Staff Data Engineer
Automata is transforming the way labs work with open, integrated automation. Our mission is to unlock the potential of labs and the potential of the people who work in them.
Level: 5
Role Type: Permanent or Contract
Location: Hybrid - work on site in our London office 3x/wk
The Mission
Our platform is transforming life sciences automation. It already saves lives — and now we’re scaling globally. Data is the backbone of that mission: powering analytics, optimisation, and decision-making at scale.
We’re looking for a Staff Data Engineer who can help us design and deliver a data platform that is modular, production-ready, and built for speed — across warehouses, lakes, streams, and everything in between.
The Role
As a Staff Data Engineer, you’ll be a hands-on contributor while also influencing architecture and best practices. You’ll design and implement pipelines, models, and platforms that support product and analytics needs on a global scale.
This is not BI or reporting alone — this is about building data infrastructure as product, with modularity, automation, and global scale at its core.
What You’ll Do
Model Data for Scale: Build and optimise data models across ER, document, graph, and vector structures.
Design & Run Pipelines: Deliver ETLs and pipelines for batch, real-time, and streaming needs.
Work Across Data Stores: Architect solutions across data warehouses (Snowflake), data lakes, and modern platforms like Databricks.
Streaming & Integration: Use Kafka (or similar) to manage high-volume real-time data flows.
Catalogue & Governance: Define and deploy data catalogues, reporting standards, and best practices for analytics and performance.
Automate by Default: Use Python and containerisation to automate workflows and deploy production-grade solutions.
Product Thinking: Build for modularity and reusability, always balancing speed with scale and reliability.
What You Bring
Strong experience in data modelling (ER, Document, Graph, Vector).
Proven expertise with data warehouses (Snowflake), data lakes, and Databricks or similar.
Hands-on with ETL pipelines, batch + streaming solutions, and real-time frameworks like Kafka.
Comfortable with diverse origin data: raw files, SQL, NoSQL, graph DBs, vector DBs.
Strong Python skills, with containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes) experience.
Experience deploying data catalogues and governance frameworks.
A track record of building data solutions in a product/platform environment, at global scale.
Nice to Have
IoT or edge-deployed data experience.
Additional frontend or analytics tooling knowledge.
Exposure to mission-critical industries (life sciences, healthcare, logistics).
Why Join Us
Build the data backbone of a global platform, where analytics directly affect scientific progress and human health.
Join a senior, high-calibre engineering team working closely with product and design.
Shape data infrastructure that is modular, production-ready, and built for scale.
Hybrid working: 3 days in our London office, balanced with flexibility.
Competitive package, plus the opportunity to do career-defining, meaningful work.
🚀 If you’re a staff-level data engineer ready to shape the backbone of a global product — and want your work to have real-world impact — this is the role.
Private healthcare that incentives a healthy lifestyle
👀 Eye Care
Get your eyes tested once a year on us!
Sacrifice some of your monthly salary in exchange for a company car, provided by your Employer
🚲 Salary Sacrifice - Bike & Tech
Sacrifice some of your monthly salary in exchange for bike and tech products, provided by your Employer
🧘🏼♀️ Wellbeing & Support
Support for both your physical and mental health
☀️ Wellbeing & Development Allowance
Invest in your own well-being, personal growth, and hobbies
💙 Spill & Employee Assistance Programme
Access the therapy for you and your family through Spill
Time off for dependents, 'Me days', and volunteering days off
Plan for retirement with NEST
🫂 Group Life & Critical Illness cover
Life insurance - for a piece of mind
🎂 Birthday
Time off for your Birthday
We are an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Discrimination of any kind based on race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status is strictly prohibited.
- Locations
- London
Colleagues
London
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