Principal GCP Data Engineer
£Up to £95,000 GBP
Hybrid WORKING
Location: Bristol; Gloucester; Cardiff; Corsham; Cheltenham, Bristol, South West - United Kingdom Type: Permanent
Principal GCP Data Engineer
Join an award-winning innovation and transformation consultancy recognised for its cutting-edge work in data engineering, cloud solutions, and enterprise transformation. This organisation is known for bringing ingenuity to life, helping clients turn complexity into opportunity, and fostering a culture where technical specialists thrive and grow.
An opportunity has arisen for a Principal GCP Data Engineer to join the London-based data and analytics practice. This Principal GCP Data Engineer role offers the chance to lead the design and delivery of end-to-end data solutions on Google Cloud Platform for high-profile clients, shaping data strategy and driving technical excellence across complex programmes.
With a reputation for combining breakthrough technologies with pragmatic delivery, the organisation empowers senior data engineers to influence architecture, mentor teams, and deliver production-ready solutions that create lasting impact.
The Role - Principal GCP Data Engineer
The Principal GCP Data Engineer is a senior technical role responsible for leading data engineering solutions, guiding teams, and acting as a subject matter expert in Google Cloud Platform. As a Principal GCP Data Engineer, you will define end-to-end solution architectures, implement best practices, and lead the development of robust, scalable data pipelines.
This role combines hands-on technical leadership with coaching, mentorship, and client engagement, making it ideal for a Principal GCP Data Engineer who enjoys delivering complex solutions while shaping the capabilities of their team and influencing enterprise-wide data strategy.
What You'll Be Doing as a Principal GCP Data Engineer
As a Principal GCP Data Engineer, you will:
* Lead the design, development, and delivery of data processing solutions using GCP tools such as Dataflow, Dataproc, and BigQuery
* Design automated data pipelines using orchestration tools like Cloud Composer
* Contribute to architecture discussions and design end-to-end data solutions
* Own development processes for your team, establishing robust principles and methods across architecture, code quality, and deployments
* Shape team behaviours around specifications, acceptance criteria, sprint planning, and documentation
* Define and evolve data engineering standards and practices across the organisation
* Lead technical discussions with client stakeholders, achieving buy-in for solutions
* Mentor and coach team members, building technical expertise and capability
Key Responsibilities
* Develop production-ready data pipelines and processing jobs using batch and streaming frameworks such as Apache Spark and Apache Beam
* Apply expertise in data storage technologies including relational, columnar, document, NoSQL, data warehouses, and data lakes
* Implement modern data pipeline patterns, event-driven architectures, ETL/ELT processes, and stream processing solutions
* Translate business requirements into technical specifications and actionable solution designs
* Work with metadata management and data governance tools such as Cloud Data Catalog, Collibra, or Dataplex
* Build data quality alerting and data quarantine solutions to ensure downstream reliability
* Implement CI/CD pipelines with version control, automated tests, and automated deployments
* Collaborate in Agile teams, using Scrum or Kanban methodologies
Key Requirements
The successful Principal GCP Data Engineer will bring deep technical expertise, client-facing experience, and leadership skills. You will have:
* Proven experience delivering production-ready data solutions on Google Cloud Platform
* Strong knowledge of batch and streaming frameworks, data pipelines, and orchestration tools
* Expertise in designing and managing structured and unstructured data systems
* Experience translating business needs into technical solutions
* Ability to mentor and coach teams and guide technical decision-making
* Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders
* A pragmatic approach to problem solving, combined with a drive for technical excellence
Why Join
* Take a senior technical leadership role as a Principal GCP Data Engineer within a globally recognised innovation and transformation consultancy
* Lead the delivery of complex data engineering programmes on Google Cloud Platform
* Shape the data engineering standards, practices, and architecture across client engagements and internal teams
* Work in a collaborative, inclusive, and learning-focused culture where technical specialists are empowered to grow and succeed
Reference: AMC/AON/PGCPDataEnginer
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