Senior DataOps Engineer (Leeds)

At Peregrine, we’re constantly seeking Specialist Talent that offer the ideal mix of skills, experience, and attitude, to place with our vast array of clients. From Project Change Professionals in large government organisations to Software Developers in the private sector – we are always in search of the best talent to place, now.

How Specialist Talent Works

At Peregrine, we find the best talent for our clients. Unlike traditional contractors, where you are hired by the client, you remain a permanent employee of Peregrine, with access to all our standard benefits:

• A Permanent Position
• Life Assurance
• 5% annual bonus
• Pension Scheme – Employer matched to 5%
• Voluntary Benefits – Health Cash Plan, Dental, Will Writing etc
• Annual Leave – 23 days rising to 27 with length of service
• Sick Pay – Increasing with length of service

The Role: DataOps Engineer

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior DataOps Engineer to serve as our first DataOps specialist in a growing team of Data Engineers and DevOps professionals. In this pivotal role, you will focus on operationalising and automating our data lifecycle to ensure that data workflows perform with reliability and efficiency. You will integrate CI/CD data pipelines, streamline deployment processes, enforce robust data governance, and optimise operational costs within our Microsoft Azure environment. Your work will be centred on proactive system monitoring, error resolution, and continuous improvements, while mentoring and guiding colleagues.

Role Requirements:

The role will:

• Oversee and automate the operational processes that support data workflows developed by the Data Engineering team while ensuring seamless coordination with the DevOps group.
• Spearhead the development, integration, and maintenance of CI/CD data pipelines for automated deployments.
• Integrate best practices for monitoring and observability to proactively detect, analyse, and resolve issues.
• Enforce robust data governance and security protocols through tools like Azure Key Vault, ensuring compliance with standards such as GDPR, and other regulatory frameworks.
• Collaborate closely with Data Engineering, Data Science, Analytics, and DevOps teams to align operational strategies with technical and business requirements.
• Optimize operational performance and cost management for services including Azure Data Factory, Azure Databricks, Delta Lake, and Azure Data Lake Storage.
• Serve as the domain expert in DataOps by providing strategic guidance, mentoring colleagues, and driving continuous process improvements.
• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies and methodologies to further enhance operational efficiency and automation within our data ecosystem.

Minimum Criteria

To work confidently in this role, you will have:

• Demonstrable experience in DataOps, Data Engineering, DevOps, or related roles focused on managing data operations in complex, data-centric environments.
• Proven experience working with agile teams and driving automation of data workflows within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.
• Hands-on expertise with Azure Data Platform components including Azure Data Factory, Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake Storage, Delta Lake, Azure SQL, Purview and APIM.
• Proficiency in developing CI/CD data pipelines and strong programming skills in Python, SQL, Bash, and PySpark for automation.
• Strong aptitude for data pipeline monitoring and an understanding of data security practices such as RBAC and encryption.
• Implemented data and pipeline observability dashboards, ensuring high data quality, and improving the efficiency of data workflows.
• Experience ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks and implementing robust data governance measures.
• Demonstrated ability to implement Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, to provision and manage data pipelines and associated resources.

Essential Criteria

• In addition to your technical skills you will also:
• Enjoy sharing knowledge and training / upskilling others.
• Have excellent communication and collaboration skills, with both technical and business colleagues.
• Be motivated to learn, upskill and improve yourself in both technical and relevant complementary soft skills.

Desirable Criteria

It would be beneficial to already have:

• Proven experience in optimizing and scaling high-volume data operations within enterprise Azure environments.
• Familiarity with Azure services that enhance data operational efficiency and support complex analytics.
• Exposure to Spark-based processing and advanced analytics techniques to further empower data-driven decision-making.
• A track record of successfully mentoring teams and implementing strategic improvements in data operations.
• Demonstrated expertise in cost optimisation and performance tuning within an Azure-based data infrastructure.
• Relevant certifications such as Azure Data Engineer Associate, Azure DevOps, Databricks Data Engineer Professional, or equivalent credentials.
• Ability to build and manage the DataOps processes in a newly formed team which is planned to continue to expand over the next few months and years.

If you are an experienced DataOps Engineer and feel you have the desired skills and experience which would enable you to hit the ground running, please apply to find out more information about this exciting opportunity.

About us:

At Peregrine, we see beyond the immediate and look to the horizon. We build lasting, meaningful partnerships with our clients, and deliver flexible solutions for every resourcing need, both now and in the future. Together, we help our clients to engage, develop and harness the skills they need to achieve and grow the workforce they want.

Our culture:

At Peregrine we embrace fresh ideas, and we love learning fast. Our solutions are trusted and established, so we have the confidence of knowing we have a solid foundation. We rely on openness and honesty, and we’re always ready to help each other out. And we believe that our work can benefit society – whether it’s finding the digital talent of the future or being a driver for social mobility.

Our commitment to diversity:

At Peregrine, we’re proudly committed to championing diversity and inclusion, with company-wide initiatives to drive greater social mobility and reduce our environmental impact. Our teams represent a huge breadth of cultures, languages, and ethnicities, and over 20 different nationalities. We also employ candidates from a range of educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. Our partnerships with numerous charities ensure that we can stay well-informed and continue to improve our practices for the future. It reflects in the way we recruit for our clients as we assist them in becoming more diverse.