Senior Data Engineer (1 role available), Data Directorate, Ministry of Justice (Ref:90178)

This is a great opportunity to work with leading cloud technology and help change the way data is used in the public sector. Data engineers at MoJ play a critical role in our mission to put data at the heart of decision-making. We're looking for people with the drive to develop a deep understanding of data needs and data availability across specific areas of the Ministry of Justice. You will work in a team of Data Engineers, alongside Analytics Engineers, to bridge the gap between data producers and data users, developing analytical pipelines and self-service tools to acquire and transform data, making it available on our Analytical Platform.
As a Senior Data Engineer your work might involve:
+ designing and building robust and scalable automated data flows to connect operational systems, data for analytics and business intelligence (BI) systems
+ recognising opportunities to reuse and re-engineer data flows to enable scaling and repeatable use
+ designing and writing ETL (extract, transform, load) scripts and code to ensure the ETL process performs optimally
+ working with data users to understand and translate their needs into technical requirements
+ using a range of AWS services to deploy your solutions in a reproducible, sustainable manner
+ using infrastructure-as-code to deploy AWS cloud infrastructure
+ developing and optimising code, tools and services that enable people to use data effectively
You may also be expected to carry out the following day to day activities:
+ designing and maintaining technical documentation
+ creating and promoting best practices within the team and wider
+ responding to incident reports, ensuring relevant prioritisation and detail to allow for effective investigation
+ developing novel solutions to fit the needs of a range of stakeholders
+ supporting the Ministry of Justice's Analytical Platform users to use our data and tools
+ initiating team-building and development initiatives
+ line managing a more junior colleague
About you
We welcome applications from anyone with the skills we consider to make a good data engineer. You may not currently be in a data engineering role and that's ok. Many of our team members have a background in analysis, software engineering, data science, and more.
Essential Skills
You’ll have a demonstrable passion for Data Engineering, with the following skills or some experience in:
+ Python
+ automated testing, for example with pytest
+ version control tools, such as git
+ working with a range of data sources
+ working with data, such as data wrangling, analysis or manipulation
+ SQL
+ communicating with stakeholders, and translating user needs into technical requirements
Desirable skills
It's a bonus if you also have experience of:
+ Kubernetes and container-based workflows
+ continuous integration and deployment tools, such as GitHub Actions
+ cloud infrastructure, especially AWS, and infrastructure as code tools, such as Terraform
+ orchestration systems, such as Airflow
+ big data tools, such as Spark
+ data transformation tools, such as dbt
+ Data Lake table formats, such as Iceberg
We make our workplace as inclusive as we can. Find out more about how we support equality and diversity.
Location
We welcome applications from candidates based across the UK. Candidates will have the option of being based in the Leeds or London HQ offices (with flexible working arrangements available) or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office: see this map for more details.
Recruitment process
You'll need to apply online by submitting:
+ an anonymised CV, including career history, responsibilities, and achievements
+ a cover letter, explaining why you're the right person for the job and how you meet the criteria above – this should be no longer than 750 words
There will be an initial sift of applicants, comparing submitted evidence against the ‘About you’ criteria. We’ll assess your application and get back to you in around two weeks to let you know if we’d like to invite you to an interview.
The interview
There will be one interview, covered in two sections, which will include a technical exercise and assessment of civil service behaviours. The interview will take place via Microsoft Teams.
The purpose of the technical exercise is to test your technical skills. The exercise will last one hour and will involve completing some scenario-based tasks using Python. More information on the exercise will be provided to candidates invited to interview.
In the second section of the interview, candidates will be assessed against the following civil service behaviours:
+ Changing and Improving
+ Managing a Quality Service
You can find out more about behaviours via the Civil Service Success Profiles.
We recommend that you use the STAR approach – situation, task, action, and result – when structuring your answers. Further information can be found on the National Careers Service website.
Interviews are likely to take place in October 2024. The highest scoring candidates who pass the interview will be offered a role. If you do well at the interview but we don't offer you a role right now, we'll keep your details for a year and let you know if other opportunities come up. The whole process can take up to a month.
Further information
If you require any additional information about the role, please contact:
dmet-dataplatform-recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk.
You can also ask questions at the webinar on Monday 2nd September - sign up link here., This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
+ Access to learning and development
+ A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
+ A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
+ A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
+ Annual Leave
+ Public Holidays
+ Season Ticket Advance
For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.
Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ