Data Engineer

Location(s): UK, Europe & Africa: UK: Frimley | UK: Gloucester | UK: Leeds

Data Engineer - Digital Defence Services

GG10 - GG11

UK: London and travel required. On‑site in London’s Bluefin site (nearest BAE Systems office). Hybrid and flexible working arrangements are available – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this role.

We are looking for an experienced Data Engineer to join our Digital Defence Services team following continuous growth and success. Within Digital Defence Services, we are a critical partner to the UK Ministry of Defence in their adoption of secure digital solutions that enable multi‑domain integration and data exploitation, which provides the advantage to those who serve and protect us. Positioned within a thriving Digital Defence Services Business Unit and part of a wider vibrant Security Consulting Community from across other sectors, you will be supported in the role to learn and develop, with clear pathways defined for your career progression in the organisation.

Our people are what differentiates us; they are resourceful, innovative and dedicated. We have a mix of generalists and specialists and recognise that this diversity contributes to our success. We recognise the benefits of forming teams from a mix of disciplines, which allows us to come up with cutting‑edge, high‑quality solutions. Our breadth of work across the public sector provides diverse opportunities for our people to develop their careers in new areas and with new clients.

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• Design, develop, test and support data collection, data integration and ETL applications to make information and data available.
  
• Model data requirements, data sources and data flows to bring order and structure to programmes of work.
  
• Define how and where data is created, mastered and destroyed to ensure proper control over the lifecycle of corporate data assets.
  
• Use a variety of open‑source products that can be used to collect, integrate, store, visualise and govern data and metadata.
  
• Define metadata to provide search ability and governance (including Records Management) for unstructured data.
  

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• You bring a strong background in data engineering, data analysis or data science, with hands‑on programming experience in Python, SQL or similar. You are confident building scalable data pipelines and integrating diverse data sources.
  
• You have practical experience with data engineering and ETL tools, such as Apache NiFi, and you are comfortable deploying and managing containerised applications using Docker.
  
• You have worked with search and analytics platforms such as OpenSearch to enable fast, scalable data querying and exploration.
  
• You have experience developing or interacting with APIs, ideally using frameworks like FastAPI, to support data services or integration points.
  
• You are adaptable and quick to learn new technologies as data ecosystems evolve, with a solid understanding of open‑source tools and their trade‑offs compared to proprietary solutions.
  
• You are curious and proactive, always looking to optimise data workflows and improve data quality, while keeping data governance and security top of mind.
  
• While experience with cloud platforms and modern data architectures is a plus, your growth mindset and eagerness to expand your skills are what truly stand out.
  

Due to the nature of our business and requirements of this role, you will need to hold a MoD/Partner DV and be a UK National.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must at a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK.

We are embracing Hybrid Working. This means you and your colleagues may be working in different locations, such as from home, another BAE Systems office or client site, with work potentially occurring at different times of the day. This flexibility helps us balance work and personal life more effectively and enhance well‑being.

At BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, we pride ourselves in being a leader in the cyber defence industry, and Capabilities is the engine that keeps the business moving forward. It is the largest area of Digital Intelligence, containing our Engineering, Consulting and Project Management teams that design and implement the defence solutions and digital transformation projects that make us a globally recognised brand in both the public and private sector.

At BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, we pride ourselves in being a leader in the cyber defence industry. Government contracts are an area we have many decades of experience in. Government and key infrastructure networks are critical targets to defend, as the effects of breaches can be devastating. As a member of the Government business unit, you will defend the connected world and ensure the protection of nations. We all have a role to play in defending our clients, and this is yours.