Principal Data Engineer

Location:

Newcastle / Manchester / Leeds / Southwest England | Hybrid with regular client-site travel

Eligible for UK SC clearance required

Our client is a fast-growing technology consulting business operating in demanding defence, financial services, and private capital environments. The firm is built for high-trust, high-impact delivery, combining deep engineering capability with a pragmatic consulting approach. It is backed by two major global businesses and is scaling its defence engineering capability through 2026.

This is a Principal-level data engineering role for someone who can design, build, and improve data-intensive applications and pipelines in complex, security-sensitive environments. The work sits at the intersection of engineering quality, client delivery, and modern data platform capability, with direct exposure to high-stakes programmes across the UK defence sector. The successful candidate will bring strong technical judgement, communicate well with senior stakeholders, and operate with the ownership expected in a smaller, fast-moving consulting environment.

• Design and build reliable data pipelines and data-intensive applications for complex client environments.
• Develop in Python and SQL, with appropriate use of Spark, Databricks, cloud services, and orchestration tools.
• Test, troubleshoot, and continuously improve data products to strengthen reliability, quality, and performance.
• Work closely with clients and internal teams to translate business needs into robust engineering solutions.
• Contribute to architecture conversations and support the use of AI-assisted engineering practices where appropriate.

• Strong principal-level data engineering background, ideally gained in a consulting or client-facing environment.
• Must currently be from, or have most recent experience in, a global top 300 company.
• Proven delivery of data platforms, pipelines, and modern engineering solutions in complex environments.
• Hands‑on experience with Python, SQL, and one or more of Spark, Databricks, AWS, Azure, GCP, or Airflow.
• Eligible for UK SC clearance and comfortable with regular UK travel, including defence sites.

We are specifically looking for candidates from a global top 300 company, with the discipline and standards associated with that background.

An interest in AI, architecture, and modern engineering practice will be an advantage.

The package is £100,000 to £140,000, with strong ownership from day one, high-impact projects, and the opportunity to help shape a growing defence capability. The role offers real technical responsibility, visible delivery outcomes, and substantial scope for development.

• Strong ownership and end-to-end engineering responsibility.
• Opportunity to join a rapidly growing defence engineering capability.

Please apply with a CV that clearly reflects the required data engineering experience, consulting exposure, security eligibility, and background from a global top 300 company.