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# Principal Data Engineer

- **Company:** Harnham
- **Location:** Hounslow, UK
- **Salary:** £100,000.0 - £110,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Clean Code Principles, Amazon Web Services, Cloud Database, Continuous Integration, Data Architecture, Information Engineering, Data Security, Data Systems, Database Development, DevOps, Cloud Services, Data Ingestion, Snowflake, Data Pipelines
- **Published:** October 14, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/principal-data-engineer/57455495

## About the Role

* Strong commercial experience in SQL development

 * Expertise in cloud-based data engineering and modern data architectures

 * Experience with technologies such as Snowflake, AWS, dbt, or comparable cloud data platforms

 * Strong understanding of data ingestion, processing, storage, and optimisation techniques

 * Experience building and supporting production-grade data systems

 * Knowledge of CI/CD practices, DevOps principles, and agile delivery environments

 * Strong understanding of data security, governance, and access control frameworks

 * Experience leading technical teams and mentoring engineers

 * Ability to influence stakeholders and communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences

 * Strong problem-solving skills with a focus on reliability, scalability, and continuous improvement

## Description

This is an opportunity for a Principal Data Engineer to take ownership of enterprise-scale data engineering initiatives within a well-established organisation undergoing significant investment in its data and technology capabilities. You'll combine hands-on technical leadership with team mentorship, shaping engineering best practice while driving the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-performing data products., You will lead the delivery and ongoing operation of data engineering solutions, ensuring data products are secure, resilient, and scalable.

Responsibilities include:

 * Leading the design, build, testing, and deployment of data pipelines and data products

 * Driving data engineering best practices across development, automation, monitoring, and operations

 * Coaching, mentoring, and supporting Data Engineers and Senior Data Engineers

 * Leading incident management, root cause analysis, and service improvement initiatives

 * Helping define engineering standards, coding practices, and automated testing frameworks

 * Working closely with product, platform, architecture, and business stakeholders to deliver valuable data solutions

 * Supporting agile delivery activities including planning, retrospectives, and continuous improvement initiatives

 * Improving platform reliability, observability, performance, and cost efficiency

 * Contributing to technical strategy and influencing engineering direction across the wider organisation

 * Participating in a rota supporting business-critical data products