Staff Data Engineer | London | Contract | Inside IR35

Staff Data Engineer | AWS | PySpark | Data Modernisation | London | Contract | Inside IR35 We're supporting a global, technology-led organisation undertaking a large-scale cloud data transformation programme. This isn't a traditional Data Engineering role. The organisation is modernising hundreds of complex data pipelines, establishing reusable engineering patterns and embedding engineering excellence across its Data function. As a Staff-level engineer, you'll combine deep hands-on technical expertise with organisation-wide technical influence, helping shape how modern Data Engineering is delivered across multiple engineering teams. This is an opportunity to work on enterprise-scale data movement, cloud-native architectures and AI-assisted software engineering within a highly collaborative engineering culture. You'll be responsible for • Defining technical standards and engineering patterns for a large-scale Data Modernisation programme • Re-engineering complex legacy data pipelines into production-grade PySpark • Building scalable, reusable data movement frameworks across multiple engineering teams • Driving best practice around AWS Glue, Apache Spark and Apache Airflow • Designing high-quality testing frameworks covering performance, data quality and reliability • Leveraging Agentic AI development tools to improve engineering productivity while maintaining code quality • Coaching and influencing experienced engineers through technical leadership rather than line management • Working closely with enterprise architecture and platform teams to improve how data is governed, managed and consumed We're looking for someone with experience in • Staff, Principal or Lead Data Engineering roles • Python and expert-level PySpark • AWS Glue • Apache Spark • Apache Airflow • Cloud-native Data Engineering architectures • Large-scale data pipeline modernisation • Building reusable engineering patterns within enterprise environments • Data testing, validation and observability • AI-assisted software development using modern coding assistants • Working within regulated or highly governed organisations More important than any individual technology is your ability to combine hands-on engineering excellence with technical leadership, helping multiple engineering teams adopt consistent, scalable engineering practices. Contract • £750-900 per day (inclusive) • Initial 6-month contract with significant programme runway • Inside IR35 • London (3 days per week on-site)