Senior Data Engineer

Senior Data Engineer (Contract)

Location: UK (Remote / Hybrid)

Contract Type: Contract (Outside IR35)

We are seeking a Senior Data Engineer (Contract) to support the delivery of secure, business‑critical data platforms within high‑assurance, regulated environments. The role focuses on designing and implementing resilient data pipelines and integration services that enable controlled data sharing across complex, multi‑domain systems, while maintaining strong standards of security, governance, and compliance.

The successful contractor will operate at a senior technical level, contributing to platform design, assuring engineering quality, and supporting delivery in environments where data integrity, availability, and access control are essential.

• Design, build, and maintain secure, scalable data pipelines and integration services
• Engineer data solutions that support controlled data access across complex domains
• Develop production‑grade code aligned with secure‑by‑design principles
• Model complex datasets to support interoperability and governed access
• Integrate data from diverse sources, including legacy and operational systems
• Implement fine‑grained access controls, data classification, and governance mechanisms
• Support deployment and operation of data services across cloud, on‑premise, and hybrid environments
• Collaborate with architects, security specialists, and delivery teams
• Contribute to design reviews and technical decision‑making
• Ensure performance, resilience, and observability of data platforms
• Produce and maintain clear technical documentation

• Extensive experience operating as a Senior Data Engineer on complex, enterprise‑scale platforms
• Strong programming capability in Python
• Commercial experience with Java and/or Scala
• Advanced SQL and strong data modelling skills
• Proven experience designing and operating ETL / ELT pipelines at scale
• Solid understanding of distributed systems and data platform architecture
• Experience with at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
• Experience with containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Familiarity with CI / CD pipelines and modern Dev Ops practices

• Experience delivering data solutions in regulated or high‑assurance settings
• Understanding of security‑focused architectures such as least‑privilege access
• Experience implementing data governance, classification, and policy‑driven access controls
• Comfortable operating in environments with formal assurance, audit, and compliance requirements
• Able to handle sensitive information in line with contractual and organisational standards

• Knowledge of semantic data, knowledge graphs, or graph databases
• Experience with RDF, SPARQL, or ontology‑based data models
• Familiarity with controlled or cross‑domain data sharing patterns
• Experience with Infrastructure‑as‑Code (e.g. Terraform, Cloud Formation)
• Exposure to open‑source data platforms or frameworks

• Able to deliver independently with minimal supervision
• Comfortable working within structured delivery frameworks
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills
• Clear communicator with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Pragmatic, delivery‑focused, and quality‑driven

Due to the nature of the work, candidates must be eligible to pass background and suitability checks as part of the engagement.