Role: Principal Data Engineer
Type: Permanent
Location: Hampshire, London (Hybrid Working)
Salary: £80, – £90, + Benefits
Are you an experienced Data Engineer ready to take the next step into a strategic, hands-on leadership role? This is a fantastic opportunity to join a well-established organisation with a long-standing heritage and a strong customer-first ethos, operating at scale within the insurance sector.
They are a household name in general insurance and part of a larger European group, with a UK presence that continues to grow. With significant investment in their data and technology function, they’re now looking to bring on a Principal Data Engineer to help shape and evolve their data infrastructure and engineering capability.
The Opportunity:
This is a pivotal role where you’ll lead on the design, delivery, and optimisation of scalable, secure data systems that support the wider business strategy. You’ll be part of a collaborative tech environment, working closely with cross-functional teams and mentoring fellow engineers. It’s a great blend of hands-on technical work and strategic influence.
What You’ll Be Doing:
1. Designing and delivering robust data pipelines and high-performing architectures
2. Defining and implementing best practice in data modelling, storage and retrieval
3. Collaborating with stakeholders to ensure alignment between technical solutions and business objectives
4. Leading on the integration of cloud platforms and modern tooling (Azure, Snowflake, Matillion etc.)
5. Coaching and mentoring engineers to elevate capability across the team
6. Ensuring data governance, privacy and security standards are embedded into all solutions
7. Troubleshooting and optimising data infrastructure performance
What We’re Looking For:
8. 8+ years’ experience in data engineering, with at least 3 years in a senior or leadership role
9. Proven experience designing and delivering end-to-end data pipelines
10. Strong experience with Azure cloud services and security concepts (Key Vault, ACLs, RBACs)
11. Hands-on with Snowflake, Matillion, and a range of modern data tools
12. Programming expertise in Python, Java or SQL
13. Solid knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases
14. Excellent communication skills – able to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences
15. A degree in Computer Science, Data/Analytics, or related experience