Data Engineer

Closing Date

2026-07-31

Job Title: Data Engineer

Location: Durrington, Worthing (Hybrid/Flexible)

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37

Salary: Up to £47k depending on skills and experience

About the role:

We’re looking for a Data Engineer to join our Data & Analytics team as we embark on an exciting transformation in how we manage and use data across Southern Water.

This role sits at the heart of our data strategy, helping to improve how we manage, govern and utilise data to drive better outcomes for our customers and the business. Working within a collaborative, forward-thinking team, you’ll play a key role in building and scaling our modern data platform on Microsoft Azure.

What you will be responsible for:

• As a Data Engineer, you’ll design, build and optimise data solutions that enable secure, scalable and high-quality data across the organisation.
• Build and maintain ELT pipelines to ingest, transform and load data into the Southern Water Delta Lake
• Automate and manage data pipelines using Azure Data Factory and Databricks, ensuring reliability and performance
• Design and implement scalable data models to support analytics, reporting and machine learning use cases
• Apply data governance, quality and security best practices using tools such as Unity Catalog, Purview and Key Vault
• Collaborate with data scientists, analysts, DevOps and business stakeholders to deliver aligned data solutions
• Monitor, troubleshoot and optimise data pipelines to improve performance, scalability and cost-efficiency

Additional Requirements specific to the role

• Hybrid working with occasional travel to Durrington office
• Participation in team collaboration and delivery sessions as required
• No regular standby or rota requirements

What you’ll bring to the role:

Essential

• Experience working with Azure data services including Databricks and Azure Data Factory
• Strong programming skills in SQL and at least one of Python, Scala, Bash or PowerShell
• Proven experience in data engineering, including building pipelines, data modelling and working with large datasets
• Understanding of data warehousing principles, big data architectures and performance optimisation
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to deliver complex solutions

Desirable

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate or Azure Fundamentals
• Databricks Data Engineer certification or experience working in a similar environment

Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed.

You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation

At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.

If this role isn’t quite what you’re looking for but are keen to be contacted about opportunities at Southern Water, you can register your details here: Introduce Yourself (myworkdaysite.com- Introduce Yourself)

Additional information:

In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years.

Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all pre‑employment checks, including security vetting.

Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment.

Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.