Data Engineer

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

• Design, develop and maintain scalable data pipelines and data integration solutions using cloud-based technologies.
• Build batch and, where required, near-real-time ingestion and transformation workflows across structured and unstructured data sources.
• Use Python and SQL to extract, transform, validate and manage data.
• Work with cloud data platforms and services, with Microsoft Azure experience particularly relevant. Technologies may include Azure Data Lake, Azure Data Factory, Azure Functions, Microsoft Fabric, Databricks and equivalent services.
• Apply data processing technologies such as Apache Spark, PySpark and Delta Lake when appropriate.
• Develop and maintain data models, data structures and curated datasets for analytics, enterprise applications and AI/ML use cases.
• Profile, cleanse, standardise and validate data, working with subject matter experts where domain interpretation is required.
• Implement data quality checks, testing, monitoring, logging, security and performance controls.
• Support processing of documents and other unstructured information, including metadata extraction and transformation where appropriate.
• Contribute to data architecture, integration patterns and technical design decisions.
• Work with AI engineers, software developers, solution architects, analysts and business stakeholders to translate requirements into deliverable solutions.
• Support deployment, troubleshooting, maintenance and continuous improvement of data workflows.
• Produce clear technical documentation and contribute to knowledge transfer across distributed teams.

Here's what you'll need

• At least 3 years of commercial experience in data engineering, data integration or a closely related software/data role.
• Strong programming experience in Python and strong SQL skills.
• Practical experience designing, building and maintaining ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Experience working with relational databases and data storage platforms.
• Experience with at least one cloud platform; Microsoft Azure is preferred.
• Understanding of data modelling, data transformation, data quality and data governance principles.
• Experience integrating data from multiple sources, including APIs, databases, files or enterprise systems.
• Familiarity with Git and collaborative software development practices.
• Ability to investigate data issues, solve problems systematically and communicate technical findings clearly.
• Ability to work with technical teams and business or engineering subject matter experts.
• Good written and spoken English and ability to work effectively with distributed teams.

NICE TO HAVE

• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake, Azure Synapse Analytics or Azure Databricks.
• Experience with Apache Spark, PySpark or Delta Lake.
• Experience with document processing, unstructured data, metadata extraction or knowledge-management solutions.
• Experience preparing data for machine learning, generative AI or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications.
• Familiarity with vector search, embeddings or AI data preparation workflows.
• Experience with Docker, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing or infrastructure-as-code practices.
• Experience with Power BI or semantic data modelling.
• Experience in engineering, infrastructure, utilities, transport or other complex technical domains.
• Relevant Microsoft, Databricks or cloud certifications.

At Jacobs we value people. Having the right balance of belonging, career and lifestyle enables us to consistently deliver and exceed clients’ expectations.

Working alongside industry leaders, you will have the opportunity to develop your career working on key projects in an environment which encourages collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation. To support your professional growth, Jacobs flexible working arrangements, extended leave options and a host of social, health and wellbeing events and initiatives will underpin our commitment to you.

At Jacobs it’s all about what you do, not where you are, which counts!

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Your application experience is important to us, and we’re keen to adapt to make every interaction even better. If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team via Careers Support.