Lead/Principal Data Engineer

Company: Sanderson Government and Defence
Apply for the Lead/Principal Data Engineer
Location: Cheltenham
Job Description:

Salary: £100,000 – 100,000 per year

Requirements:

  • Current and active SC (Security Check) Clearance at the time of application; candidates with expired clearance or who need to obtain clearance cannot be considered, and sponsorship or clearance applications are not supported.
  • Experience developing and maintaining data pipelines using modern data-processing technologies and frameworks.
  • Knowledge of Agile delivery methodologies and experience in fast-paced development environments.
  • Strong understanding of data modelling, data structures, and their advantages and limitations across different use cases.
  • Experience with public cloud platforms, particularly AWS, including EC2, RDS, Lambda, Athena, and Glue.
  • Experience configuring and optimising relational and NoSQL databases, including query tuning and performance optimisation.
  • Proficiency in programming and scripting languages such as Python.
  • Experience applying Test-Driven Development (TDD) methodologies and associated testing frameworks.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
  • Bachelors degree or equivalent commercial experience in a relevant discipline.
  • Desirable: experience with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins or Drone; configuration management tools such as Ansible and Packer; Terraform for Infrastructure-as-Code deployments; Linux and Windows environments; cloud-native architectures and DevOps practices; or government, defence, or other highly regulated environments.
  • Attention to detail, commitment to high-quality solutions, a collaborative and proactive approach to learning, and the ability to translate business requirements into scalable data solutions.

Responsibilities:

  • Develop, test, and maintain robust data pipelines that meet functional and non-functional business requirements.
  • Design, build, and optimise data-processing solutions for batch and real-time analytics.
  • Contribute to logical and physical database design across a range of data platforms.
  • Expand and enhance platform capabilities to address new and evolving data challenges.
  • Analyse complex datasets and identify opportunities to improve data processing, quality, and performance.
  • Ensure data models align with established data architecture standards, maintaining consistency across entities, relationships, and definitions.
  • Perform root cause analysis on data-related issues and implement effective solutions.
  • Collaborate with engineers, architects, and stakeholders to deliver scalable, reliable data solutions.
  • Support continuous improvement and promote best practices in data engineering and platform development.
  • Produce clear technical documentation covering data pipelines, processes, and system enhancements.

Technologies:

  • AWS
  • Lambda
  • Ansible
  • CI/CD
  • Cloud
  • DevOps
  • EC2
  • Support
  • Jenkins
  • Linux
  • NoSQL
  • Python
  • Security
  • TDD
  • Terraform
  • Windows

More:

We are seeking a Data Engineer to join our growing, collaborative Agile engineering team, delivering secure, large-scale data solutions for government and public sector customers. You will work with modern cloud technologies and open-source tools on complex platforms that support critical decision-making and operational outcomes. This role offers exposure to innovative cloud and data technologies and the opportunity to contribute to meaningful, secure, mission-critical government programmes. We value respect, equality, and inclusion, welcome applicants from all backgrounds, and are committed to supporting reasonable adjustments during recruitment.

last updated 40 week of 2026

#J-18808-Ljbffr…

Posted: October 5th, 2026