Principal Data Engineer

About the Role:

At AT Rhizome Technologies Ltd in Birmingham, England, we help organisations turn complex data into reliable, scalable systems that support better decisions and stronger digital products. We build modern data platforms designed for performance, security, and long term business value.

We are looking for a Principal Data Engineer who can take ownership of our data engineering direction. You will work across data architecture, engineering standards, cloud platforms, and analytics infrastructure while providing technical guidance to a talented team of engineers.

You will be responsible for translating complex business requirements into robust data solutions. Working closely with engineering, product, security, and business stakeholders, you will help shape how data is collected, processed, governed, and made available across the organisation.

Why Work With Us?

The Environment: Our Birmingham office is based at ICentrum within Innovation Birmingham, providing a collaborative technology focused working environment surrounded by ambitious digital businesses and technology professionals.

Technical Influence: You will have a significant voice in architectural and engineering decisions. Your recommendations will directly influence the development of our data platforms and technical standards.

Modern Data Stack: We work with modern cloud technologies, scalable data pipelines, distributed processing, data warehousing, APIs, and automated engineering practices.

Professional Growth: We support continued professional development through technical training, industry events, certifications, and opportunities to work with emerging data technologies.

Key Responsibilities:

Data Architecture: Design and evolve scalable data architectures that support operational systems, analytics, reporting, and future business requirements.

Data Engineering: Develop reliable batch and streaming data pipelines capable of processing large and complex datasets efficiently.

Technical Leadership: Provide technical direction and mentorship to data engineers. Establish engineering standards, review architecture, and promote maintainable development practices.

Cloud Data Platforms: Help design, implement, and optimise cloud based data infrastructure with a focus on scalability, reliability, security, and cost efficiency.

Data Quality and Governance: Establish practical approaches to data quality, monitoring, lineage, documentation, and governance across critical data assets.

Stakeholder Collaboration: Work with product teams, software engineers, analysts, security specialists, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into effective data solutions.

What We Are Looking For

Experience: 7+ years of professional experience in data engineering, with substantial experience designing and delivering production scale data platforms.

Technical Expertise: Strong experience with SQL, Python, data modelling, ETL and ELT pipelines, distributed data processing, and modern data warehousing technologies.

Cloud Experience: Practical experience working with at least one major cloud platform such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.

Architecture: Strong understanding of scalable data architecture, data integration patterns, APIs, event driven systems, and data platform design.

Leadership: Experience mentoring engineers, conducting technical reviews, influencing engineering standards, and taking ownership of complex technical initiatives.

Mindset: You are pragmatic and technically curious. You can make sound architectural decisions without overengineering and understand when a simple solution is better than a complex one.

Pay: £63,039.00-£80,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person