Head of Data Engineering

Head of Data Engineering We are seeking a visionary, delivery-focused Head of Data Engineering to lead the transformation of JD’s enterprise data engineering capabilities. Reporting to the Group Director of Data & AI, you will shape a modern, scalable, and secure data estate that accelerates analytics, AI, and digital innovation across the Group. This role is based out of our Bury office with the expectation that the successful candidate will be in the office 4 days a week leading a Data Engineering function of 15+ within the wider Data & AI organisation, shaping the strategic direction, capability, standards, and operational excellence of data engineering across the group and driving the evolution of our enterprise data engineering capabilities across our cloud and legacy environments. Your remit spans cloud platform engineering, pipeline automation, real-time data processing, curation, and the enablement of business intelligence, data science and AI teams. You will set the vision for the future of our data infrastructure, ensuring scalability, resilience, security, commercial impact, and alignment to the Group’s strategic objectives. You will manage a highly skilled team of data engineers, while partnering with high-level stakeholders across technology and business functions to ensure the data foundation unlocks measurable value. 

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Vision:

Define and own the long term data engineering strategy and roadmap driving modernisation, standardisation, and cloud-first best practicesLead the migration away from legacy data systems into modern, scalable cloud platforms, ensuring scalability and cost-optimised use of cloud servicesIdentify new technologies, patterns, and methodologies (e.g., streaming, ML/AI enablement, data lineage, orchestration) that advance our capabilitiesChampion engineering excellence, governance, data quality, and enterprise-grade reliability across all teams and pipelines

Leadership & People Development:

Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of data engineering professionals, setting clear expectations and fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvementEstablish clear role pathways, skills development plans, and a culture of continuous improvement.Drive strong engineering culture, collaboration, and accountability across the teamManage team capacity, resourcing, and prioritisation to meet business demand effectively

Platform & Engineering Delivery

Oversee the design, build, and optimisation of cloud-based data pipelines, datasets, and infrastructure supporting analytics, reporting, and AI productsEnsure data engineering teams deliver reliable and efficient pipelines for ingestion, transformation, enrichment, and curation of large-scale dataEstablish and enforce engineering standards across CI/CD, version control, data modelling, documentation, observability, and code qualityEnsure the creation of trusted, governed data models and consumption layers for downstream stakeholders

Stakeholder Collaboration & Influence

Build trusted relationships with senior business leaders, acting as a strategic partner to help teams utilise data effectively and make informed decisionsWork with senior business stakeholders to understand priorities, ensuring data engineering directly enables commercial, operational, and strategic outcomesPartner closely with Data Science, BI, Product, Cloud Infrastructure, Security, and Architecture teams to deliver integrated and scalable solutionsCommunicate complex technical concepts clearly and frame engineering decisions in terms of business impact

Governance, Security & Compliance

Ensure data platforms meet regulatory, security, and compliance requirements, including secure pipeline design, access control, and lineageEmbed good governance practices across metadata, cataloguing, quality, and monitoringDefine and maintain data engineering standards, documentation, and policies to ensure consistency, compliance, and long-term maintainability

Role Objectives & KPIs

Deliver a scalable, modern, and cost-efficient enterprise data platformReduce cloud spend and cost to serve through optimisation and engineering standardsImprove the reliability, performance, and availability of mission-critical data pipelinesIncrease data quality, consistency, and usability across priority domainsStrengthen engineering capability and maturity through talent development, best practice standard and frameworksImproved productivity and engagement across Data Engineering teamsOn-time delivery of strategic data initiatives in support of analytics, AI, and digital transformation goals 

Skills and Experience:

Significant senior-level experience in Data Engineering leadership roles (Head, Director, or equivalent) within fast-paced, complex organisationsAt least five years’ experience managing and developing high-performing Data Engineering teamsDeep expertise in cloud data engineering within GCP, pipelines, orchestration, and distributed data processingStrong background in SQL, Python, CI/CD, and software engineering best practicesExperience designing and scaling data platforms, data models, and ingestion frameworks across structured and unstructured sourcesUnderstanding of ML/AI enablement, data curation strategies, and metadata/lineage toolingProven ability to drive organisational change, modernise technology stacks, and embed best practicesProven ability to coach and mentor technical teams, raising capability and embedding high delivery standardsSkilled at simplifying complexity and embedding standards that balance technical rigour with business value and costEffective communicator who can influence and engage senior stakeholders across business and technology domains who can provide authoritative guidanceExperience in large-scale, multi-brand, or global enterprises; retail experience is advantageousDemonstrated ability to learn and adopt new technologies, especially emerging AI capabilitiesStrong leadership and people development skills to develop a growing team of data engineering professionals and and foster the adoption of data-driven decision-making across the business

We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today, and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits, including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work. Thank you for your time #JD