National AI Awards 2025Discover AI's trailblazers! Join us to celebrate innovation and nominate industry leaders.

Nominate & Attend

Senior Data Engineer

Leonardo
Bristol
1 month ago
Create job alert

The Opportunity

The Leonardo Cyber & Security Division, one of the three divisions in Leonardo UK, is a pivotal innovator, helping customers deliver and secure their digital transformation. The Cyber & Security Division is at the forefront of supplying technology and services for both civil and defence markets, in both the UK and around the world, to enhance the capabilities of its Customers. Within the Cyber & Security Division is our Data Practice which is where this role is positioned.

Leonardo’s Data practice works across a diverse array of sectors including Defence, Telecommunications, Energy and Finance to help secure national infrastructure in the UK and beyond

What you will do as a Senior Data Engineer

This is a highly rewarding and hands on role with exposure across both traditional and cutting edge enterprise IT as well as bespoke Operational Technology systems. You will be working in a dynamic environment with a team that is motivated to deliver innovative solutions to customers within defence, government and commercial sectors. We are after creative, passionate, technically savvy and personable people to help grow our practice and solve some of the most challenging, exciting and critical challenges to the UK’s digital landscape. This role requires strong expertise in building and managing data pipelines using the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) and Apache NiFi. The successful candidate will design, implement, and maintain scalable, secure data solutions, ensuring compliance with strict security standards and regulations. This is a UK based onsite role with the option of compressed hours.

The role will include:

Design, develop, and maintain secure and scalable data pipelines using the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) and Apache NiFi. Implement data ingestion, transformation, and integration processes, ensuring data quality and security. Collaborate with data architects and security teams to ensure compliance with security policies and data governance standards. Manage and monitor large-scale data flows in real-time, ensuring system performance, reliability, and data integrity. Develop robust data models to support analytics and reporting within secure environments. Perform troubleshooting, debugging, and performance tuning of data pipelines and the Elastic Stack. Build dashboards and visualizations in Kibana to enable data-driven decision-making. Ensure high availability and disaster recovery for data systems, implementing appropriate backup and replication strategies. Document data architecture, workflows, and security protocols to ensure smooth operational handover and audit readiness.

What we are looking for

Essential:

UK DV Clearance or the ability obtain it 3+ years of experience working as a Data Engineer in secure or regulated environments. Expertise in the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) for data ingestion, transformation, indexing, and visualization. Strong experience with Apache NiFi for building and managing complex data flows and integration processes. Knowledge of security practices for handling sensitive data, including encryption, anonymization, and access control. Familiarity with data governance, data quality management, and compliance standards in secure environments. Experience in managing large-scale, real-time data pipelines and ensuring their performance and reliability. Strong scripting and programming skills in Python, Bash, or other relevant languages. Working knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) with a focus on data security and infrastructure as code. Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams. Detail-oriented with a focus on ensuring data accuracy, quality, and security. Proactive problem-solving mindset and ability to troubleshoot complex data pipeline issues.

Desirable:

Experience working in government, defence, or highly regulated industries with knowledge of relevant standards. Experience with additional data processing and ETL tools like Apache Kafka, Spark, or Hadoop. Familiarity with containerization and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes. Experience with monitoring and alerting tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK for data infrastructure. Understanding of ML algorithms, their development and implementation Confidence developing end-to-end solutions Experience with infrastructure as code e.g. Terraform, Ansible

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you don’t tick every box. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

At Leonardo UK, we believe that a diverse and inclusive work environment unlocks our people’s full potential and drives innovation and creativity. We work hard to offer a welcoming, accessible and inclusive place to work for all of our people, creating a culture where everyone can thrive, feel safe and have a sense of belonging and connection. We therefore welcome candidates from all backgrounds and particularly encourage sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our industry, including women, Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and LGBTQI+ individuals to apply.

Security Clearance
:

Life at Leonardo

With a company funded benefits package, a commitment to learning and development, and a flexible approach to working hours focused on the needs of both our employees and customers, a career with Leonardo has never offered as many opportunities or been more accessible to as many people.

Flexible Working:Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to usCompany funded flexible benefits:Access to private healthcare, dental schemes, Workplace ISA, Go Green Car Scheme, technology and lifestyle options (£500 annual allowance)Holidays:25 days plus bank holidays, option to buy/sell leave and to accrue up to 12 additional flexi leave days per yearPension:Award winning pension scheme (up to 10% employer contribution)Wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme with access to free mental health support, financial wellbeing support and network groups to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to diversity & inclusion (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Reservists, Carers)Lifestyle:Discounted Gym membership, Cycle to work schemeTraining:Free access to more than 4000 online courses via CourseraReferral Incentive:You can earn a reward for successfully referring a friend or family memberBonus:Scheme in place for all employees at management level and below

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Senior Data Engineer

Senior Data Engineer

Senior Data Engineer

Senior Data Engineer

Senior Data Engineer

Senior Data Engineer

National AI Awards 2025

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 Skills Radar 2026: Emerging Tools, Frameworks & Platforms to Learn Now

Machine learning is no longer confined to academic research—it's embedded in how UK companies detect fraud, recommend content, automate processes & forecast risk. But with model complexity rising and LLMs transforming workflows, employers are demanding new skills from machine learning professionals. Welcome to the Machine Learning Jobs Skills Radar 2026—your annual guide to the top languages, frameworks, platforms & tools shaping machine learning roles in the UK. Whether you're an aspiring ML engineer or a mid-career data scientist, this radar shows what to learn now to stay job-ready in 2026.

How to Find Hidden Machine Learning Jobs in the UK Using Professional Bodies like BCS, Turing Society & More

Machine learning (ML) continues to transform sectors across the UK—from fintech and retail to healthtech and autonomous systems. But while the demand for ML engineers, researchers, and applied scientists is growing, many of the best opportunities are never posted on traditional job boards. So, where do you find them? The answer lies in professional bodies, academic-industry networks, and tight-knit ML communities. In this guide, we’ll show you how to uncover hidden machine learning jobs in the UK by engaging with groups like the BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT), Turing Society, Alan Turing Institute, and others. We’ll explore how to use member directories, CPD events, SIGs (Special Interest Groups), and community projects to build connections, gain early access to job leads, and raise your professional profile in the ML ecosystem.

How to Get a Better Machine Learning Job After a Lay-Off or Redundancy

Redundancy in machine learning can feel especially frustrating when your role was technically advanced, strategically important, or AI-facing. But the UK still has strong demand for machine learning professionals across fintech, healthtech, retail, cybersecurity, autonomous systems, and generative AI. Whether you're a research-oriented ML engineer, production-focused MLOps developer, or applied scientist, this guide is designed to help you bounce back from redundancy and find a better opportunity that suits your goals.