Lead Data Engineer (Snowflake)

This role offers a competitive salary, hybrid working, 28 days holiday a year plus Bank Holidays and a fantastic pension scheme.

Location: London/Hybrid. Typically x1 day a week in the office (Thursday)

Salary £90,000 - £95,000 per annum

 About the role

Which? is currently seeking an exceptional Lead Data Engineer to take the helm in driving our innovative data strategy forward. 

In this role, you'll be at the forefront of crafting and executing our data vision, operating within a dynamic Greenfield environment. The successful candidate will have the unique opportunity to form  a diverse, talented team, while also spearheading the development of our data function from inception to fruition across various projects.

Our forthcoming data platform represents a significant leap forward in our organisational capabilities, enabling us to leverage data in unprecedented ways. As the Lead Data Engineer, your prowess in architecting robust data pipelines, overseeing data warehouses, and implementing sophisticated ELT processes will be pivotal in ensuring a smooth data flow, optimal storage efficiency, and the transformation of raw data into actionable insights.

Collaborating closely with data scientists, analysts, and stakeholders, you'll play a vital role in managing data pipelines and fine-tuning our infrastructure to strike the right balance between cost-effectiveness and data quality. Your contributions will directly fuel the development of data-driven products, enhance personalization efforts, fortify our reporting capabilities, drive advancements in data science and machine learning, and ultimately underpin our overall business triumphs.

Key responsibilities include: 

• Design, develop, test, document, and operate a range of data migration processes to convert/migrate data from existing systems to a new data infrastructure (Snowflake, Dataiku, and Segment).
• Manage the data lifecycle for usability, enabling analysis, and insights that inform business decisions.
• Work closely with Data Analysts and Scientists for efficient, broadly usable analytical data resources and play a key role in Influencing decision-makers on the commercial potential of effective data. 
• People Management. You will support 3-5 Data engineers in the following areas: understanding challenges and providing support, seeking and giving feedback, establishing plans for professional and career growth, pastoral care and Support the delivery of Team OKRs.
• Act as data consultant across Analytics, Tech, and Product teams, developing workstreams with senior stakeholders.

About you 

• Extensive experience in Data Engineering roles, with solid experience in a leadership role with line management responsibilities. 
• Solid experience with Snowflake including performance optimization, cost management, and advanced features. and Snowflake certification (e.g., SnowPro Core)  
• In-depth SQL proficiency (PostgreSQL, MySQL), including complex queries and optimization. Proven experience designing and implementing scalable data models for both relational and NoSQL databases.
• Strong Python skills with a focus on data pipeline development and automation of data-related tasks.
• Extensive experience designing, building, optimising, and monitoring complex ELT pipelines, ensuring data quality and timeliness.
• Hands-on expertise in data quality tools and methodologies (e.g., profiling, validation, cleansing). Demonstrated history of implementing data quality initiatives.
• Experience using data to define and track OKRs across complex organisations. Ability to translate business objectives into data requirements.

 We also have these benefits for you to consider: 

• 35 hour working week 
• Generous 28 days holiday a year plus Bank Holidays & options to buy days
• Award winning pension scheme – when you pay in 3%, Which? pays in 6% (rising to 11% after one year of service.) 
• Discount site Sodexo which offers large %% off every day shopping and holidays 
• Annual Bonus (depending on employee and company performance)
• Healthcare insurance & Private medical insurance and opportunity to participate in Vitality rewards programme (at 6 months)
• A discretionary death in service benefit provision equivalent to six times your annual salary
• Free access to Which? member content and free access to Which? money and legal helplines 
• Work from (almost) anywhere” for 4 weeks of the year policy

The interview process for this role involves:-

• Meet Head of Product Engineering via Google Meet (60 minutes)
• Opportunity for you to learn more about the role, answer any questions you have, and provide some examples of providing technical direction across Data Engineering and Technical Leadership
• Pair Programming and System Design interview with Principal Engineer.(90 mins)
• Leadership and Culture interview with Head of Analytics and Head of Product Engineering. (60 mins)

About Which?

Which? is the UK's consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Read all about us on our website.

At Which? we value diversity and we're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone is able to be themselves and to reach their full potential. We are proud that we are in the ‘Top 25 Inclusive Employers' List and currently ranking 16th.

 We want to receive applications from everyone. We believe that a diverse workforce helps us to understand and create a positive impact for consumers.  

We promote a great work-life balance (all our roles are now hybrid), offering flexible working options in addition to a full time working week (35 hours) e.g. part time or job shares where possible. If you wish to discuss any of these options, please contact the Resourcing team at resourcing@which.co.uk

As a Disability Confident Leader, we ensure that everyone can apply and be part of our recruitment processes and so we'll make reasonable adjustments if you need them - just let us know when you apply. If you need assistance with applying (i.e., would like to apply by phone or post), email recruitment@which.co.uk.  Find out more about the Disability Confident Interview Scheme here.

Please note you must meet the essential criteria listed within the Role Profile, to have your application reviewed and we reserve the right to withdraw this advert at any given time due to the number of applications received