Job Summary
Join CUH during an exciting phase of innovation in healthcare, research and education as we look to establish and develop a hub for our wide-ranging innovation work across the Trust.
The Research Data Engineer is a key role in this new Unit, contributing to the delivery of advanced data engineering solutions to manage large volumes of data effectively. The role has a particular focus on supporting the technical delivery and implementation of key commercial partnerships, curating viable, deep, longitudinal and anonymised research datasets, with an initial focus on oncology. In doing so, you will support the generation of new insights and cutting-edge applications that enhance patient outcomes, operational efficiency and service transformation.
You will not only display a high degree of technical proficiency, but also be passionate about the potential for data science and engineering to influence real-world healthcare improvements and have a desire to proactively work with multi-disciplinary teams to realise impact from your work.
Our Innovation agenda is nascent but has grand aspirations. We work within a unique ecosystem on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, part of the largest centre of life science and medical research in Europe.
Main duties of the job
Addenbrooke’s is one of the largest single-site hospitals in the country with a mature Epic EHR and plans afoot for new children’s, cancer research and acute hospitals. Our academic partner, Cambridge University, has a global reputation in healthtech, artificial intelligence, engineering, manufacturing and life sciences. Our neighbours on campus include the recently rebuilt Royal Papworth Hospital and Astrazeneca’s global R&D facility, the Discovery Centre. We are collectively brought together through Cambridge University Healthcare Partners, which has been a driving force for the innovation and life sciences agenda nationally.
We recognise that the Trust’s data represents one of our most potent assets to support innovation, as well as research and quality improvement; we have yet to fully exploit its potential. Our new Clinical Data Science and Engineering Unit will be the vital engine room for curating, sharing and utilising our data for novel purposes outside of the routine operations of hospital. It will work collaboratively with the Trust’s core digital and data functions, performance and analytics, clinical and operational staff, academics and commercial partners to discover new insights and develop data-driven applications. It will also play a key role in managing the safe, secure and efficient deployment of such solutions, from predictive analytics to medical device-grade decision support tools, in line with policies and processes that it takes the lead in designing.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or a related field or equivalent
- Evidence of continuous professional development
- Strong specialist knowledge and ongoing education in data engineering
- Advanced qualifications in cloud computing or data engineering or equivalent experience
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience designing and managing enterprise data architectures in a complex organisation
- Proven track record of leading and delivering large-scale data integration, engineering, and analytics projects
- Strong expertise in cloud platforms (e.g. Azure, MS Fabric, AWS) and modern data tools (e.g. Apache Spark, Hadoop)
- Proficiency in programming languages (e.g. Python, SQL, Java)
- Extensive experience in stakeholder management and collaboration across health and local government to drive improvements and change
- Experience in strategic and organisational business planning, including writing and implementing policy, guidance documents, and complex operational business cases
- Experience presenting complex technical material in an accessible format to senior audiences, supporting decision-making
- Experience supporting team activities or mentoring colleagues
- Experience applying for and securing research funding
- Practical experience in data engineering and software development in the NHS
- Experience working with routinely collected clinical data and large-scale NHS data engineering projects
- Experience with AI-supported coding and software development workflows
- Experience working in or with Healthtech SMEs
Knowledge
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of cloud environments and architectures
- Strong understanding of best practices in data engineering, ETL, and data science, including test-driven development, continuous integration, and version control
- Comprehensive understanding of data protection laws (GDPR) and cybersecurity principles
- Knowledge of data governance frameworks and ethical considerations in data use
- Knowledge of common health data models (e.g., OMOP) and healthcare ontologies (e.g., SNOMED CT, ICD-10)
- Experience using machine learning, network analysis, and NLP in healthcare settings
Skills
Essential
- Strong adaptability to new software and programming languages
- Skilled in data management system implementation and optimisation (Databases, Data Lakes, Lakehouses)
- Ability to design and implement data pipelines that extract, process, and analyse sensitive data for decision-making
- Experience with test-driven development and continuous integration in data pipeline designs
- Ability to communicate complex data insights to senior executives, using tact and diplomacy to influence decisions
- Proven ability to manage multiple complex programs efficiently
- Flexibility in workload management, including handling multiple projects with conflicting demands
- Experience participating in and leading Agile project teams
- Self-motivated, detail-oriented, and highly organised
- Ability to conduct statistical analysis, including Bayesian statistics, inferential statistics, probability distributions, and dimensionality reduction
Additional Requirements
Essential
- The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Safe, Kind, Excellent.
- Improvement mindset – able to identify flaws in our internal Quality Management processes, prioritise, and lead / complete improvement actions
- Enthusiasm and commitment to learn new skills
- Accepts responsibility and accountability for own work
- Seeks and uses professional support appropriately
- Able to work under pressure and to deadlines
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Closing Date: 22 January 2026
