Client Solutions Database Engineer

Kennedys is looking for a Client Solutions Database Engineer to join our IT team, based in Manchester. The successful candidate will work as part of the Client Solutions sub‑team, collaborating closely with wider IT and Business Services teams to design, optimise and maintain high‑performance database systems that support our core SaaS platform, reporting environments and client billing solutions.

This is a hybrid role combining architectural leadership with hands‑on engineering. You will act as the technical authority for our database ecosystem-setting standards, driving best practice, and solving complex challenges-while also writing advanced SQL, building prototypes and guiding junior engineers.

Kennedys' IT team is responsible for delivering a responsive, effective and timely IT service to the firm's employees and clients. The team designs and implements operational processes to ensure our systems remain reliable, secure and highly available. You will join a collaborative group committed to continuous improvement and supporting the firm's global technology needs.

• Lead the design and optimisation of scalable, high‑performance database architectures across our SaaS platform, reporting environments and client billing systems.
• Govern and enhance the stored procedure estate, reusable scripts and development standards across the engineering team.
• Produce clear, accessible documentation for data models, data dictionaries and architectural decisions.
• Drive technical projects with strong momentum, providing proactive updates and ensuring timely delivery.
• Mentor and upskill junior team members, fostering a collaborative, learning‑focused engineering culture.

• Extensive experience with modern Azure SQL services and designing complex, high‑performance relational databases.
• Strong data modelling skills across both OLTP (SaaS) and OLAP (reporting/analytics) environments.
• Proven expertise in performance tuning, scaling, security and cost optimisation.
• Hands‑on experience with backups, integrity checks, index maintenance and troubleshooting using blocking, caching and wait statistics.
• Advanced proficiency in T‑SQL, stored procedures, functions and custom integrations.
• Experience designing and orchestrating ETL/ELT pipelines using tools such as dbt or Azure Data Factory.
• Strong background in technical code reviews and mentoring junior engineers.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work autonomously and document technical decisions clearly.
• Experience designing Power BI‑optimised data models and writing performant DAX.
• Strong understanding of how database architecture impacts BI performance and reporting pipelines.

* where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time we would usually expect a candidate to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience.