Data Engineer

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries.

We connect. We inspire.

The Role

This role, focussed on English and Exams data management, is part of a team of Data Engineers within the Digital and Technology function. It supports enterprise-wide data initiatives by designing, building and maintaining scalable data pipelines, platforms and reusable data assets. The role enables high-quality analytics, reporting and data-driven decision-making through the development of standardised data models and solutions that align with the organisation’s data strategy and corporate data architecture.

The Digital and Technology Directorate leads the British Council’s digital strategy and transformation, driving growth, impact and operational efficiency through technology. Organised across Product, Engineering, Operations and Performance divisions, it delivers customer-focused digital products, platforms and services while ensuring accessibility, security and scalability. Within this structure, the Engineering team brings together Architecture, Software Engineering, QA and Delivery expertise to develop and enhance global products and services, champion best practices, and deliver innovative technology solutions through reuse, buy and build approaches.

Main responsibilities

The role is responsible for designing, building and maintaining complex data pipelines and data flows that integrate operational systems and key data sources, enabling trusted data for analytics, reporting and business intelligence. It delivers scalable batch and streaming data solutions aligned with enterprise architecture and engineering standards, while ensuring solutions are secure, resilient and well documented. The role also promotes the reuse of data assets, patterns and data flows across teams to improve efficiency, reduce duplication and support consistent, high-quality data practices.

Working closely with the English and Exams Data Team and cross-functional teams including Architecture, Product, Delivery, Operations and Performance, the role supports strategic programmes and business priorities across English and Exams, while aligning with the enterprise data governance standards and policies defined by the Data, Evidence and Performance (DEP) function. It champions data engineering best practices, standardisation and continuous improvement, ensuring alignment with organisational data strategy, governance and analytics objectives. The role also contributes to capability building through the creation of technical documentation, training materials and knowledge-sharing resources that strengthen the wider Data Engineering community.

Role specific knowledge and experience

Minimum/essential

• Working knowledge of at least one cloud-based data warehouse platform: AWS Redshift, Azure Fabric/ Synapse, Snowflake, Google BigQuery.
• Create scalable data pipelines to ingest, transform, and serve structured and unstructured data.
• Good working knowledge of SQL and Python for data querying, transformation and processing.
• Design and implement Lakehouse, Data Warehouse, and Medallion architecture solutions.
• Experience with Delta Lake, Parquet, and modern data lake architectures.
• Knowledge of data modelling, performance optimisation, security and data governance.
• Experience delivering enterprise-scale cloud data solutions in Agile environments.
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines using Azure DevOps or GitHub.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, data analysts, architects, and engineering teams to deliver data solutions.
• Data visualisation tools, specifically Power BI or Tableau at an advanced level.
• Experience supporting large change projects/programmes covering digital transformation, multiple technology architecture domains including integration, application and information.
• Knowledge of core business ecosystems (including HR, Finance, Procurement, Contact Centre Management, Service Management, Marketing, Identity, Sales, and Digital and Technology) and experience of their technology related implementations, including coverage for:
• Multi cloud infrastructure and network capabilities - covering Azure, AWS, public and private cloud.
• Experience in Cyber Security best practices, ideally within a UK Government context (OWASP, NCSC, ISO27xxx standards) and experience in architecting to GDPR.

Desirable

• Experience in cloud migration, especially to Microsoft Fabric/Azure.
• Advisory or consulting experience
• Experience of leading projects
• Microsoft certified Data Engineer

Education

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, related discipline; or equivalent experience working in a related field.

Professional Qualification and Certification

• Cloud certified Data Engineer (Microsoft, AWS, etc)

Language Requirements

• The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required.

British Council | Pay Band 8

Location: Noida, India

Department: Digital and Technology

Contract: Indefinite Contract

Apply by: Wednesday, Oct 21st (23:59 local time)

Interview Window: TBD

Please note that candidates must have the pre-existing, legal right to work in India. Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided. British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service. This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community as we believe that a diverse workforce gives added depth to our work. The British Council is a Disability Confident Employer. The Disability Confident scheme helps challenge attitudes, increase understanding of disability and ensure staff are drawn from the widest possible pool of talent. We guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum role requirements. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

Safeguarding Statement

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with. We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989. Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

If you experience any difficulties with submitting your application, please email [email protected]