Principal Data Engineer

BREEDON GROUP PLC is a leading construction materials group operating from over 400 sites across the UK and Ireland.

We have an opportunity to join our thriving Data & Analytics team with an exciting plan and long-term vision. We are seeking an experienced data engineer, with skills in Microsoft Azure and SQL, to take a key role in the design, build and deployment of our Azure data platform in line with our enterprise architecture.

The Role

The Principal Data Engineer will provide hands-on technical leadership for the design, delivery and continuous improvement of Breedon’s enterprise data platform. The role will establish engineering standards, guide architectural decisions and build secure, scalable data products using Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks and associated Azure services. Working across Data & Analytics, Technology and the wider business, the role will help make trusted data easier to discover, access and use for analytics, automation and AI.

Key Responsibilities

We aim to deliver reliable, trusted data capabilities that meet evolving business needs and are seeking an individual to undertake the following:

• Provide Technical Leadership and Direction: Act as the senior technical authority for data engineering, providing guidance on architecture, technology selection, engineering practices and solution quality across the organisation.

• Define Engineering Standards and Best Practices : Establish and govern engineering standards, reference architectures, reusable patterns, coding practices and delivery frameworks to drive consistency, scalability and maintainability.

• Lead Architecture and Solution Design: Lead technical design reviews, data modelling decisions and architecture assurance activities to ensure solutions are secure, resilient, supportable and aligned to strategic objectives.

• Deliver Modern Data Engineering Solutions: Design, build and optimise cloud-based data platforms and data pipelines using Microsoft Fabric, Azure and related technologies to support enterprise reporting, analytics and operational workloads.

• Ensure Quality, Security and Operational Excellence: Establish robust testing, data quality, monitoring, observability, security and deployment practices to ensure reliable, well-governed and highly available data services.

• Drive Continuous Improvement and Technical Debt Reduction: Lead initiatives to modernise legacy solutions, reduce technical debt, improve platform reliability, optimise performance and cloud costs, and embed engineering practices that improve long-term maintainability and operational efficiency.

• Drive Innovation and Technical Strategy: Evaluate emerging technologies, lead technical discovery and proof-of-concept activities, and contribute to the development of the organisation's data strategy, architecture roadmap and future technology direction.

• Develop Engineering Capability and Lead Delivery: Lead the delivery of complex technical initiatives while mentoring and coaching engineers, promoting knowledge sharing, strengthening technical capability, and fostering a culture of engineering excellence, continuous learning and professional growth.

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

Experience and knowledge:

• Experience of designing and implementing an Azure analytical platform including Azure Databricks, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake Storage, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, PySpark, SQL, Python, and Azure DevOps.
• Experience of working with senior stakeholders to articulate the strategy, objectives and benefits of a central enterprise cloud data platform
• Experience using DevOps practices to establish standards for source control, branching strategies, pull requests, code reviews, testing, and release management.
• Familiar with CI/CD processes for data pipelines and platform components
• Experience of coaching and mentoring data engineers to achieve successful outcomes
• Familiarity with AI-focused data engineering, including RAG systems, vector databases, embedding pipelines, and semantic indexing
• A proven record of collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders
• Process mapping and supporting documentation production
• Test plan formulation and managing through to resolution

Skills:

• Ability to communicate and collaborate with multiple stakeholders across the business and within Breedon Technology Services
• High level of technical proficiency in designing, implementing and maintaining a quality service
• Research and evaluation of technological developments
• Ability to analyse and troubleshoot potential issues within the platform
• Ability to identify creative solutions to overcome problems
• Ability to impart knowledge and support the development of team members
• Ability to support AI workflows by designing high-performance retrieval pipelines and working with AI engineering teams

Job Benefits

• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Contributory Pension Scheme
• Free on-site Parking
• Holiday Buy Scheme
• Volunteer Scheme
• Share Save Scheme
• Life Assurance
• Enhanced Maternity, Adoption & Paternity Scheme
• Health & Wellbeing Initiatives
• Discount Scheme