Staff Data Engineer | London | Contract | Inside IR35

Staff Data Engineer | AWS | PySpark | Data Modernisation | London | Contract | Inside IR35 We're supporting a global, technology-led organisation undertaking a large-scale cloud data transformation programme. This isn't a traditional Data Engineering role.

The organisation is modernising hundreds of complex data pipelines, establishing reusable engineering patterns and embedding engineering excellence across its Data function.

As a Staff-level engineer, you'll combine deep hands-on technical expertise with organisation-wide technical influence, helping shape how modern Data Engineering is delivered across multiple engineering teams.

This is an opportunity to work on enterprise-scale data movement, cloud-native architectures and AI-assisted software engineering within a highly collaborative engineering culture.

You'll be responsible for<br />Defining technical standards and engineering patterns for a large-scale Data Modernisation programme<br />Re-engineering complex legacy data pipelines into production-grade PySpark<br />Building scalable, reusable data movement frameworks across multiple engineering teams<br />Driving best practice around AWS Glue, Apache Spark and Apache Airflow<br />Designing high-quality testing frameworks covering performance, data quality and reliability<br />Leveraging Agentic AI development tools to improve engineering productivity while maintaining code quality<br />Coaching and influencing experienced engineers through technical leadership rather than line management<br />Working closely with enterprise architecture and platform teams to improve how data is governed, managed and consumedWe're looking for someone with experience in<br />Staff, Principal or Lead Data Engineering roles<br />Python and expert-level PySpark<br />AWS Glue<br />Apache Spark<br />Apache Airflow<br />Cloud-native Data Engineering architectures<br />Large-scale data pipeline modernisation<br />Building reusable engineering patterns within enterprise environments<br />Data testing, validation and observability<br />AI-assisted software development using modern coding assistants<br />Working within regulated or highly governed organisationsMore important than any individual technology is your ability to combine hands-on engineering excellence with technical leadership, helping multiple engineering teams adopt consistent, scalable engineering practices.

Contract<br />£(Apply online only) per day (inclusive)<br />Initial 6-month contract with significant programme runway<br />Inside IR35<br />London (3 days per week on-site)