Principal Data Engineer - Hounslow

• Act as a technical leader for data engineering best practice across delivery teams
• Lead the design, build, test, and deployment of secure and scalable data pipelines
• Maintain and operate data products, ensuring availability, performance, and resilience through monitoring and incident management
• Provide assurance on code quality and automation used to manage data flows
• Lead service reviews, health checks, and root cause analysis to improve reliability and reduce operational overhead
• Set and embed standards for data processing documentation and version control
• Support and coach engineers on engineering patterns, coding standards, and automated testing
• Lead agile ceremonies, delivery planning, and retrospectives to support continuous improvement
• Define and improve developer experience by working with data product teams to resolve data processing issues
• Line manage Senior Data Engineers and support their development
• Participate in an on-call rota to support live data products

Technologies:

• AI
• AWS
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• Incident Management
• Support
• PaaS
• SQL
• Security
• Snowflake
• dbt

• Strong hands-on technical leadership in data engineering
• Deep understanding of cloud-based data ingestion, processing, and storage techniques
• Expert knowledge of data processing, testing, and monitoring practices
• Strong understanding of enterprise data management, optimisation, and security at scale
• Confidence influencing technical direction and engineering standards
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills across business and technical teams
• Ability to break down complex problems and work effectively in ambiguous environments
• Delivery-focused, accountable, and pragmatic mindset
• Collaborative approach with a focus on capability building and knowledge sharing
• Excellent SQL development experience
• Highly experienced in data ingestion, processing, and storage techniques on cloud-native tooling
• Experience with cloud data management such as Snowflake, AWS, DBT, or similar PaaS and SaaS offerings
• Experience in enterprise data management and security at scale
• Knowledge of data modelling and optimisation
• Expertise in data processing, testing, and monitoring practices and frameworks
• Experience supporting production data systems and resolving operational issues in CI/CD processes and agile development workflows
• Expert knowledge of information security principles and access control within data environments
• Degree or equivalent training in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline is desirable

We are British Airways, the UKs flag carrier, with more than 100 years of history connecting Britain with the world and the world with Britain. In this Principal Data Engineer role, you will join either our Data & AI Delivery team or our Commercial data team, helping us build secure, scalable, and high-performing data products that support data-driven decision-making across our business. We offer competitive rewards, excellent staff travel benefits including unlimited basic and premium standby tickets on British Airways flights, and up to 30 discounted Hotline airfares each year for yourself, friends, and family. We also support career development, internal progression, and an inclusive culture where everyone is encouraged to bring their originality, creativity, and identity to work.