Principal Data Engineer

This is a genuine build-and-lead opportunity — architecting a modern, cloud-first data platform from a position of real influence, while growing and shaping the team that delivers it. You will work across a global, cross-functional community, with the scope to drive data democratisation, governance maturity and AI-readiness across the firm. What you will be doing Design and maintain scalable, secure data lake and lakehouse solutions using Azure Data Lake, Databricks and Delta Lake — built to support real-time insight, advanced analytics and AI/ML at enterprise scale. Develop and optimise batch and streaming ETL/ELT pipelines using Azure Data Factory, PySpark, SQL, Apache Spark and Airflow, integrated with modern tooling like dbt and Git-based CI/CD. Implement data cataloguing, lineage tracking and governance frameworks through Collibra, ensuring data across the enterprise is discoverable, well-documented and compliant. Own the day-to-day leadership, coaching and development of the Data Engineering team within the Global Data Office — supporting recruitment, performance management, skills growth and the adoption of engineering best practices. Work closely with Data Office leadership to define engineering strategy, support delivery planning, and build a high-performing, collaborative engineering culture across a geographically dispersed team. Monitor and tune data jobs for performance, scalability and cost; embed data validation, logging and monitoring to catch issues early and keep the platform reliable. Key Requirements Experience in data engineering, including designing and delivering data lake or lakehouse architectures in an enterprise cloud environment, ideally Microsoft Azure. Hands-on expertise with Databricks, Spark, PySpark, SQL and core Azure Data Services (Data Lake Storage, Synapse Analytics, Data Factory). Experience with data governance and cataloguing tools such as Collibra or -Purview, plus familiarity with the modern data stack (dbt, CI/CD, streaming frameworks). Genuine leadership experience, with a passion for developing people as much as building systems. Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences, and a resilient, proactive mindset suited to a fast-paced, evolving environment. Inclusion Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing. Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account (eg the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision. Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world’s leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and governments on ground-breaking and business critical mandates. At Freshfields we seek to create a better future for our clients, our people and the communities in which we work. Our global teams bring together individuals with different experiences, skills and strengths in a culture where we support all to belong, engage and excel.