Principal Data Engineer

This is a genuine build-and-lead opportunity - architecting a modern, cloud-first data platform from a position of real influence, while growing and shaping the team that delivers it. You will work across a global, cross-functional community, with the scope to drive data democratisation, governance maturity and AI-readiness across the firm.

What you will be doing

• Design and maintain scalable, secure data lake and lakehouse solutions using Azure Data Lake, Databricks and Delta Lake - built to support real-time insight, advanced analytics and AI/ML at enterprise scale.
• Develop and optimise batch and streaming ETL/ELT pipelines using Azure Data Factory, PySpark, SQL, Apache Spark and Airflow, integrated with modern tooling like dbt and Git-based CI/CD.
• Implement data cataloguing, lineage tracking and governance frameworks through Collibra, ensuring data across the enterprise is discoverable, well-documented and compliant.
• Own the day-to-day leadership, coaching and development of the Data Engineering team within the Global Data Office - supporting recruitment, performance management, skills growth and the adoption of engineering best practices.
• Work closely with Data Office leadership to define engineering strategy, support delivery planning, and build a high-performing, collaborative engineering culture across a geographically dispersed team.
• Monitor and tune data jobs for performance, scalability and cost; embed data validation, logging and monitoring to catch issues early and keep the platform reliable.

• Experience in data engineering, including designing and delivering data lake or lakehouse architectures in an enterprise cloud environment, ideally Microsoft Azure.
• Hands-on expertise with Databricks, Spark, PySpark, SQL and core Azure Data Services (Data Lake Storage, Synapse Analytics, Data Factory).
• Experience with data governance and cataloguing tools such as Collibra or -Purview, plus familiarity with the modern data stack (dbt, CI/CD, streaming frameworks).
• Genuine leadership experience, with a passion for developing people as much as building systems.
• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences, and a resilient, proactive mindset suited to a fast-paced, evolving environment.