Senior Data Engineer (4644

Closing Date - 31st August 2026 at 23:55

Reference - 4644

Employment Type

- Permanent

Join us at Social Security Scotland as a Senior Data Engineer and be at the forefront of our ambitious digital transformation. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work with a talented team and turn data into a driving force for positive change, helping us create a system that supports the people of Scotland for decades to come.

The Digital, Delivery & Change division is responsible for delivering the infrastructure, capability and digital solutions that will support Social Security Scotland. As a Senior Data Engineer within the division, you will play a crucial role in developing robust data infrastructure and systems that underpin our diverse digital initiatives. Collaborating with a growing team of digital experts across Engineering & Cloud Services, Architecture, Applications, and more, you will design and implement data flows that facilitate analytics and business intelligence.

Your expertise will ensure the delivery of high-quality data products that meet the needs of our stakeholders and enable effective decision-making. We are committed to fostering a positive and inclusive culture that empowers all team members to thrive, making this an exciting opportunity to contribute to meaningful societal change.

A Senior Data Engineer designs and leads the implementation of data flows to connect operational systems, data for analytics and business intelligence (BI) systems.

• Recognise opportunities to reuse existing data flows.
• Lead the build of data streaming systems.
• Optimise the code to ensure processes perform optimally.

• Design, develop and support real-time data streaming solutions using Apache Kafka to deliver scalable, reliable data integration.
• Design and implement scalable Python-based solutions for data processing, integration and automation.
• Lead technical discussions during sprint planning, story refinement and other agile ceremonies, working closely with stakeholders.
• Analyse, profile and assess data from multiple complex source systems to understand structure, quality and business value.
• Design, build and maintain complex, large-scale data products and integration services.
• Consolidate data from multiple sources into conformed models that support analysis, reporting and decision-making.
• Create and maintain data models, including relational, dimensional, graph, metadata and subject-area models.
• Select and implement appropriate technologies from the approved portfolio to deliver scalable, secure and future-ready data solutions.
• Develop, test, document and maintain complex programs, scripts and data pipelines in line with agreed standards, specifications and user requirements.
• Perform data transformation, cleansing and normalisation to ensure data is fit for analytical and reporting purposes.
• Lead the development and adoption of reusable design patterns, standards and best practices.
• Present data insights and technical findings clearly to colleagues and stakeholders to support informed decision-making.
• Monitor databases, data products and services, proactively identifying issues, trends and risks, and implementing corrective and preventative actions.
• Review requirements and specifications, define test conditions, analyse test results and produce synthetic test data where required.
• Build capability within teams by providing technical leadership, mentoring and support across data integration activities.
• Proactively identify opportunities to maximise value from data and drive innovation across services and products.
• Maintain and apply up-to-date knowledge of relevant technologies, frameworks and industry best practices.
• Contribute to the wider Government Digital & Data community through knowledge sharing, technical peer support, code reviews, pair programming and specialist consultancy.

Social Security Scotland are a Disability Confident Employer. We will consider and implement any reasonable adjustments you may require throughout the recruitment process and during the course of your employment, should you be successful in securing a post. If you feel you may require assistance with any part of our recruitment process, please contact us t