Principal Data Engineer

We   don’t   just believe in better. We make it happen.      

Better content. Better products. And better careers.     

Working in Tech, Product or Data at Sky is about building the next and the new. From broadband to broadcast, streaming to mobile, Sky Stream to Sky Glass, we never stand still. We optimise and innovate. We turn   big ideas   into the products, content and services millions of people love. And we do it all right here at Sky.    

Team overview  :

Our vision is to enable Sky’s growth ambitions though Data and AI: deepening customer relationships, optimising commercial performance, and enhancing operational efficiency.  

Principal Engineers   operate   within defined domains and provide leadership to our Solution Architects. With deep technical   expertise , they act as Technical Leads, shaping   future ‑ ready   frameworks that support our strategic   objectives . They set, evolve, and uphold engineering standards across the team, continually raising the bar for quality, innovation, and delivery.  

As a senior role, Principal Engineers play a critical part in connecting Data Engineering with wider Technology and Architecture functions. They work collaboratively across teams to ensure alignment, consistency, and shared direction, enabling us to deliver our data strategy effectively and at scale.  

What   you’ll   do  :  

• Technical Mentorship:   Act as the technical lead for all engineers working cross-functionally in an agile environment; act as a top-notch coder and expert in the domain, capable of deep diving into details of components and features, uplifting capability and shaping engineering maturity across the Domain.  

• Architecture Partnership:   Define and guide the technical architecture for complex, high impact data   products   and platforms. Manage Solution Architects and act as the natural bridge between Data Engineering and Data Architecture as well as colleagues in wider Technology.  

• Standards Setting:   Establish   engineering and architectural patterns, coding standards, and best practices adopted across multiple squads.  

• Design & Innovation:   Translate sophisticated business and technical requirements into scalable, cloud native data solutions. Able to create and build frameworks to support CI/CD pipelines and future capability; drive adoption of new tools, technologies, and engineering approaches that support a cloud-agnostic, AI-ready future platform.  

• Assurance & Excellence:   Embed rigorous validation, profiling, reconciliation, and automated testing into all engineering work; lead monitoring, observability, and performance optimisation to ensure resilient, reliable data products.  

• Strategic Influence:   Partner with architects, product leaders, and senior stakeholders to shape roadmaps and platform direction. Work collaboratively with your Principal Engineer peers to ensure consistent and joined-up approaches to our biggest priorities and challenges. Communicating in both deeply technical and plain and simple terms.  

What   you’ll   bring :    

Essential criteria:     

• Technical Mastery:   Deep   expertise   in cloud data engineering, distributed processing, and enterprise-scale data architecture. Excellent GCP/Python and/or Node JS 8+ knowledge, and CI/CD experience (ideally with Jenkins).  

• Advanced SQL:   Master-level   proficiency   in SQL (ideally   BigQuery ), with strong optimisation and performance-tuning skills. Experience following coding standards and performing peer code reviews.  

• Data Modelling & Insight:   Strong capability in designing intuitive, scalable data models and semantic layers aligned to business meaning; skilled in advanced data profiling, anomaly detection, and statistical reasoning to ensure data integrity.  

• Collaboration:   Able to influence senior stakeholders, simplify complex concepts, and build strong cross-functional relationships.  

• Technical Leadership:   Expert in data quality frameworks, governance standards, and secure handling of sensitive data; connects engineering choices to long-term platform strategy, organisational goals, and future scalability.  

• Understanding:   Uses deep business context within the specific Domain to shape proactive, value-driven engineering decisions; also equipped with first-class communication skills, able to grasp   very complex   data principles and processes, and decipher them   in order to   walk non-experts through them and gain support.  

Benefits and   perks  :

There's   one thing people   can't   stop talking about when it comes to life at Sky: the   perks .   Here’s   a taster:     

• Free Sky TV or NOW package , including Sky Sports and Sky Cinema      

• Pension package  with up to 9% employer contribution  

• Private healthcare with mental health support    

• Aviva Digital GP and dental insurance    

• Discounts   on Sky products, including Sky Mobile, Sky Broadband, Sky Glass and Sky Protect     

• Sharesave   and Tech schemes    

• A range of Sky VIP rewards and experiences     

How   you’ll   work:    

We've   adopted a hybrid working approach to give more flexibility on where and how we work. The hybrid working expectations for this role are   2   days   in the office per week.    

Your office base :

Osterley
 

Our Sky Group HQ. Equipped with   state-of-the-art   technology and workspaces,   there’s   plenty of space to see your   big ideas   come to life. Here   you’ll   find 13 subsidised restaurants and cafes. You can re-energise at our gym, catch the latest films at our cinema, get your car washed and even get pampered at our beauty salon.   

Our Osterley Campus is just a 10-minute walk from Syon Lane train station, or you can get one of our free shuttle buses from Osterley,   Gunnersbury   and Ealing Broadway stations.   Plus, there’s   free   onsite parking available for cars,   motorbikes   and bicycles.  

Who we are:

We’re   Sky, a leading media and entertainment company who connect millions with entertainment, sports, news and arts through innovative products and services. Working with us means   you’ll   be bringing the joy of a better experience to more people, every day. All so we can do better and deliver better for our customers,   colleagues   and society.  

We ’ re   an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company.   We're   a Disability Confident Accredited Employer, and welcome and encourage applications from all candidates.   We will look to ensure a fair and consistent experience for all and will make reasonable adjustments to support you where   appropriate . Please flag any adjustments you need as early as you can.   

Just so you know: if your application is successful,   we’ll   ask you to complete a criminal record check. And depending on the role you have applied for and the nature of any convictions you may have, we might have to withdraw the offer.      

To be eligible for this role you   are required to   have the   appropriate right   to work in the UK. Please be aware Sky does not offer sponsorship for this position.