Lead Data Engineer

• Working Pattern: This post is available on a full-time, part-time or job-share basis, and flexible working hours can be accommodated.
• Location: London

About the Team

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to join a friendly and ambitious team who are always finding new ways to drive better use of data, right in the heart of central government?

The NISTA Data & Insight Team brings together data scientists, engineers, analysts and digital professionals who genuinely care about learning from each other, sharing ideas and making things happen. Together we turn rich, high-value project data into analysis, insights and tools that support people across government, from project delivery teams to senior leaders in HMT, the Cabinet Office and No10, to make decisions that develop how the UK delivers its biggest and most sophisticated projects. Working with the Government Major Projects Portfolio, the 10-year Infrastructure Pipeline and other project delivery data, your work will directly influence how major programmes are planned, delivered and improved.

Over the last two years, the team has undergone a significant transformation, digitising large-scale project data collection and overhauling our digital and data infrastructure. This enables us to create high-impact dashboards and analytics as well as drive the development of AI tools. It means we can develop and share quickly, resulting in rapid iterative development with our users. And we continue to evolve, improve our capability and develop our skills.

About the Job

Some of the key responsibilities of this role will include:

• Lead the data framework guiding how we extract, transform, and load data on the cloud platform we use to deploy our applications.
• Work closely with data scientists and systems engineers to define efficient and performant schemas which enable detailed and reliable analysis and insight.
• Implement secure, well-governed change practices using our multi-environment architecture to ensure that developments are secure and reliable.
• Lead the development of our cloud architecture using Infrastructure as Code.
• Create and maintain clear technical documentation so that our data infrastructure is transparent and easy to work with.

You'll be joining an encouraging, inclusive and collaborative environment, where you can grow your skills, tackle meaningful challenges and make a real impact on the future of government delivery.

As the Lead Data Engineer in NISTA you will oversee the data architecture which governs how we process data, and the infrastructure onto which the team deploys its suite of applications.

Working with subject matter experts, data scientists, and infrastructure engineers, you will ensure that data is relevant and processed effectively to enable products which meet the needs of our decision makers. You will use you your technical skills to translate complex data needs into easily understood and well documented structures by utilising and developing the team’s cloud architecture and existing tooling. You will apply a range of technical skills, deploying your existing data engineering and infrastructure toolkit to ensure you use the right technologies for the job. You will have line management responsibility and lead a passionate team to promote a data-centric culture in the whole organisation, championing data engineering best practice in all your interactions with colleagues.

About You

We're looking for someone who has experience of leading, developing and implementing data engineering processes which drive organisational objectives. They will have the ability to communicate sophisticated data processes across technical and non-technical stakeholders. They will also be able to identify processes that can be improved and own the implementation of that change. They can also develop understanding of new technical processes and tooling and to effectively share that among colleagues.

Some of the Benefits our people love!

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King's birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• Generous parental and adoption leave packages
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity