Introduction
Evolve Energy is scaling rapidly and modernising onMicrosoft Azure. We are building a trusted, governed data foundation spanninghalf-hourly meter reads, industry flows, billing, payments and wholesalepositions. As our hands-on Senior Data Engineer, you will help architects andtechnical leads select the platform, build it’s ingestion, modelling, qualityand governance patterns, and set standards for reliable growth.
Role Purpose
The Senior Data Engineer will design, build and operateEvolve Energy’s core data platform, turning raw, high-volume industry data intoreliable, well-modelled and documented data products. Combining hands-onengineering with architectural input, you will work with architects, engineers,analysts, product and operations to deliver early value while keeping theplatform sustainable over the long term. They will also set standards, reviewwork and build the team’s data capability.
Duties and Responsibilities
Build the foundations
- Design ingestion, storage (e.g. lakehouse), modelling and serving; balance capability,cost and operability
- Apply database administration experience across SQL, NoSQL and time-series databases,alongside knowledge of open table formats such as Apache Iceberg, to build theplatform’s foundations
- Build batch and streaming ingestion for high-volume time-series, half-hourly meter and MHHSsettlement data
- Unify industry flows, settlement, customer, billing, wholesale and trading data in aconsistent model
- Create documented, reusable models for MPANs/MPRNs, supply periods, tariffs,consumption and settlement
- Create documented, reusable models for MPANs/MPRNs, supply periods, tariffs,consumption and settlement
- Build insecurity, scalability, resilience, cost efficiency and capacity for growth
Make data trustworthy
- Automate quality checks, testing and reconciliation to catch missing reads, late flowsand duplicates before use
- Establish lineage, metadata and cataloguing so data is easy to find and trace
- Protect personal and commercially sensitive data with proportionate controls supportingUK GDPR and regulation
- Monitor pipeline freshness, volume and quality, with alerts and runbooks
- Own the platform end to end: build it, run it and support it in operation
Deliver effectively
- Use version control, code review, automated testing and CI/CD for data pipelines andinfrastructure
- Use infrastructure-as-code for repeatable environments and safe changes
- Deliver the greenfield platform incrementally, putting usable data in people’s hands early
- Flag risks and dependencies early, especially third-party industry systems and legacysources
- Use metrics to identify delivery bottlenecks and improve pipeline performance and cost efficiency
Use AI responsibly
- Provide the data quality, context and governance needed to support AI/ML applications in forecasting,anomaly detection and customer insight
- Use AI for pipeline development, testing, documentation, profiling and issue investigation
- Review and test AI-assisted work, retain accountability and help others assess outputscritically
Solve the right problems
- Link engineering decisions to business value, customer outcomes, compliance, riskand cost to serve
- Prioritise impact on settlement, billing accuracy, forecasting and trading over technicalpreference
- Work with data users to design products around their practical needs
- Baseline performance and cost; plan capacity for growing half-hourly settlement volumes
Raise the standard
- Define and follow standards for modelling, naming, testing, documentation and pipelinedesign
- Create reusable patterns, templates and architectural decision records
- Review work constructively and support engineers and analysts new to data engineering
- Share platform and energy-domain knowledge across the team
Personal Skills and Experience
Technical background
- Expert SQL and strong Python for clean, tested, production-quality code
- Hands-on experience in relational database administration, covering schema design, indexing, query tuning, backup and recovery, access management, data integrity and maintenance
- Experience delivering data platforms commercially on Azure, ideally using Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks, Synapse or Data Factory
- Ingestion, storage, processing and integration of structured and unstructured data
- Hands-on delivery of raw-to-cleansed/refined data layers and curated fact/dimension tables for analytics
- Experience modelling data for operational and analytical use, using dimensional modelling, Data Vault or a lakehouse approach, together with experience of Apache Iceberg or Delta Lake table formats
- Spark or equivalent distributed processing for large, high-frequency time-series datasets
- Batch and streaming/event-driven ingestion, including late data, idempotency, replays and schema changes
- Practical data quality testing with dbt tests, Great Expectations or equivalent
- Experience implementing CI/CD for data platforms using Azure DevOps or equivalent, and infrastructure-as-code using Bicep or Terraform
- Data platform architecture design or evaluation, with clear explanations of trade-offs
Leadership and influence
- Evidence of setting engineering standards adopted by others, beyond delivering pipelines
- Clear communication of architecture trade-offs, risks and assumptions to technical and business audiences
- Measurable improvements to data quality, reliability or delivery
- Experience reviewing engineers’ work and developing their judgement and technical skills
- Confidence shaping data priorities with product, operations, finance and trading stakeholders
- Pragmatism that balances long-term quality with simpler, fit-for-purpose solutions
The ideal candidate
- Knowledgeof UK energy data, including MHHS, DTC flows, settlement, MPAN/MPRN or smartmetering, or a willingness to learn the sector
- Abackground in delivering greenfield data platforms, including platformselection
- Practicalskills in using data governance and cataloguing tools such as Microsoft Purviewor Unity Catalog
- Experienceworking with time-series, data at scale, or data supporting forecasting andtrading
- Hands-oninvolvement in migrating legacy or monolithic databases to modern platforms
- Practicalevidence of Azure or data platform capability matters more than relevantcertification
- Strongproblem-solving skills, with a focus on business outcomes when tackling complexdata challenges
- You owndata quality from ingestion to end users
- Clearcommunication and documentation skills, including the ability to explaincomplex data and record decisions
- Soundjudgement, using evidence to make decisions amid ambiguity and revisiting themas circumstances change
- You enjoysetting standards that help others succeed
- A pragmaticapproach to raising standards without unnecessary process or perfectionism
What’s in it for You:
We want to give you more than a job, we want to give you a purpose and a career.
Evolve Energy offer a range of benefits such as:
- Flexible working hours
- An amazing team with a community feel
- Opportunities to grow and develop your career
- Regular recognition and reward programs
- Free refreshments and breakfast
- Cycle to work and EV scheme
- Private Healthcare, cash health plans and annual fitness membership contribution
- Company sick pay and employee discount schemes
- EAP – health assistance and mental health first aiders
- Company pension and enhanced annual leave
- Volunteering days and social events
This position offers the right salary for the right person and the opportunity for you to take an exciting step forward in your career!
*Qualifying criteria
Roles may be subject to DBS and Financial checks. Any offer made will be conditional until checks are completed to a satisfactory standard.
If you think you would be a great fit for us, but don't meet all the requirements of the role, please contact us as we'd love to discuss how Evolve Energy could be the next step in your career journey.
