Lead Data & AI Engineer | Lancashire | Up to £85,000

We’re partnering with an established international engineering and manufacturing business to recruit its first senior data hire.

You’ll take ownership of building a group-wide Microsoft Fabric platform, bringing together data from core business systems and giving teams reliable information to support their decisions. This is a hands-on opportunity with real influence over architecture, delivery, and the future direction of the data function. You’ll work directly with senior stakeholders, establish the foundations for trusted reporting, and help introduce conversational AI tools that allow colleagues to ask questions of governed business data.

The Role

You’ll own the platform from requirements through to delivery and ongoing operation. With no dedicated data team currently in place, you’ll need to be comfortable setting priorities, making technical decisions, and getting stuck into the build. Your responsibilities will include:

• Designing, building, and running a Microsoft Fabric platform, including data pipelines, performance, reliability, and running costs.
• Integrating ERP, CRM, HR, and other operational systems across international business entities.
• Working with senior leaders and business teams to agree requirements and maintain a realistic, prioritized delivery backlog.
• Developing shared Power BI semantic models, agreed KPI definitions, and executive and operational reporting.
• Establishing practical standards for data quality, ownership, security, and access.
• Putting source control, CI/CD, automated testing, monitoring, and documentation in place.
• Preparing governed datasets and semantic models for use with conversational AI, working alongside an AI and automation partner.
• Supporting self-service analytics and helping shape the future data team.