Data Engineer (Data, AI, ML)

Data Engineer Newcastle (on-site) £50,000-£100,000 + bonus Financial Services or Defence (seperate divisions) Data Engineer Overview The environment is geared towards people who enjoy tackling complex challenges, working closely with end users, and taking ownership from day one. Most of the work is greenfield, with separate divisions in financial services and defence -related projects, and will be creating insurance and energy divisions in the near future. A growing high-calibre tech consultancy is seeking Data Engineers of various levels and disciplines to build robust, scalable data platforms/implement AI/ML for clients. Rather than hiring for a single technology stack or narrow role, they're assembling a team of exceptionally smart engineers, data specialists and technical leaders who can solve difficult problems, communicate well, and thrive in highly demanding environments. They're building teams in data, AI/ML, and technical leadership, with a particular focus on hiring exceptionally strong problem solvers rather than simply matching a specific tech stack. They're looking for people who understand how things work under the hood, not just how to use the latest tools. They’re hiring for, and value, Data Engineers who: * Enjoy working on challenging systems * Are friendly * Truly understand problem-solving principles * Enjoy variety * Are adaptable and articulate Data Engineer Role You will design and maintain data pipelines and systems that support analytics and operational use cases. Data Engineer Responsibilities include: * Building data pipelines and data-intensive applications * Developing in Python and SQL * Working with distributed systems (e.g. Spark, Databricks) * Managing data orchestration (e.g. Airflow) * Ensuring data quality, reliability, and performance Data Engineer cross over with AI/ML could include: * Integrating AI components into applications and workflows * LLM evaluation, failure modes, and mitigation strategies * Testing and debugging non-deterministic systems * RAG * Understanding of the risks and limitations of AI and where statistical models or deterministic logic would be more appropriate * LLM principles and transformer architectures * LLM performance evaluation and inference optimisations * Developing modules for edge, constrained or air-gapped environments would be a plus * Explainable AI or AI safety/security would be a plus Data Engineer Additional Criteria: * STEM Degree from a leading university (2:1 or above) * Eligibility for UK SC-level security clearance (for Defence only) * Experience in financial services (banking, private capital, quant, risk, front office etc), defence or highly regulated environments is advantageous, but not required Data Engineer Benefits: * Target based bonus (~10-25%) * Private healthcare * Pension * 25 days holiday + bank holidays