Data Engineering and Technology Specialist

Data Engineering and Technology Specialist
Division – Enforcement Market Oversight
Department – Market Oversight Data & Intelligence (MODI)

Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £67,100 to £82,000 and London £73,700 to £90,000 per annum (Salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

About the FCA
The FCA regulates the conduct of 45,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive. Follow this link to find out more About the FCA.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Market Oversight (MO) Directorate is responsible for overseeing the conduct of participants in the primary and secondary markets through the listing, prospectus and market abuse regimes. The mission of the Division is to promote the conduct that supports trusted, orderly and efficient primary and secondary markets in the UK which work in the interests of all participants and stakeholders.

The Market Oversight Data & Intelligence (MODI) Department has an established Data Engineering and Technology Team (DET) comprises a team of specialists in software engineering, data science, project management and big data. The purpose of DET can be summarised as follows:

• Deliver insight to Market Oversight (MO) & the wider FCA through exploitation of MO Datasets

• Continue to be a leading Data Engineering and Science Team

• Coordinate Technical deliveries across the Market Oversight Directorate

What will you be doing?
As a Technical Specialist in the DET team, you will be working with one of the largest, most comprehensive wholesale market datasets in Europe. Using latest cloud and big-data technologies, you will use data engineering and science techniques to deliver insights to market surveillance analysts where you own the process from reshaping the data, all the way to examination output or dashboard production. Your work will enhance Market Oversight’s (MO) ability to understand and proactively monitor the UK’s Wholesale Markets through the following core activities of this role:

• Develop analytical tools to improve MO’s monitoring capabilities, focusing on systemically important asset classes, particularly FICC (Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities)

• Provide technical guidance for the MO Tech Stack by proposing solutions and influencing design judgements within the team and across the FCA

• Act as a subject matter expert (SME) on FCA-wide projects, ensuring successful outcomes for FICC markets impacting the MO Tech Stack

• Collaborate with Data Technology & Innovation colleagues to develop and maintain MO’s data ecosystem, enabling efficient data processing and storage for analytical solutions

• Perform systematic and ad-hoc analytics to detect potential market abuse, such as insider dealing and market manipulation

• Partner with surveillance analysts to enhance surveillance and analytics platforms, expanding coverage of FICC markets and uncovering insights into market participant behaviour

What will you get from the role?

• Opportunity to manage the technical delivers in an existing team with a proven delivery track record and strong reputation within the FCA

• You’ll be supported by a team of experienced data practitioners with many years of experience

• Influence how the FCA uses data engineering and science methods to enhance how it operates and evaluates markets - this will help the organisation be more effective which benefits UK consumers

• Work with Market experts to investigate and examine significant market events and supporting ongoing investigations into potential misconduct

• Various training opportunities to upskill in data science and enhance knowledge of financial markets

• Be part of the Department’s senior management team

Which skills are required?

We are a Disability Confident Employer; therefore, disabled people or individuals with long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. (To learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here)

Minimum

• Experience with big-data technologies (e.g. AWS Redshift, Apache SPARK, Elastic Map Reduce etc.) and using at least two of the following languages: Scala, Python, SQL

• Experience applying data science techniques, or deploying data engineering solutions, in the Financial Services industry especially with trading and market data

• Experience of FICC financial markets and products from a trading or compliance (eg MAR) perspective

Essential

• Demonstrate strong organisational skills, managing multiple workstreams effectively by prioritizing and resolving issues promptly

• Present new ideas and outcomes clearly and concisely to stakeholders across all seniority levels while building strong relationships

• Show a willingness to quickly learn and apply new tools and techniques as needed

• Provide guidance and work collaboratively within a diverse team of technical and non-technical professionals

• Support team development by sharing expertise in FICC markets and Data Engineering

• Exhibit critical and unassisted thinking while being capable of self-teaching

• Leverage experience with visualisation and dashboard tools, such as Tableau and Spotfire, to communicate insights effectively

Our Values & Diversity

We are proud to be an inclusive employer and our ambition is to cultivate a culture for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.

Within the workplace you will have access to various employee resource groups which aim to promote and achieve a healthy work / life balance and support our diversity ambitions.

Did you know? 50% of our Executive Committee were the first in their family to attend university.

The FCA is committed to achieving greater diversity across all levels of the organisation. Given this, we particularly welcome applications from women, minority ethnic, disabled, and neurodivergent candidates for our technical specialist role.

Benefits of working at the FCA

• 28 days holiday per year plus bank holidays

• Hybrid working (work from home up to 60% of your time)

• Private healthcare with Bupa 

• A non-contributory Pension of at least 8%

• Life assurance

• Income protection

We also have a competitive flexible benefits scheme which gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle.

We welcome applications from candidates who are looking for flexible arrangements.  Many of our staff work flexibly including working part-time, staggered hours, and job shares.  We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want but we can explore what might work best for both sides.

Follow this link to see what life is like at the FCA - Life at the FCA

Application Support

We are dedicated to removing barriers and ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, or condition requiring changes to the recruitment process, please contact your recruiter using the details below and they will be happy to discuss this further with you.

Useful Information and Timeline

• This role is graded as: Technical Specialist – Regulatory

• Advert Closing Date: 28th January 2025

• First Round Case Study Assessment: W/C 10th February

• Competency Based Interview: From 18th February

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time. 

Got a question?

If you are interested in learning more about the role, please contact: 

• For internal applicants, please contact Sara Holland at [email protected]  

• For external applicants, please contact Aaron Ward at [email protected]  

Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted