Director of Data Engineering

Director of Data Engineering

Location: Hybrid – London, Blackfriars

Join us at Merlin Entertainments as we transform the future of digital guest experiences across our iconic global attractions.

We're seeking an experienced Director of Data Engineeringto lead the design, development, and implementation of Merlin's enterprise data architecture and engineering strategy. You'll oversee the data engineering and platform function, with a key focus on building a high-performing team and driving excellence across Databricks-based data platforms.

About the Role

A key focus will be managing the development and operational management of the data platform using Databricks. The successful candidate will also lead a high-performing team of data engineers and platform specialists, fostering collaboration across technical and business teams to deliver innovative solutions that drive value and support data-driven decision-making.

Key Responsibilities as Director of Data Engineering:

• Define and deliver a forward-thinking data engineering and architecture strategy aligned with business and digital goals.
• Lead and mentor a team of data engineers, architects, and platform specialists to foster innovation and excellence.
• Own the development and management of a modern, cloud-native data platform (Databricks), ensuring it’s scalable, secure, and performance-optimised.
• Design and oversee robust data pipelines (ETL/ELT) to enable seamless data ingestion, transformation, and integration.
• Drive best practices around CI/CD, containerisation, and infrastructure-as-code across data operations.
• Champion data governance principles and compliance (GDPR, internal policies), integrating them into engineering workflows.
• Work closely with stakeholders across business, data science, and IT to deliver impactful, fit-for-purpose data solutions.

Requirements as Director of Data Engineering:

• Proven leadership experience in data engineering and platform roles, ideally in a global or fast-paced environment.
• Deep expertise with Databricks and modern data platforms in the cloud (Azure, AWS, or GCP).
• Strong technical background in big data frameworks (e.g., Spark, Kafka), distributed systems, and scalable data architectures.
• Excellent understanding of data governance, security, and privacy, with practical knowledge of GDPR compliance.
• Track record of building and managing high-performing teams and driving transformation initiatives.

Interview Process:

• Recruiter Call
• Hiring Manager Intro
• 1-2 stage Panel Interview

Our recruitment process typically takes around 4-5weeks, but we’re always happy to work around your availability. You’ll have the opportunity to be supported by our external recruitment partner at different stages along the way.

Benefits

We’re growing fast and alongside a fun and friendly environment, we offer a fabulous package and amazing prospects. Benefits include Pension, Life Assurance, discretionary company bonus, 28 days’ holiday and, of course, a Merlin Magic Pass which gives you and your friends and family free admission to all of our attractions worldwide, as well as 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants and 40% discount on LEGO.

At Merlin Entertainments, we’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. Diversity and inclusion are central to how we work — we celebrate individuality and strive to build an environment where everyone can thrive.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer, welcoming applications from all backgrounds and identities, including age, ethnicity, gender, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, family or parental status, religion, and veteran status.