AWS Data Engineer (contract)

London
5 days ago
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AWS Data Engineer | 6m Contract | London, Hybrid - Outside IR35 

Daily Rate: £570 per day (Outside) Team: Data Engineering - Application Development
Overview:

Opus have partnered with a London Financial Services company who're seeking a Senior AWS Data Engineer with a background in Application Development to support in architecting and delivering a new PostgreSQL‑driven data platform which will be used to support core functions across investment reporting, risk analysis, regulatory output, and performance measurement.

This is a high‑impact greenfield build. You’ll take full ownership of the platform’s design and lead the transition away from Databricks and Excel-centric processes—shaping critical infrastructure that underpins the organisation’s investment operations.
What You’ll Work On
You’ll be responsible for designing and developing a scalable, secure PostgreSQL environment capable of supporting:

Portfolio valuation and holdings data
Performance and attribution reporting
Risk and analytics outputs
Regulatory and trustee disclosures
Data governance and operational controls

You’ll also oversee the migration of structured datasets from Databricks (Delta Lake/Spark) and replace manual Excel workflows with automated, well-governed pipelines to meet audit and regulatory standards.
Key Responsibilities

Build and maintain a secure PostgreSQL-based data platform
Lead the shift away from Databricks and spreadsheet‑dependent reporting
Create dimensional data models covering investments, pricing, performance and related domains
Develop reliable ETL/ELT processes in Python
Implement data quality, reconciliation and validation controls
Optimise database performance for analytical and reporting workloads
Ensure compliance with FCA and TPR regulatory guidelines
Set up access controls, security standards and permissioning
Establish monitoring, backup and disaster recovery solutions
Collaborate closely with investment, risk and finance teams

Essential Skills & Experience

5+ years’ experience in data engineering, application development or data platform roles
Strong PostgreSQL knowledge, including indexing, optimisation and partitioning
Background in financial or investment data environments
Advanced SQL and Python skills
Experience migrating data from platforms like Databricks
Confident with dimensional modelling, star schemas, SCDs etc.
Experience within regulated financial services

Desirable

Experience in pensions, asset management or institutional investing
Understanding of performance measurement and attribution
Exposure to Airflow or dbt
Cloud platform familiarity (Azure or AWS)
Knowledge of data governance best practice

About You

Highly detail‑driven with a strong approach to data quality
Comfortable operating in tightly regulated sectors
Able to explain technical concepts clearly to non‑technical audiences
Practical, proactive and solution‑focused

Why This Role?

A rare opportunity to build core investment data infrastructure from the ground up
High visibility and direct engagement with senior stakeholders across multiple business areas
Stable organisation with long‑term goals and purpose
Flexible hybrid arrangement requiring only occasional travel to the London office

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