Data Engineering Lead

NHS
Salford
5 days ago
Create job alert
Data Engineering Lead

Closing date: 28 January 2026


An exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality, efficient healthcare by leading the Data Engineering Team within the Data & Analytics Directorate.


The team provides robust, timely, and accurate data to support operational, clinical, and corporate decision-making, primarily through Power BI and enterprise data platforms.


As part of a strategic transformation, the organisation is transitioning from traditional on‑premise data warehouses to modern cloud‑based technologies, including Databricks. The postholder will be part of this transition, ensuring the adoption of best practices and the latest innovations to establish a scalable, high‑performing data platform that positions the team as an exemplar within and beyond the NHS.


Main duties of the job

  • Contribute to the development and delivery of a strategic roadmap for the Data Platform, supporting the move to Databricks and other modern technologies.
  • Support the design and implementation of scalable, efficient data warehouse and pipeline solutions.
  • Ensure data structures are optimised for aggregation, analysis, and reporting.
  • Work closely within the Data Engineering Team to foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
  • Share knowledge and mentor colleagues, supporting their development and the adoption of new technologies.
  • Collaborate with other Data & Analytics teams to align efforts and share best practices.
  • Support the transition from on‑premise data warehouses to Databricks, ensuring smooth migration and minimal disruption.
  • Contribute to the administration and optimisation of the Azure platform and ensure robust data services.
  • Maintain high standards of data quality, governance, and compliance with NHS standards.
  • Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders to align data solutions with organisational needs.
  • Represent the Data Engineering function in relevant meetings and forums.
  • Work with partners across the organisation and wider health system to support strategic data requirements.

About us

The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) provides hospital and integrated health and social care services to over one million people living across Greater Manchester. Our 20,000 colleagues care for people in hospital and in the community, working across Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and Salford, to save and improve lives.


As a large NHS trust we are committed to enhancing the health of our local population by delivering consistently high standards of care and working closely with local authorities and key partners. We believe in our power and potential to make a difference and we're always looking for people who demonstrate our three core values - care, appreciate and inspire - to join our team.


In return, we can offer you a job role with purpose and flexibility. The size and scale of the NCA means we can provide more challenge and opportunities so your career can always be moving in the right direction. By joining us you can also access a competitive benefits package, including a fantastic annual leave allowance, flexible working opportunities and protected hours for health and wellbeing activities, helping you to achieve more personal downtime and a better work‑life balance.


Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

  • Degree in a numerate / informatics or business management related subject or equivalent experience in delivery of the responsibilities described at senior management level.
  • Microsoft SQL Server Certification or evidence of SQL server management over 3 years.

Knowledge
Essential

  • Extensive understanding of data warehousing and data processing principles and best practice.

Desirable

  • Knowledge of Microsoft Azure cloud service and best practices.
  • Significant NHS experience of working with health related data.
  • Extensive experience using Databricks.

Experience
Essential

  • Experience of staff management including staff recruitment, appraisals, training, and career development.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.


Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.


Employer details
Employer name

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust


Address

Salford Royal


Stott Lane


Salford


M6 8HD


Employer's website

https://www.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk/


#J-18808-Ljbffr

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Data Engineering Lead SQL Snowflake

Data Engineering Lead

Data Engineering Lead

Data Engineering Lead

Data Engineering Lead

Data Engineering Lead: Scalable Pipelines & Analytics

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Machine Learning Jobs for Career Switchers in Their 30s, 40s & 50s (UK Reality Check)

Are you considering a career change into machine learning in your 30s, 40s or 50s? You’re not alone. In the UK, organisations across industries such as finance, healthcare, retail, government & technology are investing in machine learning to improve decisions, automate processes & unlock new insights. But with all the hype, it can be hard to tell which roles are real job opportunities and which are just buzzwords. This article gives you a practical, UK-focused reality check: which machine learning roles truly exist, what skills employers really hire for, how long retraining realistically takes, how to position your experience and whether age matters in your favour or not. Whether you come from analytics, engineering, operations, research, compliance or business strategy, there is a credible route into machine learning if you approach it strategically.

How to Write a Machine Learning Job Ad That Attracts the Right People

Machine learning now sits at the heart of many UK organisations, powering everything from recommendation engines and fraud detection to forecasting, automation and decision support. As adoption grows, so does demand for skilled machine learning professionals. Yet many employers struggle to attract the right candidates. Machine learning job adverts often generate high volumes of applications, but few applicants have the blend of modelling skill, engineering awareness and real-world experience the role actually requires. Meanwhile, strong machine learning engineers and scientists quietly avoid adverts that feel vague, inflated or confused. In most cases, the issue is not the talent market — it is the job advert itself. Machine learning professionals are analytical, technically rigorous and highly selective. A poorly written job ad signals unclear expectations and low ML maturity. A well-written one signals credibility, focus and a serious approach to applied machine learning. This guide explains how to write a machine learning job ad that attracts the right people, improves applicant quality and strengthens your employer brand.

Maths for Machine Learning Jobs: The Only Topics You Actually Need (& How to Learn Them)

Machine learning job adverts in the UK love vague phrases like “strong maths” or “solid fundamentals”. That can make the whole field feel gatekept especially if you are a career changer or a student who has not touched maths since A level. Here is the practical truth. For most roles on MachineLearningJobs.co.uk such as Machine Learning Engineer, Applied Scientist, Data Scientist, NLP Engineer, Computer Vision Engineer or MLOps Engineer with modelling responsibilities the maths you actually use is concentrated in four areas: Linear algebra essentials (vectors, matrices, projections, PCA intuition) Probability & statistics (uncertainty, metrics, sampling, base rates) Calculus essentials (derivatives, chain rule, gradients, backprop intuition) Basic optimisation (loss functions, gradient descent, regularisation, tuning) If you can do those four things well you can build models, debug training, evaluate properly, explain trade-offs & sound credible in interviews. This guide gives you a clear scope plus a six-week learning plan, portfolio projects & resources so you can learn with momentum rather than drowning in theory.