Lead Solutions & Data Engineer (Kroger)

About the role

As our US business continues to grow, we're looking for a Lead Solutions Engineer to play a key role in designing and delivering the next generation of cloud-based data solutions. This is a hands-on leadership role that combines engineering, solution architecture, and client partnership. You'll work directly with enterprise retail clients, helping them solve complex challenges while guiding the evolution of our data platform to support analytics, automation, and AI-driven use cases.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, delivery, and optimization of end-to-end data solutions.
• Architect scalable, resilient cloud-native data platforms.
• Build and oversee large-scale data pipelines and analytics solutions.
• Partner with clients to translate business challenges into practical technical solutions.
• Guide delivery across complex projects, balancing quality, speed, and long-term sustainability.
• Champion best practices across data engineering, governance, security, and platform reliability.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and identify opportunities to improve performance and accelerate delivery.
• Mentor and coach engineers, fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture.
• Work closely with Product, Delivery, and Customer Success teams to shape solutions.
• Define and uphold engineering and architectural standards.
• Support the growth and development of the engineering team.
• Act as a trusted advisor to clients and a bridge between commercial and technical teams.

Requirements

• Proven experience in data engineering and modern data platforms.
• A background in solution architecture and designing production-ready data solutions.
• Demonstrable expertise in T-SQL and Python.
• Hands-on experience with Databricks and cloud-based data ecosystems.
• Experience delivering complex projects across multiple stakeholders.
• Confidence working directly with customers and influencing senior decision makers.
• The ability to thrive in fast-moving environments where priorities evolve.

Nice to have

• Experience building data platforms that support AI or machine learning workloads.
• Exposure to additional modern data tools, frameworks, or programming languages.

Benefits

• Flexible Working – Enjoy a hybrid work model (typically 2 days in the office) with flexibility based on business needs, plus a work from anywhere policy.
• Time Off – 25 days annual leave (+ bank holidays), increasing with length of service, plus an extra day off for your birthday. Summer hours to make the most of the sunshine.
• Learning & Development – Access a vast range of courses through our learning platform and benefit from structured career progression plans.
• Health & Wellbeing – Private Medical Insurance, a healthcare cash plan, and mental health support via Help@Hand. Workspace assessment for a safe and productive home setup.
• Giving Back – Paid volunteer days, charity donation matching through salary sacrifice, and Give as You Earn.
• Extra Perks – Car purchase scheme, gym discounts, and additional benefits through our online platform.