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 consumedWe'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 organisationsMore 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 £(Apply online only) per day (inclusive) Initial 6-month contract with significant programme runway Inside IR35 London (3 days per week on-site)