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# Lead Data Engineer

- **Company:** Burns Sheehan
- **Location:** UK
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** £95,000.0 - £105,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, BigQuery, Information Engineering, Python (Programming Language), PostgreSQL, Software Product Management, SQL Databases, Data Streaming, Core Data, Apache Kafka
- **Published:** August 5, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.burnssheehan.co.uk/job/data/lead-data-engineer/j5841/

## About the Role

* Strong hands-on Python (non-negotiable)
 * Real-time/streaming experience with Kafka or equivalent
 * Postgres and BigQuery experience (or equivalent SQL/warehouse tooling)
 * Comfortable on GCP or AWS
 * Genuine "builder" mindset - owns architecture, drives decisions
 * Strong commercial awareness - ties data decisions to business outcomes
 * AI-in-product experience a strong plus
 * Comfortable with startup intensity and 4-day in-office culture

## Description

Founding Data Engineer | Fast-Growing Tech Scale-Up £95-105K

We're working with a well-capitalised AI startup automating large parts of the property management lifecycle - tenancy, maintenance, resident comms - via an agentic AI layer on top of a modern data platform. Pre-revenue but converting its first major enterprise pilots to paid imminently, including a client representing a meaningful share of the market. Well-backed with a healthy runway and no near-term pressure to raise.

This is a builder role: you'll own the core data architecture the AI product is built on, not maintain someone else's pipelines.

The Role

 * Own and build the core data platform architecture end-to-end
 * Design a real-time streaming architecture using Kafka - batch-free environment
 * Work extensively in Python
 * Build and maintain infrastructure across Postgres and BigQuery
 * Lead integration work as new enterprise clients onboard - a constant, high-visibility workstream
 * Provide technical (not people) leadership as the engineering team scales

What We're Looking For

 * Strong hands-on Python (non-negotiable)
 * Real-time/streaming experience with Kafka or equivalent
 * Postgres and BigQuery experience (or equivalent SQL/warehouse tooling)
 * Comfortable on GCP or AWS
 * Genuine "builder" mindset - owns architecture, drives decisions
 * Strong commercial awareness - ties data decisions to business outcomes
 * AI-in-product experience a strong plus
 * Comfortable with startup intensity and 4-day in-office culture

What's On Offer

 * Up to £120,000 base + equity equivalent in value to salary
 * A foundational data platform build from an early stage, with growth into Principal Engineer or Head of Data Engineering
 * Backing from a well-resourced investor base with a long runway

Burns Sheehan Ltd will consider applications based only on skills and ability and will not discriminate on any grounds.


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