Senior Software Engineer

Location: London, UK | Department: Engineering | Work Model: Hybrid (8 days per month onsite) | Position Type: Full-time, Permanent |Industry: Energy Data, Commodities & FinTech |Reports To: Director of Engineering, London | REQ: 0030

Visa Sponsorship: Not available.

About Us:

Founded in 1995, Zema Global Data Corporation empowers organizations to simplify complexity, reduce risk, and make faster, more confident decisions that drive measurable results. Over the past two years, Zema Global has accelerated its growth through strategic investment and acquisition to strengthen our global leadership. Together we’re helping our customers gain a Decisioning Advantage - one bold idea at a time. With a presence across global energy, commodity, and financial markets, Zema Global empowers customers to simplify complexity, reduce risk, and make faster, more confident decisions that drive measurable results. At Zema Global, we Think Big, Make It Happen, and Win as One. We thrive on collaboration, creativity, and respect, united by a shared drive to innovate and deliver meaningful impact for our customers and communities. If you’re inspired by solving complex challenges and contributing to a culture that values purpose and performance, we invite you to join us.

Overview:

Zema Global is embarking on a transformational journey to modernize our data infrastructure through the Data Surface Programme with a strategic vision to build a cloud-native AWS Lakehouse architecture. Zema Global’s Data Surface will enable:

• Unified data governance with full lineage, metadata visibility, and automated quality checks

• Scalable, elastic architecture with decoupled compute and storage optimized for AI/ML workloads

• Enhanced security, compliance, and multi-tenant support with RBAC and encryption

• Real-time and batch data processing supporting both human-in-the-loop and fully automated AI workflows

• Self-service analytics and ML capabilities through open data formats and extensible APIs

• AI and machine learning on our own data through AWS platforms such as Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker, made possible by storing data in open source Apache Iceberg format

We are building a UK-based team to own the technical delivery of this programme. You will collaborate with our global engineering teams across the UK, US, Canada, and India, working with cutting-edge cloud-native technologies to shape the future of commodities data infrastructure as part of an ambitious, forward-thinking organization.

Our team operates using an innovative AI-driven development methodology, leveraging Claude Code to accelerate development cycles and enhance code quality. Working in weekly sprints, you will experience a modern, efficient approach to software engineering that combines the best of agile practices with AI-assisted development tools.

Position Overview:

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer to be a key technical contributor to our Data Surface programme. You will implement critical components of our AWS Lakehouse infrastructure, working with modern cloud-native technologies including Apache Iceberg, Apache Spark, and AWS services to build scalable, reliable data pipelines.

As a Senior Engineer, you will have significant influence over technical decisions, mentor junior team members, collaborate with global colleagues across the UK, US, Canada, and India, and help establish engineering excellence for a greenfield data platform. Working in weekly sprints with Claude Code and AI-assisted development tools, you will contribute to the foundation for Zema Global’s next generation of products and services.

What You'll Bring:

Essential

• 5+ years of software engineering experience with strong focus on data engineering and distributed systems

• Deep expertise in Python and/or Java/Scala for building production data pipelines

• Extensive hands-on experience with AWS services (S3, EKS, Glue, Kinesis, Lambda, EMR, Athena), or equivalent Lakehouse architecture builds.

• Strong experience with Apache Spark for batch and streaming data processing

• Hands-on experience with Apache Iceberg, or an equivalent open table format such as Delta Lake or Hudi, including partitioning, compaction, and table maintenance

• Proficiency in SQL and experience optimizing complex analytical queries

• Solid understanding of data modeling, schema design, and database performance tuning

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and modern DevOps practices

• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to debug complex distributed systems

• Bachelor's in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Desirable

• Familiarity with data governance tools (Apache Atlas, AWS Glue Data Catalog)

• Experience working as an ML engineer, or exposure to AWS AI/ML services such as Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker

• Understanding of SQL query engines (Trino, Presto, Athena, Oracle, Postgres)

• Experience in financial services, commodities, or energy markets, and/or working with timeseries data.

• AWS certifications (Solutions Architect, Developer, etc.)

• Background in migrating Oracle workloads to cloud-native architectures

• Experience with Kubernetes and EKS for container orchestration

• Track record in scale-up or fast-growth technology companies with product-focused delivery

What You'll Be Doing:

• Design and implement data ingestion pipelines from DynamoDB and Oracle into Apache Iceberg tables on S3 using no-code capabilities. Use Claude Code to generate specifications and design documents, and review specifications produced by other team members to ensure AI-generated code accounts for all operational nuances of the technology

• Develop Bronze-Silver-Gold data transformation layers using Apache Spark and AWS Glue

• Build streaming data ingestion from Kinesis/Kafka into the Lakehouse with near-real-time processing

• Implement data quality frameworks, schema validation, and automated monitoring systems

• Create RESTful APIs and data access layers for consuming lakehouse data in downstream applications

• Optimize query performance using Iceberg features (partitioning, clustering, compaction)

• Build the data access and serving layers that allow AWS AI/ML services, including Amazon Bedrock and SageMaker, to consume Iceberg data directly

• Integrate data governance capabilities including metadata management, lineage tracking, and access control

• Collaborate on architectural decisions and contribute to technical design documentation

• Mentor mid-level and junior engineers through code reviews and technical guidance

• Implement infrastructure as code using Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar tools

• Design and deploy containerized applications and data processing workloads on EKS

Why Join Zema Global?

• Global Impact

  Shape the future of energy, commodities, and financial markets through innovative technology.

• Innovation at Scale

  Work with cutting-edge software, advanced analytics, and complex data that solve real-world challenges.

• Career Growth

  Join a fast-growing global organization where your ideas, development, and career progression are valued.

• Exceptional People

  Collaborate with talented colleagues and industry experts across North America, Europe, and Asia.

• Meaningful Ownership

  Take ownership of your work, influence strategic initiatives, and make a measurable impact on our customers and business.

• One Global Team

  Be part of a collaborative culture built on trust, respect, and our values: Think Big. Make It Happen. Win as One.

Application Information

Please submit your CV in PDF format. If your experience aligns with our requirements, our Talent Acquisition team will contact you regarding the next steps.

Please note: *Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.*

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Zema Global is committed to building an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates regardless of background or protected characteristic.