Lead Data Engineer - Open Source/Azure/Python/Scala/Contract (Inside IR35) 6 months - £650-£750 We're looking for a hands-on, technically heavyweight Lead Data Engineer to step into a high-impact contract role — shaping both the technical direction and the way the team works. This isn't a ticket-taking role. You'll lead from the front: spotting the problems worth solving, identifying better tools or patterns, and delivering well-justified, production-grade solutions. We're working at the intersection of data and AI , solving both greenfield and brownfield challenges with modern cloud tooling. You'll need: -7 years in data engineering -Spark, ADF, Python/Scala – solid hands-on skills -Cloud-first thinking (Azure preferred, but AWS/GCP welcome) -Experience designing end-to-end pipelines at scale -A commercial mindset – you think in terms of business value and cost -AI/ML awareness — you've worked alongside data scientists -A pragmatic, fail-fast, iterate-forward attitude -Confidence to lead, influence, and mentor If you're the kind of contractor who doesn't just do the work, but defines it — let's talk.