Asst Director

Data Platform Lead - Job Description

1. Purpose

The Data Platform Lead is responsible for leading the Data Platform Team to ensure reliable, high-quality data platform operations by managing end-to-end data pipelines, maintaining infrastructure performance, and enabling secure self-service data access. This role provides technical leadership and oversight across data engineering, backend systems, and DevOps practices whilst ensuring the platform meets enterprise standards and delivers value to stakeholders across the organisation.

2. Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Platform Operations

• Lead and oversee technical direction for data platform operations, including data engineering, backend systems, and DevOps practices
• Monitor and maintain bronze and silver layer pipelines, ETL processes, and orchestration across all data layers
• Review system architecture, design patterns, and technical decisions for data platform components
• Establish coding standards, best practices, and technical documentation requirements for the data platform
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies and tools to improve data platform efficiency and capabilities

Data Pipeline & Quality Management

• Oversee end-to-end data pipeline architecture and implementation
• Implement data quality controls and define enterprise data standards
• Manage schema design and evolution to support organisational data needs
• Optimise ONCDM (One-NHG Common Data Model) to improve ease of understanding and facilitate data standardisation
• Ensure robust testing practices including unit, integration, and end-to-end testing for data pipelines

Infrastructure & Platform Management

• Coordinate infrastructure monitoring, vendor relationships, patches, and performance optimisation
• Review and approve CI/CD pipeline designs and automation strategies for data platform deployments
• Guide security and compliance implementation in data infrastructure
• Review disaster recovery and backup strategies for data platform components
• Ensure proper monitoring and alerting systems are in place for platform operations

Service Delivery & Integration

• Enable Data as a Service through APIs and catalogues, managing SLAs and cost tracking
• Collaborate with source systems on data cleansing, metadata documentation, and downtime coordination
• Manage application monitoring and maintain service level agreements (SLAs) for data platform services
• Lead incident response and troubleshooting for critical data platform issues
• Handle service tickets, troubleshooting, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning

Team Management & Development

• Lead scrum practices (e.g. sprint planning) for the Data Platform Team
• Manage resource allocation and project prioritisation across data platform workstreams
• Mentor and guide technical growth of data engineers and infrastructure specialists

Stakeholder Engagement & Governance

• Serve as primary technical point of contact for data platform matters with clinicians and business users
• Coordinate with stakeholders to gather and refine data platform requirements
• Maintain data lineage, master data management, and stewardship programmes
• Ensure project deliverables and milestones are met on schedule
• Maintain technical documentation and system architecture diagrams for data platform components

3. Job Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Engineering, or related technical field

Experience

• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in data engineering, platform engineering, or related technical roles
• At least 5 years of experience in technical leadership or team management positions
• Proven experience in managing large-scale data platforms and enterprise data infrastructure
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g. AWS) and modern data stack technologies
• Experience with healthcare data systems and clinical data management preferred
• Demonstrated experience in agile project management and stakeholder engagement

Technical Skills

• Strong expertise in data pipeline development, ETL/ELT processes, and data orchestration tools
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, SQL, and scripting languages
• Experience with data warehousing, data lakes, and modern data architecture patterns
• Knowledge of DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code
• Understanding of data governance, data quality management, and metadata management
• Experience with monitoring and alerting systems for data platforms
• Knowledge of API development and data service delivery

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strong leadership and team management capabilities
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking abilities
• Experience in mentoring and developing technical talent
• Ability to work effectively in a matrix organisation structure

Certifications (Preferred)

• Cloud platform certifications (e.g. AWS)
• Data engineering or platform engineering certifications
• Project management certifications (PMP, Agile, Scrum Master)

Additional Requirements

• Understanding of healthcare data standards and regulations
• Experience with enterprise data governance frameworks
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on technical execution