Principal Data Engineer

Salary: £90,000 - 90,000 per year

Requirements:

• Strong hands-on technical leadership in data engineering
• Deep understanding of cloud-based data ingestion, processing, and storage techniques
• Expert knowledge of data processing, testing, and monitoring practices
• Strong understanding of enterprise data management, optimisation, and security at scale
• Confidence influencing technical direction and engineering standards
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills across business and technical teams
• Ability to break down complex problems and work effectively in ambiguous environments
• Delivery-focused, accountable, and pragmatic mindset
• Collaborative approach with a focus on capability building and knowledge sharing
• Excellent SQL development experience
• Highly experienced in cloud-native data ingestion, processing, and storage tooling
• Experience with cloud data management tools such as Snowflake, AWS, DBT, or similar PaaS and SaaS offerings
• Experience in enterprise data management and security at scale
• Knowledge of data modelling and optimisation
• Experience supporting production data systems and resolving operational issues in CI/CD processes and agile development workflows
• Expert knowledge of information security principles and access control within data environments
• Degree or equivalent training in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline is desirable

Responsibilities:

• Act as a technical leader for data engineering best practice across delivery teams
• Lead the design, build, test, and deployment of secure and scalable data pipelines
• Maintain and operate data products, ensuring availability, performance, and resilience through monitoring and incident management
• Provide assurance on code quality and automation used to manage data flows
• Lead service reviews, health checks, and root cause analysis to improve reliability and reduce operational overhead
• Set and embed standards for data processing documentation and version control
• Support and coach engineers on engineering patterns, coding standards, and automated testing
• Lead agile ceremonies, delivery planning, and retrospectives to support continuous improvement
• Define and improve developer experience by working with data product teams to resolve data processing issues
• Line manage Senior Data Engineers and support their development
• Participate in an on-call rota to support live data products

Technologies:

• AWS
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• Incident Management
• Support
• ODI
• PaaS
• SQL
• Security
• Snowflake
• dbt

More:

We are British Airways, the UKs flag carrier, with a proud history of connecting Britain with the world for more than 100 years. Our Operations Delivery Intelligence (ODI) directorate plays a critical role in enabling secure, scalable, high-performing data platforms that underpin data products and decision-making across our business. We offer brilliant staff travel benefits, including unlimited basic and premium standby tickets on British Airways flights and up to 30 discounted Hotline airfares per year for you, your friends, and your family. We also support career development, internal mobility, and an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and contribute to our journey to become a Better BA.

last updated 32 week of 2026