Head of Data Engineering

Head of Data Engineering | GCP, AWS, SaaS

Location: Central London, UK (Hybrid)

dcoded is partnering with a market-leading SaaS organisation as they appoint a Head of Data Engineering to lead, scale, and evolve their data engineering capability. This is a senior leadership role with a strong emphasis on Google Cloud (GCP), organisational influence, and people development.

You’ll sit at the intersection of technology, delivery, and leadership—setting direction, growing teams, and ensuring the data platform is built to scale, perform, and enable the wider business.

• Lead and develop high‑performing data engineering teams through coaching, mentoring, and clear progression frameworks.
• Create an environment where psychological safety, inclusion, and high standards coexist.
• Enable engineers to do their best work by aligning individual growth with team and business outcomes.
• Act as a visible cultural leader, reinforcing values and supporting a connected, engaged engineering community.

• Take ownership of the long‑term stability, scalability, and quality of the data platforms under your remit.
• Influence and help define the organisation’s data and AI technical strategy.
• Work closely with architects, tech leads, and engineering leadership to align on design decisions and reduce technical risk.
• Promote strong engineering practices around reliability, performance, testing, and observability, with teams accountable for live systems.

• Partner with Product and Data leaders to shape roadmaps, priorities, and delivery plans.
• Ensure teams are appropriately structured and equipped to deliver consistently without compromising quality.
• Track delivery effectiveness, address constraints, and continuously improve how work flows through the team.
• Identify risks early, manage trade‑offs, and represent your teams in cross‑functional forums.

• Lead hiring efforts to attract, assess, and onboard diverse data engineering talent.
• Evolve team structure and capability in line with both technical needs and future growth.
• Play an active role in performance reviews, promotion processes, and long‑term talent planning.

• Build strong relationships with product, analytics, and senior business stakeholders.
• Clearly communicate complex technical topics in a way that supports informed decision‑making.
• Think beyond team boundaries, balancing local delivery with organisation‑wide priorities and outcomes.

• A strong foundation in Data Engineering, with hands‑on experience working on modern data platforms.
• Proven experience designing and operating data systems in the cloud (GCP strongly preferred).
• Previous leadership experience managing data or analytics engineering teams.
• A track record of improving delivery, process, and team effectiveness.
• Confidence working across planning, estimation, prioritisation, and stakeholder alignment.
• A collaborative leadership style with the ability to build trust across technical and non‑technical audiences.
• A calm, pragmatic approach when operating in complex or ambiguous environments.
• Genuine passion for developing people through coaching, feedback, and structured growth.

If you’re motivated by building high‑impact data teams, shaping technical strategy, and creating an environment where engineers can thrive, dcoded would love to speak with you.

Mid‑Senior level

Full‑time

Information Technology;
Industries:
Software Development, IT System Custom Software Development, and Technology, Information and Media