Engineer the Quantum RevolutionYour expertise can help us shape the future of quantum computing at Oxford Ionics.

View Open Roles

Lead Data Governance Engineer

Canonical
Greater London
3 weeks ago
Applications closed

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Lead Data Governance Engineer

Data Governance Lead

Lead Data Engineer

Lead Data Engineer, London

Lead Data Engineer, London

Lead Data Engineer

Canonical is a leading provider of open-source software and operating systems for global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with + colleagues in more than 80 countries and very few office-based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder led, profitable and growing.


We are hiring a Lead Data Governance Engineer with focus on data governance policies, processes, standards, and monitoring in compliance with internal policies and applicable regulatory frameworks, e.g., GDPR, DPA, ISO, etc. A successful candidate will develop Python-based tooling to automate the operations of an internal data mesh solution such as data labeling and quality metrics in a data, access management and data security best practices.


The Data Governance team in the Commercial Systems unit has a mission to enable a secure and well-governed access to comprehensive data sets originating at many internal and external data sources formed in a data mesh. The team works with well-known open-source data governance tools such as Trino and Ranger, defines and executes data governance processes, and democratizes the data at Canonical.


Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region.


The role entails

Define, monitor, and execute data governance policies


Design, implement, and maintain tooling for automated data mesh operations
Deploy and operate services developed by the team
Depending on your seniority, coach, mentor, and offer career development feedback
Develop and evangelize great engineering and organizational practices

What we are looking for in you

Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university


Undergraduate degree in a technical subject or a compelling narrative about your alternative chosen path
Track record of going above-and-beyond expectations to achieve outstanding results 
Experience with data quality, governance, and security processes and tools
Experience with software development in Python and SQL
Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills
Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments 
Ability to travel internationally twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long

Nice-to-have skills

Performance engineering and security experience


Experience with Airbyte, Ranger, Superset, Temporal, or Trino

What we offer colleagues


We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognize outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.

Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person


Personal learning and development budget of USD 2, per year
Annual compensation review
Recognition rewards
Annual holiday leave
Maternity and paternity leave
Employee Assistance Program
Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long haul company events

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

Pre-Employment Checks for Data Science Jobs: DBS, References & Right-to-Work and more Explained

Pre-employment screening in data science reflects the discipline's unique position at the intersection of statistical analysis, machine learning innovation, and strategic business intelligence. Data scientists often have privileged access to comprehensive datasets, proprietary algorithms, and business-critical insights that form the foundation of organisational strategy and competitive positioning. The data science industry operates within complex regulatory frameworks spanning GDPR, sector-specific data protection requirements, and emerging AI governance regulations. Data scientists must demonstrate not only technical competence in statistical modelling and machine learning but also deep understanding of research ethics, data privacy principles, and the societal implications of algorithmic decision-making. Modern data science roles frequently involve analysing personally identifiable information, financial data, healthcare records, and sensitive business intelligence across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks simultaneously. The combination of analytical privilege, predictive capabilities, and strategic influence makes thorough candidate verification essential for maintaining compliance, security, and public trust in data-driven insights and automated systems.

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Launch Your Career in Data Science: The UK's Analytics Revolution

The United Kingdom stands at the forefront of a data science revolution that's reshaping how businesses make decisions, governments craft policies, and society tackles its greatest challenges. From the machine learning algorithms powering London's fintech innovation to the predictive models guiding Manchester's smart city initiatives, Britain's transformation into a data-driven economy has created an unprecedented demand for skilled data scientists that far outstrips the available talent. If you've been contemplating a career transition or seeking to position yourself at the cutting edge of the digital economy, data science represents one of the most intellectually stimulating, financially rewarding, and socially impactful career paths available today. The convergence of big data maturation, artificial intelligence mainstream adoption, business intelligence evolution, and cross-industry digital transformation has created the perfect conditions for data science career success.

Automate Your Data Science Jobs Search: Using ChatGPT, RSS & Alerts to Save Hours Each Week

Data science roles land daily across banks, product companies, consultancies, scaleups & the public sector—often buried in ATS portals or duplicated across boards. The fix: put discovery on rails with keyword-rich alerts, RSS feeds & a reusable ChatGPT workflow that triages listings, ranks fit, & tailors your CV in minutes. This copy-paste playbook is for www.datascience-jobs.co.uk readers. It’s UK-centric, practical, & designed to save you hours each week. What You’ll Have Working In 30 Minutes A role & keyword map spanning Core DS, Applied/Research, Product/Decision Science, NLP/CV, Causal/Experimentation, Time Series/Forecasting, MLOps-adjacent & Analytics Engineering overlaps. Shareable Boolean searches for Google & job boards that strip out noise. Always-on alerts & RSS feeds that bring fresh UK roles to you. A ChatGPT “Data Science Job Scout” prompt that deduplicates, scores match & outputs ready-to-paste actions. A simple pipeline tracker so deadlines & follow-ups never slip.