Data Engineer

Data Engineer

Birmingham, UK | Hybrid

At Compass Group UK&I, we're more than just the UK's leading contract catering company - we're driving digital transformation across the business. Our Digital & Technology team is at the heart of this journey, creating cutting-edge solutions that improve efficiency, elevate customer experiences, and deliver real business impact.

We're looking for a Data Engineer to build and maintain data engineering solutions that power analytics, reporting, and decision-making across our organisation.

This is not a junior role. We're looking for someone who can work with real autonomy - taking ownership of pipelines end-to-end, contributing to technical design, and supporting the engineers around them - while continuing to grow their craft on a modern, cloud-first platform.

You'll work alongside senior engineers, business stakeholders, and analytics teams, making sure the data that flows through our business is accurate, timely, and built to last.

• Developing and deploying scalable data engineering solutions on the Databricks Lakehouse platform using PySpark, Spark SQL, and Python
• Building batch pipelines that feed our Discovery Analytics platform, powered by Power BI, with accurate and reliable data
• Contributing to CI/CD practices - automated testing, code reviews, and deployment pipelines that keep our engineering bar high
• Supporting and mentoring junior engineers, sharing knowledge and helping the team grow
• Collaborating with stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into well-built, maintainable solutions
• Monitoring and tuning pipelines to keep performance sharp and cloud costs in check

• A business-aware mindset - someone who understands how good data engineering creates real value, not just technical output
• Solid hands-on experience with Databricks, Delta Lake, PySpark, and Spark SQL
• Strong Python and SQL skills with a focus on clean, maintainable, production-ready code
• Working knowledge of CI/CD practices including Git, automated testing, and deployment pipelines
• Good understanding of data modelling, dimensional design, and data warehouse concepts
• Experience with AWS and cloud-native data engineering patterns
• Clear communicator who can work effectively with both technical colleagues and business stakeholders
• Exposure to Apache Airflow, Databricks Workflows, or Informatica Cloud is a bonus - as are Databricks or AWS certifications

You'll be part of the team building the data engineering foundations that underpin the UK's largest catering business.

We're mid-transformation - moving from legacy workflows to a cloud-first, Databricks-powered platform - and there's real work to be done by engineers who care about doing it properly.

If you want to take on more ownership, work on problems that matter at scale, and grow alongside a team that's genuinely raising the bar, we'd love to hear from you.