Head of Data Engineering | Permanent | £100,000-£125,000 | Manchester (Hybrid)
A major UK retailer is transforming how it uses data and they need an experienced Head of Data Engineering to lead the charge.
This is a senior, hands-on leadership role at the heart of a cloud-native data platform build. You'll be setting the technical direction for data engineering, leading a growing team, and owning the modernised platform long after the initial build is complete.
What you'll be doing
- Leading and growing a data engineering team through a major platform transformation
- Setting the technical direction for data pipelines, architecture, and tooling across a Snowflake Medallion environment
- Overseeing the migration of legacy SQL Server, SSRS, and Business Objects onto the modern platform
- Owning the data engineering function through delivery and into the steady-state — you build it, you run it
- Working closely with integrations, reporting, and BA teams to ensure end-to-end delivery
- Acting as the senior escalation point for data engineering decisions across a fast-paced, agile programme
- Driving adoption of dbt and modern engineering best practices across the team
What we're looking for
- Proven leadership experience — real people management, not just a senior engineer with a title
- Deep hands-on experience with Snowflake, ideally including Medallion architecture
- Strong dbt and SQL/Python skills — this role requires someone who can still get into the detail
- Azure data infrastructure experience
- A track record of delivering at pace in agile, high-velocity environments
- Experience migrating off legacy data estates
- UK right to work — no sponsorship available
The stack: Snowflake · dbt · Azure One Lake · Power BI · Datadog · Python · SQL