Head of Data Engineering

About us

Halfords is a £1.7 billion revenue listed business and the UK’s leading provider of motoring and cycling products and services. With a national network spanning retail, garages, mobile services, digital and B2B, we operate across a uniquely broad and complex customer landscape, supporting customers across the full lifecycle of their motoring and cycling needs.

We are proud to keep the nation moving as trusted experts who love to help.

Our business is evolving into a more integrated, service-led and omnichannel organisation, with over half of our revenue now driven through services. This shift is reshaping how we operate, how we serve our customers and how we use technology and data to drive performance.

This creates a genuine opportunity for leaders who can bring clarity, pace and impact in complex, evolving environments.

Technology at Halfords

Technology at Halfords is being reimagined as we continue our evolution into a truly omnichannel, service-led business.

We are reshaping how technology supports the organisation, moving towards more integrated platforms, clearer architecture and stronger delivery capability across retail, garages, mobile services and B2B.

Data is central to this transformation. We are modernising our data platforms, evolving our engineering capability and building the foundations required to enable advanced analytics, AI and data-driven decision making across the business.

This is an opportunity to shape how data engineering supports Halfords as we scale.

About the role

This is a critical leadership role responsible for shaping and evolving Halfords data engineering capability at a pivotal point in its journey.

You will lead teams that design, build and operate the data platforms and services that underpin analytics, BI and data products. More importantly, you will simplify and evolve a complex, mixed data landscape into a modern, scalable and trusted data platform.

Working closely with the Director of Data, AI and Analytics, you will define the engineering direction, set standards and guide the transition from legacy and fragmented environments towards a more unified, future‑ready architecture, with Databricks at its core.

This is not a role focused purely on governance or theory. It requires someone who can bring clarity to complexity, make pragmatic decisions and lead teams through real-world change, balancing modern engineering practices with the realities of an evolving estate.

Key responsibilities

• Define and lead the data engineering strategy, shaping how data platforms and services are built, scaled and operated across the business
• Drive the evolution of the data landscape, simplifying legacy environments and enabling a transition to modern data platforms
• Lead and develop a high-performing data engineering team, providing technical leadership, coaching and clear direction
• Establish engineering standards and best practice across the data development lifecycle, improving reliability, maintainability and delivery confidence
• Partner with senior stakeholders to prioritise initiatives, shape roadmaps and ensure data services meet the needs of the business
• Oversee the design and delivery of robust, scalable data services that enable analytics, BI and data products
• Define integration patterns and approaches that enable secure, efficient and scalable data exchange across the organisation
• Champion secure and compliant data practices, embedding governance without slowing delivery
• Identify opportunities to improve ways of working, tooling and capability, raising the overall maturity of data engineering over time
• Navigate a blended landscape of legacy and modern platforms, running parallel tracks where needed while driving long‑term simplification

About You

You are an experienced data engineering leader who has operated in complex, evolving environments and understands how to move from fragmented data landscapes to more modern, scalable platforms.

You are as comfortable setting direction as you are engaging with technical detail, and you bring credibility through having built and delivered data engineering solutions yourself earlier in your career.

You will likely bring:

• Strong experience leading data engineering teams and delivering data platforms at scale
• Deep understanding of modern data technologies, particularly Databricks and cloud-based data services
• Experience working across mixed or legacy environments and leading platform or data transformations
• A pragmatic approach to architecture and engineering, focused on outcomes rather than perfection
• The ability to simplify complexity and define clear approaches in ambiguous environments
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence both technical and non-technical audiences
• A track record of building capability, improving standards and developing engineering teams

You will thrive in this role if you:

• Focus on outcomes over process
• Are comfortable working in evolving or transitional environments
• Can bring structure and discipline without slowing delivery
• Are able to prioritise effectively and focus on what will drive the greatest impact
• Reward and benefits
• A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, plus car/car allowance and an annual discretionary bonus
• Pension, life assurance, 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave
• Commitment to your ongoing personal and professional development, supporting you to perform at your best and progress your career at Halfords
• Hybrid working based at our Support Centre, with three days a week on site and two days working from home
• Access to a wide range of colleague discounts across the Halfords product and service portfolio
• Wellbeing and inclusion at the heart of our colleague experience, with access to support resources and active colleague networks across the business
• Diversity & Inclusion
• At Halfords, we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds, embracing diversity within our one Halfords family.

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