Senior Data Engineer

Job Description:

The Opportunity:

The Leonardo Cyber & Security Division, one of the three divisions in Leonardo UK, is a pivotal innovator, helping customers deliver and secure their digital transformation. The Cyber & Security Division is at the forefront of supplying technology and services for both civil and defence markets, in both the UK and around the world, to enhance the capabilities of its Customers. Within the Cyber & Security Division is our Data Practice which is where this role is positioned.

Leonardo’s Data practice works across a diverse array of sectors including Defence, Telecommunications, Energy and Finance to help secure national infrastructure in the UK and beyond

What you will do as a Senior Data Engineer

This is a highly rewarding and hands on role with exposure across both traditional and cutting edge enterprise IT as well as bespoke Operational Technology systems. You will be working in a dynamic environment with a team that is motivated to deliver innovative solutions to customers within defence, government and commercial sectors. We are after creative, passionate, technically savvy and personable people to help grow our practice and solve some of the most challenging, exciting and critical challenges to the UK’s digital landscape. This role requires strong expertise in building and managing data pipelines using the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) and Apache NiFi. The successful candidate will design, implement, and maintain scalable, secure data solutions, ensuring compliance with strict security standards and regulations. This is a UK based onsite role with the option of compressed hours.

The role will include:

• Design, develop, and maintain secure and scalable data pipelines using the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) and Apache NiFi.
• Implement data ingestion, transformation, and integration processes, ensuring data quality and security.
• Collaborate with data architects and security teams to ensure compliance with security policies and data governance standards.
• Manage and monitor large-scale data flows in real-time, ensuring system performance, reliability, and data integrity.
• Develop robust data models to support analytics and reporting within secure environments.
• Perform troubleshooting, debugging, and performance tuning of data pipelines and the Elastic Stack.
• Build dashboards and visualizations in Kibana to enable data-driven decision-making.
• Ensure high availability and disaster recovery for data systems, implementing appropriate backup and replication strategies.
• Document data architecture, workflows, and security protocols to ensure smooth operational handover and audit readiness.

What we are looking for

Essential:

• UK DV Clearance or the ability obtain it
• 3+ years of experience working as a Data Engineer in secure or regulated environments.
• Expertise in the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) for data ingestion, transformation, indexing, and visualization.
• Strong experience with Apache NiFi for building and managing complex data flows and integration processes.
• Knowledge of security practices for handling sensitive data, including encryption, anonymization, and access control.
• Familiarity with data governance, data quality management, and compliance standards in secure environments.
• Experience in managing large-scale, real-time data pipelines and ensuring their performance and reliability.
• Strong scripting and programming skills in Python, Bash, or other relevant languages.
• Working knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) with a focus on data security and infrastructure as code.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Detail-oriented with a focus on ensuring data accuracy, quality, and security.
• Proactive problem-solving mindset and ability to troubleshoot complex data pipeline issues.

Desirable:

• Experience working in government, defence, or highly regulated industries with knowledge of relevant standards.
• Experience with additional data processing and ETL tools like Apache Kafka, Spark, or Hadoop.
• Familiarity with containerization and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with monitoring and alerting tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK for data infrastructure.
• Understanding of ML algorithms, their development and implementation
• Confidence developing end-to-end solutions
• Experience with infrastructure as code e.g. Terraform, Ansible

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you don’t tick every box. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

At Leonardo UK, we believe that a diverse and inclusive work environment unlocks our people’s full potential and drives innovation and creativity. We work hard to offer a welcoming, accessible and inclusive place to work for all of our people, creating a culture where everyone can thrive, feel safe and have a sense of belonging and connection. We therefore welcome candidates from all backgrounds and particularly encourage sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our industry, including women, Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and LGBTQI+ individuals to apply.

Security Clearance
You must be eligible for full security clearance. For more information and guidance please visit :

Life at Leonardo

With a company funded benefits package, a commitment to learning and development, and a flexible approach to working hours focused on the needs of both our employees and customers, a career with Leonardo has never offered as many opportunities or been more accessible to as many people.

• Flexible Working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us
• Company funded flexible benefits: Access to private healthcare, dental schemes, Workplace ISA, Go Green Car Scheme, technology and lifestyle options (£500 annual allowance)
• Holidays: 25 days plus bank holidays, option to buy/sell leave and to accrue up to 12 additional flexi leave days per year
• Pension: Award winning pension scheme (up to 10% employer contribution)
• Wellbeing:  Employee Assistance Programme with access to free mental health support, financial wellbeing support and network groups to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to diversity & inclusion (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Reservists, Carers)
• Lifestyle:  Discounted Gym membership, Cycle to work scheme
• Training: Free access to more than 4000 online courses via Coursera
• Referral Incentive: You can earn a reward for successfully referring a friend or family member
• Bonus: Scheme in place for all employees at management level and below

For a full list of our Company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in Aerospace, Defence and Security. Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo has over 45,000 employees, of which 8,000 are based at 8 sites throughout the UK.

At Leonardo UK, we believe that a diverse and inclusive work environment unlocks our people’s full potential and drives innovation and creativity. We work hard to offer a welcoming, accessible and inclusive place to work for all of our people, creating a culture where everyone can thrive, feel safe and have a sense of belonging and connection.

This is a great opportunity to bring your talents and form an integral part of Leonardo’s future. We can help you develop your skills and offer great opportunities to develop and grow, so why not join us.

Primary Location:

GB - Bristol - Coldharbour Lane

Contract Type:

Hybrid Working:

Onsite