Lead Data Engineer

Location: National*

Closing Date: 25th June 2026

Interviews: Week commencing 6^th July 2026 (this may be subject to change)

Grade: G7

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary**:

National: £58,511 - £65,329 (which may include an allowance of up to £16,014)
London: £63,343 - £70,725 (which may include an allowance of up to £15,970)

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Number of vacancies: 5

Vacancy number: 18613

We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

Please note that unless you are an existing member of staff at Justice Digital, Data and Science, the only London location being recruited to is 10 South Colonnade, E14 4PU. We are no longer recruiting to 102 Petty France, SW1H 9AJ.

The Role

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. Please click on the link for details.

We’re recruiting for a Lead Data Engineer here at Justice Digital, Data and Science to be part of our warm and collaborative Data & Analytics Engineering Hub.

This role aligns against Lead Data Engineer from the Government Digital and Data Framework.

This is a great opportunity to work with leading cloud technology and help change the way data is used in the public sector. Data engineers at MoJ play a critical role in our mission to put data at the heart of decision-making. We're looking for people with the drive to develop a deep understanding of data needs and data availability across specific areas of the Ministry of Justice.

You will lead our Centre for Excellence (CfE) for the Data Engineering profession within our Data & Analytics Engineer Hub.

The CfE sets the technical direction for data engineering across Justice Data, drives innovation, provides expert consultancy to new and emerging projects, and ensures strong technical governance across all domains. As Lead Data Engineer for the CfE, you will take on a high-profile leadership role, shaping and embedding consistent technical, process and cultural capabilities across our teams, and helping to strengthen our reputation as a leader in data engineering across government.

You will work alongside other Data Engineers and Analytics Engineers as they bridge the gap between data producers and data users, developing analytical pipelines and self-service tools to acquire and transform data, making it available on our Analytical Platform. A summary of the type of work the teams are involved in can be found in our handbook.

Key Responsibilities:

You’ll receive a range of excellent benefits when you join our department, including:

• A generous employer pension contribution of 28.97% through the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
• 25 days of annual leave, (increasing to 30 days once you have reached 5 years of service), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
• Flexible working arrangements including hybrid working, working part time or compressed hours. Designed to support a positive work–life balance.
• Employees are allocated 10% of their working time for personal and professional development.
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best-in-class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

You can find more details of the Benefits we offer here. To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital, Data and Science please take a look at our blog.

Key Responsibilities:

You will:

• act as a thought leader and subject matter expert for data and analytics engineering
• shape the overall technical strategy for data engineering and set the direction and vision for the Centre for Excellence
• drive forward, develop and iterate our data factory architecture in partnership with the Data Architecture function
• collaborate with other Centres for Excellence and Hubs across Justice Data and share good practice
• partner with technical and data leads in Justice Digital, Data and Science to improve our overall data architecture and data maturity
• establish and lead technical governance processes for data and analytics engineering
• set and champion technical standards, principles and practices
• identify new tools, techniques, platforms and frameworks that could improve the way we work and lead the evaluation and adoption of these
• build networks across government, with technology partners, and with industry to share and develop good data engineering practice
• promote the development and use of the data and analytics engineering handbook
• coordinate the delivery of cross-cutting technical initiatives
• support the Data Engineering Head of Profession to demonstrate measuring value and impact, including through improved observability

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential:

• designing and building complex data pipelines, products and services
• leading the evaluation and adoption of new tools, techniques, platforms or frameworks in a data and analytics engineering context
• knowledge of software engineering and infrastructure best practices and being able to apply them across data engineering projects
• driving change and improvement across teams, including where you don’t have direct control
• promoting technical excellence through learning, development and innovation
• championing the value of data engineering with stakeholders and users to unlock opportunities for transformation

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for SC clearance.

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Salary Information**

Base salary for this role is from £58,511 - £65,329 (National), £63,343 - £70,725 (London)

• New entrants to the Civil Service joining the MoJ are expected to start at the minimum of the pay band.
• Existing Civil Servants moving on a level transfer will retain their current base salary or move to the minimum of the pay band for the role, whichever is higher.
• Existing Civil Servants who are promoted will either move to the bottom of the new grade’s pay band or receive a 10% uplift, whichever provides the greater increase.
• Candidates may also be eligible for a non‑pensionable Government Digital & Data Allowance of up to £16,014 (National) or £15,970 per year (London). This is a temporary allowance, reviewed annually and may be retained, amended, or withdrawn.

The final offer will reflect the skills and experience you demonstrate during the assessment process.

How to Apply

In Justice Digital, Data and Science, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We shall assess a combination of your Experience, Technical skills and Behaviours during the assessment process.

Stage 1 - Application and sift:

To apply for this position, you must submit the following as part of your application:

• an anonymised CV, maximum 2 pages at font size 12, including career history, responsibilities, and achievements (including any relevant qualifications).
• A Personal Statement (no more than 750 words) which should outline your experience and skills, giving clear examples of work undertaken. It should specifically address the following 2 criteria listed below, using a separate paragraph for each.

Sift criteria:

• designing and building complex data pipelines, products and services

• leading the evaluation and adoption of new tools, techniques, platforms or frameworks in a data and analytics engineering context

A diverse sift panel will review the information in your CV and Personal Statement to assess the sift criteria. We operate an anonymous shortlisting process. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement do not include your name or any other identifying details.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on designing and building complex data pipelines, products and services will be conducted before the sift.

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply - Application Guidance

Stage 2 - Interviews:

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a panel interview held via Microsoft Teams. At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements - Experience, Technical and the following Behaviours:

• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service

As part of the interview process, you’ll complete a technical test followed by a panel interview. Altogether, this will take 90 minutes. If you pass the sift stage, we’ll share more details with you.

Please note that this recruitment campaign includes one vacancy within the CfE domain. While only one CfE position is available, candidates who are successful at interview will be considered and allocated to roles across other domain areas, based on organisational needs and individual strengths.

Appointments are made strictly in merit order. In the event that two or more candidates receive identical interview scores, the designing and building complex data pipelines, products and services criteria will be applied as the primary lead criterion to determine the final merit order.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms and Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact digitalanddatarecruitment@justice.gov.uk