Lead Databricks Data Engineer

£600 - £700 per day (inside IR35)
London, hybrid working

This freelance opportunity offers the chance to shape the future-state data platform for a large, complex financial services organisation. The focus is on moving from slow, batch-based analytics towards a more modern, streaming-led architecture, with clear ownership over data vision, use cases, and delivery direction.

The Company
They are a well-established organisation operating at scale within the UK financial services and pensions landscape. Managing significant volumes of legacy and live data, they work with both onshore and offshore delivery partners. The business is at a pivotal point in modernising how data is accessed, governed, and used to drive insight. Clear communication and pragmatic decision-making are highly valued.

The Role and Deliverables

• Define a clear end-to-end data vision, covering current state, target architecture, and practical steps to get there.
• Lead the design and development of a Databricks-based medallion architecture, with a strong focus on a robust Gold layer for analytics.
• Improve data availability by shifting from monthly batch processes towards more frequent or streaming ingestion where appropriate.
• Act as the senior technical decision-maker on data use cases, prioritisation, and trade-offs.
• Work closely with onshore teams and an offshore partner to unblock progress, clarify ownership, and accelerate delivery.
• Provide regular, clear updates to senior stakeholders, ensuring alignment on progress and next steps.

Your Skills & Experience

• Strong experience as a Lead Data Engineer within financial services, ideally pensions or a similarly regulated environment.
• Proven capability designing and delivering modern data platforms using Databricks and medallion architecture principles.
• Experience dealing with large volumes of legacy data and integrating it with modern analytics platforms.
• Confidence defining data use cases and translating business needs into technical delivery.
• Ability to lead mixed teams across onshore and offshore models and make effective resource allocation decisions.
• Excellent communication skills, with the credibility to engage senior stakeholders and drive momentum.