Lead Data Platform Engineer

. Serve as senior technical lead for the company’s data platform .

Posted 11/10/2026full-timeLondon • United KingdomSeniorWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in cloud platform design and secure data architecture, with a strong focus on mentoring data engineering teams and managing technical workstreams. Proficient in producing design documentation and ensuring compliance with regulated data requirements.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Cloud Platform DesignSecure Data ArchitecturePython ProgrammingSQL ProficiencyData Pipeline Development

ATS Keywords

Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills

Data EngineeringInfrastructure As CodeCI/CDPySparkSparkTechnical WorkplanningDesign DocumentationArchitectural ReviewEngineering StandardsRegulated Data Requirements

Soft Skills

MentoringClear CommunicationRisk ManagementTeam LeadershipCommercial Discussions

Tools & Technologies

OCIDatabricksGitGitHubUnity CatalogDelta LakeDbt

Certifications & Qualifications

ISO 27001

Industry Keywords

NHS IGGDPRMulti-Region OperationsHealthcare DataData Integration Patterns

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudPySparkPythonSparkSQLUnity

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Serve as senior technical lead for the company’s data platform
Provide design authority over platform architecture and translate strategic architectural direction into detailed technical designs, implementation patterns and platform standards
Mentor and help direct the data engineering team
Manage delivery of platform and data engineering workstreams
Produce technical designs for cloud infrastructure (OCI, Databricks) and NHS data pipelines
Define integration patterns, data flows and component specifications
Make implementation-level technology decisions within strategic technology selections
Design scalable, secure architectures supporting multi-region operations and regulated data requirements
Own platform design documentation, reference architectures and decision records
Evaluate emerging platform technologies and recommend adoption
Manage day-to-day delivery, technical workplans, sequencing, dependencies and team capacity
Coordinate QA and testing and ensure delivery meets timelines and resource constraints
Identify and escalate delivery risks, resource constraints and scope changes
Define engineering standards, design patterns and reference implementations
Conduct architectural reviews and contribute to quality assurance processes
Design security architecture aligned with IG and ISO 27001 requirements
Support vendor partnerships, data and research organisations, commercial discussions and technical proposals
Advise data scientists, consulting teams and Data Operations colleagues on platform capabilities and best practices
Provide technical input on infrastructure implications of data products, client requirements and commercial initiatives
Mentor data engineers through objective setting, performance and development support
Develop internal learning content and contribute to the technical learning programme

Requirements

What you’ll need

Around 4 years of experience in data or platform engineering, preferably including senior or lead responsibility for a production data platform
Deep expertise in cloud platform design and secure data architecture, including identity and access management, network design and access control; Databricks and OCI, or comparable platforms
Strong Python and SQL
Experience building and monitoring production pipelines using PySpark or Spark
Experience with infrastructure as code, CI/CD and a Git and GitHub workflow
Track record of setting engineering standards and design patterns, conducting architectural review, and producing design documentation
Experience owning delivery of technical workstreams, including technical workplanning, capacity management, QA and early risk escalation
Experience mentoring or managing engineers, including objective setting and development
Experience designing to regulated data requirements such as NHS IG, ISO 27001 and GDPR, or comparable frameworks
Clear communication of design decisions and trade-offs to technical and non-technical audiences
Comfortable acting as technical authority for platform and infrastructure decisions
Confidence in commercial and partner-facing technical discussions, including vendor conversations and technical proposal sections
Desirable: experience with NHS or other routine healthcare data at patient level
Desirable: Unity Catalog, Delta Lake and medallion structure
Desirable: exposure to dbt and dimensional modelling
Desirable: experience contributing to vendor or partner relationships such as Databricks
Desirable: experience designing for multi-region operations (UK, Middle East, EU)

Benefits

Comp & perks

Holiday entitlement: 25 days/year for staff and 30 days/year for leadership, increasing by 1 day for every year of service up to a maximum of 35 days of holiday per year
7% employer pension contribution, with employees contributing 3% or more
Flexible benefits programme, including increased pension contributions, cash plan, or ClassPass subscription
Annual leave purchase
Income protection: 75% of salary in the event of long-term incapacity and a qualifying claim
Enhanced sick pay beyond Statutory Sick Pay for up to 12 weeks in any 12-month period
Life insurance covering four times basic salary
Enhanced family leave policies
Interest-free loan of up to £10,000
Interest-free season ticket loan
Workplace nursery scheme
Flexible working, including working from home up to two days per week and 44 remote working days per year
Employee assistance and wellness programme, including counselling, life coaching, interactive tools and digital content
Annual seasonal flu jabs
Eye care tests, vouchers and discounts
Ride to work scheme, saving up to 42% on bikes and cycling accessories
Membership to the Health Service Journal (HSJ)