Data Engineer (Senior or Principal)

Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges.

We are seeking a Data Engineer at Senior or Principal level to further develop, maintain and operate our data platform within Parasites and Microbes Programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

About the Role:

You will work on a Data Integration and Analysis platform underpinned by a Data Lakehouse (DLH), built on technologies such as object storage, distributed query engines, workflow orchestration, and metadata/catalogue systems. Technologies currently in use include:

• Storage & table formats: MinIO, Delta Lake

• Data processing & query engines: Trino, Apache Spark

• Transformation & orchestration: dbt, Prefect

• Metadata, governance & security: Hive Metastore, DataHub, Apache Ranger, Keycloak, Vault

• Infrastructure & deployment: Kubernetes, Helm

• Data access & visualisation: Apache Superset, CloudBeaver 

A key facet of the role will be the delivery of a DLH-based data integration and analysis platform for the icddr,b Climate Hub (iCCH), working in collaboration with international partners to enable robust, reproducible analyses linking climate and demographic variables with health outcomes.

You will play an important part in enabling interdisciplinary research by ensuring that data is well-structured, discoverable, and reproducible, supporting scientists to generate new insights from integrated datasets. Ingesting and transforming a wide range of data types (including e.g. geospatial and climate data, along with genomic data) is a key aspect of the role. You will work closely with data engineers, bioinformaticians, and scientists to ensure the platform meets scientific needs while remaining scalable, reliable, and maintainable. 

About You:

You will be an experienced Data Engineer with a willingness to operate in a hands-on capacity across all of the layers of the data platform stack.  

You will be comfortable in translating often-complex scientific and data requirements into robust technical solutions, and be able to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Essential Technical Skills:

For both Senior and Principal roles:

• Proficiency in Python, SQL and data transformation practices 

• Data modelling and warehousing paradigms (e.g. ELT, Star schemas)

• Modern data platform architectures (e.g. data lakes or lakehouses) 

• Distributed query or processing engines (e.g. Trino, Spark, Presto) 

• Object storage systems (e.g. S3-compatible systems such as MinIO) 

• Workflow orchestration tools (e.g. Prefect, Airflow)

• Containerisation and orchestration (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes)

• CI/CD (e.g. Gitlab CI, Github Actions)

Additional expectations for Principal-level appointments:

• Technical leadership, with the ability to define and drive architectural decisions across complex data ecosystems

• Strong ownership and accountability for quality and reliability 

• Designing, developing and operating data platforms at scale 

• Line management, mentoring and coaching

About Us:

Within the Parasites and Microbes Programme, we generate and analyse genomic and epidemiological data to better understand infectious diseases and their impact on human populations. Our work increasingly sits at the intersection of multiple data domains, including genomics, public health surveillance, and environmental and climate science.

To support our work, we are developing a modern, scalable Data Lakehouse platform that enables the integration, transformation, and analysis of complex, heterogeneous datasets. This platform is central to a number of strategic initiatives, including a collaboration with International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh (icddr,b) to investigate the links between climate change and health outcomes.

Other Information:

Application Process:

1. Upload your CV

2. Complete the following application form: https://forms.gle/QspYWASUrWwVNQSB8

Please complete the application form rather than submitting a cover letter. To ensure your application is considered, please check that the application form is complete; incomplete submissions will be automatically declined.

Salary range (Dependant on skills and experience): 

• Grade 1 Principal Data Engineer £61,511 to £73,000 Role Profile

• Grade 2 Senior Data Engineer £50,053 to £59,500 Role Profile

• Contract Type: Fixed Term contract until 29th October 2027

• Application Timelines: Shortlisting 1st - 5th June, Zoom Interviews 8th - 12th June, Final Interviews 22nd - 26th June.

• Closing Date: 31st May 2026

Hybrid Working at Wellcome Sanger:

We recognise that there are many benefits to Hybrid Working; including an improved work-life balance, with more focused time, as well as the ability to organise working time so that collaborative opportunities and team discussions are facilitated on campus. The hybrid working arrangement will vary for different roles and teams. The nature of your role and the type of work you do will determine if a hybrid working arrangement is possible.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

We aim to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent from the widest possible talent pool, thereby gaining insight and access to different markets to generate a greater impact on the world. We have a supportive culture with the following staff networks: LGBTQ+, Parents and Carers, Disability, Gender Equity and Race Equity to bring people together to share experiences, offer specific support and development opportunities and raise awareness. The networks are also a place for allies to provide support to others.

We believe people do their best work when they can be their authentic selves. That’s why we’re committed to creating a truly inclusive culture at Sanger Institute. We will consider all individuals without discrimination and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, where everyone can thrive.

Our Benefits:

We are proud to deliver an awarding campus-wide employee wellbeing strategy and programme. The importance of good health and adopting a healthier lifestyle and the commitment to reduce work-related stress is strongly acknowledged and recognised at Sanger Institute.

Sanger Institute became a signatory of the International Technician Commitment initiative In March 2018.  The Technician Commitment aims to empower and ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research, across all disciplines.