Principal Data Engineer
Principal Data Engineer
Location: Newcastle / Manchester / Leeds / Southwest England | Hybrid with regular client-site travel
Salary: £100,000 - £140,000
Security Clearance: Eligible for UK SC clearance required
Employer Overview
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.
Role Context
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.
Key Responsibilities
- 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.
Candidate Profile / Technical Skillset
- 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.
Benefits Summary
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.
- Significant ongoing investment.
- Strong ownership and end-to-end engineering responsibility.
- Opportunity to join a rapidly growing defence engineering capability.
How to Apply?
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.