Principal Data Engineer
Principal Data Engineer leading Dunelm's data engineering capability: acting as solution architect for a cloud-first modern data platform (Snowflake, AWS, dbt), mentoring and line-managing lead data engineers, and balancing hands-on design with people leadership. Hybrid role, 2 days per week in the Leicester or London office.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Leicester, United Kingdom
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Principal
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Category
- Data engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Extensive experience line managing technical colleagues through coaching and mentoring
- Extensive experience in design and development of modern data stack, cloud-first data platforms and pipelines
- Cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, Redshift or BigQuery (ideally Snowflake)
- AWS platforms including S3, Firehose, Lambda, SQS and Kinesis
- DBT Labs
- Programming in one or more languages e.g. Python, Node
- Excellent SQL skills
- Data modelling including conceptual, logical and physical design, with extensive dimensional modelling experience
- CI/CD best practice using tools such as GitLab/GitHub, Terraform for infrastructure as code
Nice to have
- Visualisation tools such as Power BI and ThoughtSpot
- Understanding of quality best practice and test automation
- Experience in consumption-based cost management, including monitoring, optimisation and cost reduction
- Vendor management from an operational and service performance lens
Full description
Overview
Home. There’s no place like it. And there’s no feeling like helping people create the joy of feeling truly at home.
At Dunelm, that’s what we do.
We’re the UK’s number one choice for homewares because we make home life lovelier for our customers. And the caring and supportive culture we've created makes this a place you'll feel right at home too.
Work your way, together
We're a hybrid business, which means you'll have flexibility alongside time together with your team. In this role,you can expect 2 days per week in our London or Leicester office,helping you stay connected, collaborate and do your best work for our customers.
The Data and Analytics department is central to Dunelm’s Strategy in driving value from data through decision intelligence. The department comprises of 5 interconnected capabilities:
Future fit data platform – the enterprise data platform delivered by our core data engineering teams, providing a trusted, single version of business truth to drive value through data and decision intelligence.
Self-Service Analytics Centre of Excellence – the core team responsible for driving governed self-service analytics adoption across our organisation. The team maintains, enhances and develops our ThoughtSpot-led, AI-enabled analytics ecosystem, provides advice, guidance and support to our business community, and maintains a suite of centrally managed enterprise analytics products.
ABODE (Advanced Business Optimisation Engine) – A suite of interconnected Analytics and AI models powering high velocity, complex decisions across our organisation.
Optimisation Centre of Excellence – The core team responsible for supporting high value investment decisions across our organisation through bespoke, specialised analytics.
Customer Insights – A dedicated team of customer focused analysts, helping to drive customer obsessed decisions through improved customer insight.
What you'll be doing
Role Summary:
This role will shape how Dunelm uses data at scale, improving the quality, reliability and speed of data products that support better commercial, customer and operational decisions.
The Principal Data Engineer provides technical and people leadership for Dunelm’s data engineering capability, shaping the platform, practices and talent needed to deliver trusted, scalable and cost‑effective data products across the business.
The role holder will act as the primary solution architect for our fit for future, cloud first data platform. An expert in modern data stack platforms (Snowflake, AWS, DBT) and data modelling the role holder will mentor engineers across the department, advising on best practice, cost efficient and scalable data products and solutions. Partnering closely with enterprise architecture and technology leadership to ensure data platform strategy aligns to enterprise standards, governance and long‑term technology direction.