Principal Data Platform Engineer

Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations. We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations.

In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track. The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories.

We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work. Principal Engineer – Data Platform Location: Remote (UK-based; Security Clearance Required) A UK Government Security Check (SC) clearance is required for this role.

If you don’t currently hold SC clearance, we can support you in applying, provided you have lived and worked in the UK for a minimum of 5 years. As a Principal Data Platform Engineer, you will define and drive the technical vision, architecture, and evolution of data platforms for a government client. You will operate at a systems and organisational level, shaping how data is ingested, processed, governed, and consumed across multiple teams and services.

This role goes beyond hands-on engineering — it requires deep technical authority, cross-team influence, and strategic decision-making to ensure platforms are secure, scalable, resilient, and aligned to long-term business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Define and own the technical strategy for data platform architecture, balancing short-term delivery with long-term scalability and maintainability. Lead the design of complex, distributed data systems, including batch and real-time processing at scale. Establish platform-wide standards, patterns, and best practices for data engineering, reliability, and security.

Act as a technical authority and mentor, guiding senior and lead engineers across teams. Drive architecture decisions across multiple squads, ensuring alignment with enterprise and government standards.

Requirements

into scalable technical solutions. Ensure high availability, fault tolerance, and low-latency performance across critical data services. Champion engineering excellence, including TDD, BDD, observability, and continuous delivery practices.

Oversee data modelling standards and governance, ensuring consistency, lineage, and integrity across systems. Lead cross-team incident analysis and root cause resolution, driving systemic improvements. Evaluate and introduce new technologies, tools, and frameworks to evolve platform capabilities.

Provide technical leadership in client engagements, influencing decisions and managing senior stakeholder expectations. Ensure operational excellence, including resilience planning, cost optimisation, and platform sustainability.