Senior Data Engineer / Developer (Remote, Full-Time) [HR221]

About Smart Working

At Smart Working, we believe your job should not only look right on paper but also feel right every day. This isn’t just another remote opportunity - it’s about finding where you truly belong, no matter where you are. From day one, you’re welcomed into a genuine community that values your growth and well-being.

Our mission is simple: to break down geographic barriers and connect skilled professionals with outstanding global teams and products for full-time, long-term roles. We help you discover meaningful work with teams that invest in your success, where you’re empowered to grow personally and professionally.

Join one of the highest-rated workplaces on Glassdoor and experience what it means to thrive in a truly remote-first world.

About the Role

As a Senior Data Engineer / Developer, you will take primary ownership of data across the business, delivering end-to-end data engineering solutions and supporting backend development. This is a senior, hands-on role with approximately 75% of your time focused on data engineering and 25% on backend development.

You will work closely with the CFO on financial analysis and reporting, alongside two existing developers where deeper application development is required. You will be responsible for improving the existing data environment, supporting financial operations and delivering practical solutions that improve efficiency and business visibility.

The role requires someone who can work independently, take ownership from concept through to production and make commercially sensible technical decisions. This is primarily a data ownership and engineering position rather than a reporting-focused or data analyst role.

Responsibilities

• Take end-to-end ownership of data across the business, independently managing requirements from concept through to production.

• Collaborate with two existing developers where deeper application development is required.

• Prioritise payroll-related data requirements and develop a new invoicing system to automate the existing highly manual invoicing process.

• Assess the legacy SQL database and wider Azure data environment, recommending and implementing practical improvements.

• Build and maintain data pipelines and integrations across Azure, HubSpot, Xero and Stripe.

• Analyse club financial performance and membership utilisation, producing reports for clubs and internal dashboards.

• Combine HubSpot and financial data to provide visibility into campaign costs, customer acquisition costs and overall business costs.

• Develop data services, REST APIs and backend functionality to integrate data and insights into the application, accounting for approximately 25% of the role.

• Maintain the existing Power BI environment and evaluate its suitability against cost and reporting requirements, recommending alternative tools where they provide better value.

• Automate manual business processes and data handling using Power Automate or other appropriate tools.

• Work closely with the CFO and leadership to translate financial and business requirements into practical data solutions.

• Deliver meaningful analysis against established business KPIs, supporting financial reporting and decision-making.

• Evaluate technical approaches pragmatically, prioritising improvements to existing systems where appropriate rather than unnecessary rebuilds.

• Handle sensitive payroll and financial information responsibly, maintaining appropriate confidentiality and care.

Requirements

• Strong SQL and T-SQL expertise, including data modelling and experience improving legacy SQL databases.

• Hands-on experience building and maintaining data pipelines and integrations within Microsoft Azure, including Azure SQL, Azure Data Factory and Azure Data Lake Storage.

• Commercial backend development experience, including REST API development, system integrations and Git.

• Strong Power BI experience, including DAX, Power Query / M, Dataflows and Paginated Reports.

• Ability to evaluate Power BI costs, limitations and alternative business intelligence solutions without being dependent on a single tool.

• Experience automating business processes and data workflows, with the ability to deliver practical automation solutions.

• Proven ability to translate business and financial requirements into working data engineering solutions.

• Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of data engineering requirements, from initial concept through to production delivery.

• Strong data engineering expertise combined with genuine backend development capability, suitable for a role split approximately 75% data engineering and 25% backend development.

• Experience working with existing or legacy data environments and identifying pragmatic improvements.

• Excellent spoken English communication skills, with the ability to explain technical work and sensitive financial information clearly to the CFO and senior leadership.

• Ability to work independently, take initiative and deliver solutions without relying on detailed specifications.

• Collaborative approach to working with a small development team while maintaining ownership of individual deliverables.

• Commercial awareness and sound technical judgement, including the ability to recommend more cost-effective tools or approaches.

• Trustworthiness and discretion when handling confidential payroll, financial and business information.

Nice to Have

• Experience working with financial processes and systems, including payroll, invoicing, billing automation, Xero or Stripe.

• Experience in financial modelling and forecasting.

• Experience with .NET and Azure application development.

• Experience working with HubSpot data, marketing cost analysis or marketing attribution.

• Familiarity with Metabase or other business intelligence and reporting tools.

• Experience using Fivetran.