Job Description
Established in 1981 with a single store in the Northwest of England, the JD Group is a leading omni-channel retailer of Sports Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with our colleagues working in stores across several retail fascias in many markets around the world.
JD Sports Fashion Plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 and has been a FTSE100 publicly quoted company since 2019 and continues to grow in the UK and internationally.
We want to be the leading global omnichannel retailer in the sports and outdoor industry. To be a part of this successful company and help us to achieve this you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people-led, innovative and customer-focused organisation which provides operational excellence whilst identifying new areas of growth as part of our day to day objectives.
Junior Data Engineer
We are seeking a Junior Data Engineer to support the design, build, and maintenance of data engineering solutions within JD Group. Reporting to a Data Engineering Area Lead and working closely with experienced Data Engineers, you will contribute to the development of data pipelines and datasets that support analytics, reporting, AI, and data product use cases.
This role is ideal for someone early in their data engineering career who is keen to develop strong technical foundations, learn modern data engineering practices, and grow their capability through hands on delivery, coaching, and collaboration.
Responsibilities:
Data Engineering Delivery
Support the development and maintenance of data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and curation of data from a range of source systems
Build and enhance datasets and data models under guidance, ensuring they are accurate and fit for analytics and reporting
Deliver well scoped data engineering tasks from defined backlogs, with support from more senior engineers
Follow agreed development practices and contribute to incremental delivery of data solutions
Take ownership of assigned tasks and see them through to completion
Technical Skills & Engineering Practices
Write clear, maintainable SQL and Python code with guidance and review from senior team members
Apply data engineering standards for version control, documentation, and testing
Learn and use approved data engineering tools, frameworks, and cloud platforms
Support the reuse of common patterns and components within the team
Actively develop understanding of pipeline performance, scalability, and cost considerations
Data Quality, Governance & Operation
Implement basic data quality checks and validation within pipelines
Ensure datasets adhere to agreed governance, security, and access control standards
Maintain accurate documentation for pipelines, data models, and datasets
Support monitoring, incident investigation, and resolution of data issues
Learn operational best practices to help maintain reliable data pipelines
Collaboration & Communication
Work closely with Data Engineers, analysts, BI developers, and data scientists to understand requirements
Participate in team ceremonies, design discussions, and code reviews
Communicate progress, questions, and issues clearly to your Area Lead and peers
Be open to feedback and actively apply it to improve quality and delivery
Learning & Development
Build core data engineering skills through hands on delivery, training, and mentoring
Develop understanding of the business domain and how data supports decision making
Learn modern data engineering patterns, tools, and best practices
Contribute to knowledge sharing within the team as experience grows
Work towards readiness for progression into a Data Engineer role
Role Objectives & KPIs
Timely and accurate delivery of assigned data engineering tasks
Increasing independence and quality of delivered work over time
Well documented, reliable contributions to data pipelines and datasets
Positive feedback from peers and managers on collaboration and learning
Consistent adherence to data engineering standards and best practices
Demonstrable progression in technical capability and confidence
Skills and Experience
Data Engineering experienc
Working knowledge of SQL and basic Python
Understanding of relational data concepts and data modelling fundamentals
Experience working with cloud data platforms or warehouses (ideally GCP)
Familiarity with version control (e.g. Git) and basic development workflows
Strong desire to learn modern data engineering tools and practices
Ability to follow instructions, ask questions, and learn from feedback
Strong attention to detail and commitment to data quality
We know our colleagues work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits including staff Discount On JD Group and other brands within the organisation and personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work.
Thank you for your time
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