Head of Data Engineering

Head of Data Engineering Up to £130,000 + 40% Bonus Kent - Hybrid

Looking for your next big leadership move in data? I'm hiring for a Head of Data Engineering at a top-tier financial services group that's serious about becoming a data-first organisation. This is a high-impact leadership role with full ownership of data engineering strategy, delivery, team building, and technical direction.

You'll be leading the evolution of a world-class data function-building scalable ETL pipelines, shaping cloud-first architectures, and ensuring data quality and governance are at the core of everything the business delivers.

Why This Role Stands Out
  • Salary up to £130,000 + 40% bonus

  • Flexible/remote-first culture (UK-based)

  • Strategic visibility-reporting directly to the Chief Data Officer

  • Autonomy to build and shape a modern data engineering function from the ground up

  • Strong backing from senior leadership for data transformation across the business

The Role

You'll be responsible for leading and growing a high-performing team of Data Engineers and delivering a robust, scalable, and secure data infrastructure to meet current and future needs. This is a hands-off strategic leadership role, but you'll need to be technically credible and comfortable engaging on architecture, cloud platforms, and modern data tooling.

Key Responsibilities
  • Own and drive the data engineering roadmap

  • Build and lead a multidisciplinary team delivering complex ETL and cloud data solutions

  • Ensure alignment with data governance, security, and architecture standards

  • Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and adoption of modern technologies

  • Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure platform adoption across the enterprise

  • Present at senior leadership forums and influence key decision-makers

  • Promote a culture of excellence, curiosity, and operational discipline

What You'll Bring
  • Proven leadership of data engineering teams within a complex organisation

  • Expertise in ETL/ELT pipelines, data ingestion, processing and storage

  • Strong experience with cloud data platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP)

  • Hands-on experience with SQL, Python, and modern data tooling

  • A background in financial services or a regulated environment is highly desirable

  • Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills-including presenting at senior committees

  • Familiarity with regulatory data frameworks (e.g. BCBS239, IRB) a plus

Sound Like You?

You're commercially astute, technically credible, and passionate about delivering real value from data. You're just as comfortable building strategy as you are engaging your team or presenting to board-level stakeholders.

Company
Harnham - Data & Analytics Recruitment
Location
Kent, England, United Kingdom
Hybrid / WFH Options
Employment Type
Full-Time
Salary
£110,000 - £140,000 per annum
Posted
Company
Harnham - Data & Analytics Recruitment
Location
Kent, England, United Kingdom
Hybrid / WFH Options
Employment Type
Full-Time
Salary
£110,000 - £140,000 per annum
Posted