Data Engineer

We're creating a data platform that enables cutting-edge health research at unprecedented scale. As a Data Engineer, you'll play a critical role in designing and building the secure, high-quality data pipelines that power research used by scientists and healthcare innovators around the world.

This is an opportunity to work with some of the UK's most valuable health datasets, transforming complex requirements into robust, secure, and scalable data solutions. While technical excellence is important, success in this role is defined by your ability to build pipelines that are reliable, compliant, and secure when handling sensitive health data.

You'll work closely with Engineering Managers, Lead Data Engineers, researchers, and domain experts to deliver data products that make a real-world impact. We're looking for a Data Engineer who can take a design or architecture document, understand the intent behind it, and confidently build a secure, scalable solution. You don't need experience with every tool in our stack. We're far more interested in engineers who understand good data engineering principles, can design secure pipelines, and can translate technical requirements into reliable solutions.

At Our Future Health, our mission is to transform the prevention, detection and treatment of conditions such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.  We’re looking for people to join us on our journey. If you’re looking for a new challenge where you can contribute to helping future generations live in good health for longer, then we’re keen to speak with you.

What you’ll be doing

• Building and maintaining data pipelines across our Azure-based platform.
• Translating technical specifications, architecture designs, and Jira tickets into secure, scalable implementations.
• Developing data transformation and ETL processes using Python and PySpark.
• Working with healthcare and NHS datasets to curate trusted, research-ready data assets.
• Reviewing and approving code through pull requests, ensuring consistency, quality, security, and adherence to engineering standards.
• Collaborating with researchers, engineers, and stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver solutions.
• Identifying risks, challenging assumptions, and asking the right questions to improve designs before implementation.
• Producing documentation, source-to-target mappings, and supporting technical standards across the platform.
• Contributing to best practices in data engineering, security, governance, and cloud architecture.

What you won’t be doing

• Working in a siloed environment with no freedom to make decisions.
• Working in a place where you can’t see the impact your expertise makes.

Requirements

To succeed in this role you will need to demonstrate some of the following skills and experience:

• Proven experience building production-grade data pipelines and ETL processes.
• Excellent Python skills with experience developing scalable data solutions.
• Experience working with PySpark or distributed data processing frameworks.
• Experience using GitHub and modern software engineering practices.
• Understanding of cloud-based data platforms, ideally Azure.
• Experience working with sensitive or regulated data and knowledge of secure data handling principles.
• Ability to review technical designs and architecture documents and translate them into practical implementations.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and an ability to challenge requirements constructively when needed.
• Experience conducting code reviews and maintaining engineering standards.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience working with NHS or healthcare datasets.
• Knowledge of healthcare coding systems and standards such as SNOMED CT, ICD, or READ codes.
• Experience with Databricks.
• Experience with Kubernetes.
• Experience using Dagster or other workflow orchestration platforms.
• SQL and data modelling experience.
• Understanding of metadata management and data governance frameworks.

Many Data Engineering roles focus primarily on building pipelines. This role is different. Here, the greatest challenge is ensuring that every pipeline is secure, governed, auditable, and trustworthy. You'll be working with sensitive health data that has the potential to transform research outcomes, making security, quality, and engineering judgement just as important as technical delivery.

If you're an engineer who enjoys solving complex data problems, questioning assumptions, and building secure systems that make a meaningful difference, we'd love to hear from you.

Benefits

• Salary from £62,000 per annum. We are interested in applications from people with a range of experience for this role.
• Generous Pension Scheme – We invest in your future with employer contributions of up to 12%.
• 30 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays – Enjoy a generous holiday allowance with the flexibility to take bank holidays when it suits you.
• Enhanced Parental Leave – Supporting you during life’s biggest moments.
• Cycle to Work Scheme – Save 25-39% on a new bike and accessories through salary sacrifice.
• Home & Tech Savings – Get up to 8% off on IKEA and Currys products, spreading the cost over 12 months through salary sacrifice
• £1,000 Employee Referral Bonus – Know someone amazing? Get rewarded for bringing them on board!
• Wellbeing Support – Access to Mental Health First Aiders, plus 24/7 online GP services and an Employee Assistance Programme for you and your family.
• A Great Place to Work – We have a lovely Central London office in Holborn, and offer flexible and remote working arrangements.

Join us - let’s prevent disease together.

At Our Future Health, we recognise the importance of having a diverse workforce and ensuring that all candidates, regardless of their background, have equitable access to our application process. We proactively encourage applicants who identify as having a disability, neurodiversity, or long-term health conditions to let us know if they require any reasonable adjustments as part of their application process. 

If you do require any reasonable adjustments, please email us at talent@ourfuturehealth.org.uk