Senior Data Engineer

IWSR is the world's most trusted source of beverage alcohol data, used by the biggest names in the industry across 160+ countries. We're a small, expert team with a big remit, and we're looking for a Senior Data Engineer who wants to own things, not just build them. This isn't a ticket-driven role inside a large platform team. You'll be one of two data engineers, working closely with an engineering lead, taking real ownership of production‑critical systems from day one.

What you'll actually be doing:

• Owning and improving the data ingestion pipeline that powers our Global Database
• Leading the migration of Excel‑based processes into production Python
• Collaborating on Databricks migration work (GTR and data pooling)
• Taking charge of our SQL Server environment, security, structure, day‑to‑day management
• Working directly with non-technical stakeholders to translate data problems into business outcomes

What we're looking for:

We care less about your CV checklist and more about how you work. The strongest candidates tend to:

• Think in problems, not just technologies — "here's what was broken and here's how I fixed it"
• Be comfortable inheriting messy, real‑world systems rather than always building green field
• Have worked in small teams where you had to figure it out yourself — no dedicated platform team, no safety net
• Show an engineering mindset: careful, methodical, aware of what goes wrong in production

Technically, you'll need solid Python (data pipelines, production code), hands‑on SQL Server experience, and genuine Databricks / PySpark exposure.

AWS familiarity and comfort with AI‑assisted dev tools (Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code) are a plus.

If you've ever built something a bit scrappy to solve a real problem, a quick front end, a workaround that became the system, we'd like to hear from you.

Location & Experience

Central London, hybrid (3 days in office)

5–7 years' experience in data engineering or adjacent role