Data Engineer

Lead Data Analytics Engineer – Contract £500 per day (Inside IR35) 12-month contract Hybrid working – Central London A major UK banking client is undertaking a large-scale data warehouse re-architecture and migration programme and is looking for an experienced Lead Analytics Engineer to join on a long-term contract. This is a hands-on role where you will embed within an existing data team aligned to a key business domain (e.g. Payments, Borrowing, Finance) and take ownership of defining and building the next generation of core data assets and pipelines. This is not a like-for-like migration. The programme is focused on simplifying architecture, reducing cost and duplication, and enabling analytics teams quickly through well-designed, scalable data models and zero-downtime cutovers. You will: • Embed within a cross-functional data team in a defined business area • Design and build scalable, high-quality data models in a new warehouse architecture • Translate complex business requirements into robust SQL-based modelling patterns • Lead safe historical backfills and seamless migrations for downstream users • Work closely with Analytics Engineers, Data Scientists, backend engineers, and the data platform team • Contribute to data standards, governance, and best practice across the organisation • Rapidly unblock analytics teams with trusted, well-modelled datasets Technical Environment • dbt (SQL-first modelling) • Airflow orchestration • BigQuery cloud data warehouse • Data sourced from financial, transactional, and operational backend systems • Combination of open-source, cloud, and internal tooling Required Experience • Strong track record in data modelling, ETL, and building scalable data pipelines • Expert-level SQL and deep knowledge of data warehousing concepts • Experience working with very large-scale datasets (terabyte/petabyte scale) • Hands-on experience with dbt, Airflow, and BigQuery or Snowflake • Experience modelling data from financial, transactional, or operational systems • Proven ability to build highly reliable datasets with strong correctness guarantees • Experience working closely with business or product teams to design data architecture for analytics and reporting Soft Skills • Comfortable operating in fast-moving, cross-functional teams • Able to mentor and elevate Analytics Engineers and Data Scientists through strong data practices • Collaborative approach with backend engineering and platform teams • Strong understanding of data governance, integrity, and compliance • Experience helping define and raise data standards across teams