation and cutover evidence, and decommissioning of the legacy platform.

• Own operational excellence with the Engineering Manager: on-call quality, alert quality, incident follow‑ups, runbooks, and disaster recovery.

• Own security and governance controls on the platform with Security and Data Governance.

• Manage the technical relationship with platform vendors. This includes support cases, escalations and roadmap input.

• Explain technical trade‑offs clearly to non‑technical stakeholders and data leadership.

• Set and evolve the team's standards for AI‑assisted engineering, so that tools like Claude and Copilot are used safely and consistently.

• Work closely with the Principal Engineer. The Principal owns the cross‑domain architecture. You turn it into the platform engineering plan and make sure the team delivers it.

What we’re looking for We value deep expertise, but a growth mindset and good energy are what really make our team click. We’re a group that chooses to lift each other up and think smart every day.

• 8+ years in Data & Analytics, with proven experience as a Senior/Tech Lead setting architectural direction for other engineers

• Deep, hands‑on knowledge of Snowflake, including ideally Iceberg/open table formats and RBAC.

• Advanced SQL, Python, and enterprise‑grade dbt model development.

• Experience designing end‑to‑end data pipelines. Combining batch, file‑based, and streaming ingestion (Kafka/CDC) managed with Airflow orchestration.

• A good understanding of data security and governance, including PII handling and access control.

• Strong infrastructure‑as‑code skills and CI/CD skills.

• Track record of writing clear design docs, explaining technical risks to non‑technical stakeholders, and making decisions under uncertainty.

• Able to architect custom AI solutions and smart automated systems that are safe, maintainable, and aligned with our long‑term mission

• Act as a technical bridge and mentor, training “builders" across the company to move from basic AI usage to sophisticated system creation

Skills we’d love to see:

• Data contracts (ODCS/ODPS), data product portals, lineage tools.

• Experience in a regulated financial services company.

• Experience leading a migration or a large platform change.

• PySpark or other distributed processing experience.

We’re building a place where everyone truly feels they belong. Even if your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement, we'd still love to hear from you.

Why join us? We back you to build an incredible career and by joining us, you'll be part of one of The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For 2026! As a flexible-first employer, we use a "best of both" approach. We’ll see you in our London office to collaborate – with barista coffee and subsidised Just Eat lunches on us!

Our Circler Proposition focuses on five areas:

• Flexibility: We provide a benefit allowance you can tailor to your own life and family.

• Health: This includes private medical and dental, health assessments, and access to a digital GP.

• Wealth: We offer life assurance, share schemes, and financial coaching.

• Development: You get a dedicated annual learning allowance to help you level up.

• Lifestyle: We have electric car and cycle‑to‑work schemes, plus season ticket loans.

We also have award-winning parental leave policies. We're here to support you through the big life moments, from fertility treatments to new additions to the family.

Ready to join a mission that matters? We’d love to chat!