About the Role
This is a hands-on leadership role for an experienced Principal Data Engineer to set technical direction and influence data engineering strategy across complex, regulated, national scale clinical and research platforms. You will shape how we design, build and operate scalable, secure and highly reliable data platforms, defining standards, patterns and approaches for multiple teams. The role requires staying close to data engineering, code, and delivery while operating at architectural and strategic levels to guide direction, influence technical decisions, raise data engineering maturity, and build capability across the organization.
Responsibilities
- Setting technical direction and influencing data engineering standards across data platforms, pipelines and data products used by multiple teams
- Leading the design and delivery of complex, large scale data solutions across cloud and hybrid environments
- Influencing architectural direction for enterprise data platforms, including Lakehouse, distributed and event driven systems
- Acting as a technical authority across squads, influencing alignment to data engineering standards and data architectural principles
- Working closely with senior engineers, architects, bioinformaticians, data colleagues and product teams to influence delivery and technical decision making
- Ensuring all data engineering approaches meet strict governance, privacy, security and regulatory requirements
- Driving adoption and influencing use of modern engineering practices including DataOps, DevOps, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, automation and observability
- Improving platform resilience, performance and operational maturity across critical data systems
- Evaluating and influencing adoption of new tools, technologies and data engineering approaches where appropriate
- Mentoring experienced data engineers and influencing capability uplift across teams
- Contributing to organisation wide technical communities, standards and design governance
Requirements
- Proven experience operating at senior or Principal level in data engineering
- Strong track record of designing and successfully delivering enterprise scale data platforms and systems
- Deep experience with modern data architecture, cloud infrastructure and scalable data processing systems
- Strong hands-on programming experience, i.e. Python and SQL
- Strong expertise in data modelling, data lifecycle management, metadata and governance
- Experience working in complex regulated environments such as healthcare, genomics or research
- Strong understanding of security by design and handling highly sensitive data
- Proven ability to influence architectural and data engineering direction across multiple teams or domains
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with experience influencing senior technical and non-technical stakeholders in matrix environments
- Degree in Computer Science, IT or equivalent practical industry experience
Skills
- Python
- SQL
- DataOps
- DevOps
- CI/CD
- Infrastructure as code
- Automation
- Observability
- Genomics
- Bioinformatics
- Clinical data platforms
- GA4GH
- OMOP
- FHIR standards
- Airflow
- Prefect
- AWS Glue
- Data mesh
- Lakehouse
Location
- London
- Canary Wharf
- Cambridge
- Leeds
Work Type
- Blended working model
- Hybrid working
- Remote working abroad (up to 30 days annually, approval required)
Experience Level
- Principal level
- Senior
- Experienced
Education Level
- Degree in Computer Science, IT or equivalent practical industry experience
- Architecture or data related certifications are beneficial
- TOGAF certification valued
Salary/Compensations
- £103,400 pa
Benefits
- 30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays
- Additional leave for long service
- Option to apply for up to 30 days of remote working abroad annually (approval required)
- Blended working arrangements
- Flexible working
- Enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave benefits
- Defined contribution pension (Genomics England double-matches up to 10%)
- Life Assurance (3x salary)
- Give As You Earn scheme
- Individual learning budgets
- Support for training and certifications
- Reimbursement for one annual professional subscription (approval required)
- Employee recognition programme
- Referral scheme
- Subsidised gym membership
- Free Headspace account
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
- Eye tests
- Flu jabs
About the Company
- Genomics England is a global leader in enabling genomic medicine and research, focused on creating a world where everyone benefits from genomic healthcare.
- Building on the 100,000 Genomes Project, we support the NHS’s world-first national whole genome sequencing service and run the growing National Genomic Research Library, alongside delivering numerous major genomics initiatives.
- By connecting research and clinical care at national scale, we enable immediate healthcare benefits and advances for the future.
- Our mission is to provide the evidence and digital systems so that by 2035 genomics could play a role in up to half of all healthcare interactions, whilst securing the UK’s position as the best place to discover, prove and benefit from genomic innovations.
- We are accelerating our impact and working with patients, doctors, scientists, government and industry to improve genomic testing, and help researchers access the health data and technology they need to make new medical discoveries and create more effective, targeted medicines for everybody.
- Behind the Healthcare and Research outcomes, Genomics England delivers through designing, developing and operating complex healthcare software systems.
- We're on the cusp of big changes with the real prospect of genomics becoming the fabric of everyday healthcare through the lifetime - from birth to old age.
Equal Opportunity
- Genomics England is actively committed to providing and supporting an inclusive environment that promotes equity, diversity and inclusion best practice both within our community and in any other area where we have influence.
- We are proud of our diverse community where everyone can come to work and feel welcomed and treated with respect regardless of any disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, or social background.
- Genomics England’s policies of non-discrimination and equity and will be applied fairly to all people, regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, being pregnant or recently becoming a parent, race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, length of service, whether full or part-time or employed under a permanent or a fixed-term contract or any other relevant factor.
- Genomics England does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying at work.
- Such behaviour undermines our mission and core values and diminishes the dignity, respect and integrity of all parties.
- Our People policies outline our commitment to inclusivity.
- We aim to remove barriers in our recruitment processes and to be flexible with our interview processes.
- Should you require any adjustments that may help you to fully participate in the recruitment process, we encourage you to discuss this with us.
