Principal Data Engineer

At Places for People, we hire People, not numbers! So, if you like the sound of one of our jobs, please apply - you could be just who we're looking for! Of course, experience and track record are important, but we're more interested in hiring someone that embodies our People Promises. That's someone that does the right thing, is enthusiastic and motivated to grow, believes in Community spirit, is respectful and enjoys their work. As the UK's leading Social Enterprise, we don't discriminate based on any protected attribute. In fact, we're dedicated to creating inclusive and thriving Communities for both our Customers and Employees. 

So, what are you waiting for? Join a Community that cares about you!

More about the team  

The Data and Platform Engineering team are the foundation for the Data Office function. Responsible for designing, building, and maintaining  PfP's  data platform we extract data from source, transform it into a usable format, load it into consumer models and  marts   and  build and manage the infrastructure to do all this work.   

Data Engineering are transforming  the way  PfP  consumes data . H aving transitioned   from On Premise to  Google Cloud  we are  in the process of  building  a  leading-edge  Data Mesh platform .  T his is an exciting time to join  a growing business function , with the opportunity to  make your mark  in the  architecture of the  platform and the development of the data engineering function .  

More about your role   

The Principal Data Engineer is a senior technical leader who drives the engineering strategy, architecture, and best practices across product domain squads. This role is pivotal in enabling decentralised data ownership while ensuring consistency, scalability, and interoperability across the data mesh.  

Key responsibilities include:  

• Technical leadership across product domains
• Architecture and design
• Mentorship and capability building
• Cross domain interoperability
• Governance and compliance enablement
• Innovation and strategic influence 

With a solid understanding of Google Cloud Platform, the Principal Data Engineer is responsible for the ensuring that the design and build of all data processes on the data platform are robust, performant, and compliant. This includes, data ingestion, data quality / integrity, transformation, security and encryption, batch management, monitoring, alerting and cost control.  

In addition to leading data processing the Principal Data Engineer will help design and build the Data Mesh including data modelling and the processing of data from raw through the semantic layers.  

The Principal Data Engineer will identify opportunities for automation and process improvement, coach and mentor data engineers, set coding standards and best practices, implement and document data integrity and quality checks, optimise queries, and facilitate data engineering collaboration across the team.  

The Principal Data Engineer will work hand in glove with the Principal Data Platform Engineer and the Data Domain Architect to ensure that the data platform and data pipeline design is optimised and reliable within Google Cloud Platform, documenting the approach and explaining the solution to engineers and non-technical business users.  

More about you   

You  will have  an extensive  cloud data engineering background  with deep  expertise  in distributed systems, cloud  platforms  and modern data stacks. You will have a strong understanding of domain driven design, data  mesh  and product thinking.  You will be an excellent communicator and collaborator across technical teams.  

Having work ed  on multiple projects with in the cloud you  have hands on  experience in  many of the  tools and technologies  on offer, and  you embrace and lear n  new  technologies  quickly.  

You have  a very clear  view of what good looks like  and can formulate  plans to deliver a target state working closely with managers and engineers to deliver that vision.  

You will have multiple  years' experience  working in GCP   wit h  good knowledge across the platform and deep knowledge  in core  processing and orchestration products such as  Big Query,  Data   Flow, Data  Fusion,  Data Stream , Cloud Functions, Data Proc and  Airflow / Composer .    

You will have excellent problem-solving skills,  a rigorous approach to code checks / peer reviews and have the strength  of character to  drive  high standards  in the team.   You will be able to manage  and  participate  in the full development lifecycle of data products.  

You will have  h el d a leading role in a Data Engineering function with responsibility for the  directing the efforts of  other data engineers though the  design, build and deployment of complex data solutions .  This includes driving the implementation and adoption of CI / CD.  

You will be self-motivated with excellent leadership qualities, capable of driving innovation and mentoring data engineers.   

Exper ience  & Skills  

• A proven track record within Data Engineering,
• Experience in a Lead / Principal Engineer role
• Experience in a cloud data platform experience
• GCP experience  and associated tech stack
• Strong understanding of Data Mesh principles  (direct experience beneficial)
• Technical mentoring / coaching  skills
• Extensive experience with Data Lake / Warehouse solutions
• Strong proficiency   in  multiple  languages  with  SQL  and   Python  as must haves
• In-depth knowledge of query optimization techniques and experience in fine-tuning complex queries.
• Strong understanding of Data Governance including Data Dictionaries, MDM , Lineage, Data Legislation ,  and the handling of PII
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with cross functional teams
• Experience of Agile / Scrum / SDLC 

We are a large diverse and ambitious business, which will give you all the challenge you could wish for.   

We know that there's always more we can do to make you smile, that's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package with each role, yours will include:   

• Competitive salary, with a salary review yearly
• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Excellent holiday package – 35 days annual leave with the option to buy or sell leave
• Cashback plan for healthcare costs – up to £500 saving per year
• A bonus scheme for all colleagues at 2%
• Training and development
• Extra perks including huge discounts and offers from shops, cinemas and much more.

What's next?

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then click apply. You will be redirected to our careers site where you can discover more about the role, read a full job description and apply directly to us.

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. We are dedicated to creating a supportive and accessible recruitment process for all.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We're happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you're looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on

If you are a recruitment agency please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls 

Safeguarding

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. 

We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment. 

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities