> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/2308484-lead-data-engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/2308484-lead-data-engineer). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Lead Data Engineer - **Company:** Sphere Digital Recruitment - **Location:** Greater London, UK - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** £75,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Data Analysis, Code Review, Continuous Integration, Information Engineering, Data Governance, Data Infrastructure, Data Security, Distributed Computing Environment, Python (Programming Language), Power BI, SQL Databases, Snowflake, Data Management, Data Pipelines, Databricks - **Published:** August 30, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.collegerecruiter.com/job/2815449116-lead-data-engineer ## About the Role * 5+ years' experience in data engineering or data platform roles * Strong hands-on experience with SQL, Python and distributed data processing * Proven experience building and operating modern cloud data platforms * Experience with technologies such as Snowflake, Databricks and Power BI * Strong understanding of CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code and data quality practices * Solid knowledge of data security, access controls and governance * Comfortable operating as a hands-on technical leader, mentoring others and influencing standards * Strong stakeholder communication skills ## Description * Leading the design and delivery of a modern cloud data platform supporting analytics, AI and client-facing data products * Owning data pipeline architecture across ingestion, transformation and data product layers * Setting and maintaining data engineering standards, patterns and best practices across squads * Mentoring and leading a small team of Data Engineers and working closely with Analytics Engineers and Data Scientists * Remaining hands-on with complex technical delivery, architecture decisions and code reviews * Defining CI/CD, testing, observability and infrastructure-as-code standards for data pipelines * Ensuring strong data governance, security controls and compliance across all datasets * Partnering with Product and commercial teams on data initiatives and client data onboarding * Supporting analytics, BI and AI/ML use cases with well-structured, documented and reliable data models ## Related Videos - [Beyond Dashboards: Fixing Text-to-SQL with Semantic RAG](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2036-beyond-dashboards-fixing-text-to-sql-with-semantic-rag) - [From Messy Queries to Scalable Systems - How Data Engineering actually works](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100203-from-messy-queries-to-scalable-systems-how-data-engineering-actually-works) - [How Cisco embraced a DevOps culture within its network engineering team](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/99-how-cisco-embraced-a-devops-culture-within-its-network-engineering-team) - [Cutting LLM Costs Without Cutting Quality: How to Beat Proprietary LLMs with Fine-Tuned Open Source](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100151-cutting-llm-costs-without-cutting-quality-how-to-beat-proprietary-llms-with-fine-tuned-open-source) - [Enabling intelligent logistics automation: home-grown Industrial IoT platform at Austrian Post](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2018-enabling-intelligent-logistics-automation-home-grown-industrial-iot-platform-at-austrian-post) - [OLTP in the Lakehouse: Redefining Data for AI Workloads](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2038-oltp-in-the-lakehouse-redefining-data-for-ai-workloads) ## Related Articles - [Data Engineer Salary UK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/253-data-engineer-salary-uk) - [Data Analyst Salary in the UK](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/278-data-analyst-salary-in-the-uk) - [Making Data Warehouses Fast: A Developer’s Story](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/107-making-data-warehouses-fast-a-developer-s-story) - [Software Engineer Salary London](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/252-software-engineer-salary-london) - [Top Big Data Technologies That You Need to Know](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/108-top-big-data-technologies-that-you-need-to-know) - [How to Become an AI Engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/331-how-to-become-an-ai-engineer)