Data Engineer

We are seeking a talented and experienced Data Engineer to join our innovative and collaborative Database and AI Team. In this role, you will play a key part in shaping our data strategy and driving business success. Your skills will contribute directly to our forward-thinking initiatives. At Acorn we value and prioritise innovation, teamwork, and continuous development.

Key part of this role is to support our strategic data goals, ensuring system resilience and performance, and building secure, scalable database architectures.

Job Title: Database Engineer

Location: Liverpool City Centre on a hybrid working basis

Salary: £65,000 - £70,000 depending on experience

Working hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm

What you will be doing:

• Design and implement robust data ingestion pipelines for unstructured data using modern data engineering tools and frameworks.
• Develop and maintain scalable storage solutions (e.g., data lakes, NoSQL databases) optimized for unstructured data.
• Collaborate with data scientists, analysts, and software engineers to ensure data availability, quality, and usability.
• Apply data parsing, extraction, and transformation techniques (e.g., NLP, OCR, image/audio processing).
• Implement data governance, metadata management, and data cataloging for unstructured data assets.
• Monitor and optimize data workflows for performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy and security standards.
• Share knowledge and mentor team members
• Stay ahead of the curve with the latest database technologies
• Experience of real time cloud streaming solutions

What we are looking for:

• Experience dealing with unstructured data including voice, chat, image
• Proven ability to manage secure, high-performance database environments
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• A passion for continuous learning and innovation

Desirable skill:

• Databricks
• Azure Fabric
• Confluent/Apache Flink Knowledge

Grow with Acorn

At Acorn Insurance, we’re proud of our Liverpool roots — and even prouder of how far we’ve come. As part of the Acorn Group, we bring over 40 years of specialist insurance expertise to the table. From humble beginnings, we’ve grown into a national leader, now employing 1,700+ people across the UK and reached a milestone £750 million in total value of insurance policies written in 2024.

We’re growing fast, with new opportunities emerging every week. That growth is largely due to the values we share:

• 🦏 We run through walls for our customers and each other
• 🐐 We challenge the status quo
• 🐧 We succeed when we help those around us succeed
• 🐆 We decide quickly when the smart thing to do is use our judgement

Benefits:

• 🌴 A maximum of 35 days’ holiday (including bank holidays) with additional buy/sell options
• 🧠 24/7 mental health support & free counselling available
• ☝ Grow with us: Through career fairs, leadership programs, and learning on the go!
• 💸 Flexible benefits, including early access to salary via our internal platform
• 🏡 Hybrid working options to support work-life balance and individual needs
• 🎉 Recognition awards, social events & more

Our Commitment to our colleague’s:

These aren’t just words — they’re the principles we live by. And we’re proud to back them up with real action, earning recognition and accreditation from leading organisations that share our commitment to people and growth:

• 🧠 Mindful Employer – championing mental health and wellbeing
• ♿ Disability Confident Level 1 & 2 – creating accessible, inclusive opportunities
• 🌸 Menopause Friendly accredited – supporting every stage of life
• 🎖️ Armed Forces Covenant signatory – honouring those who serve
• 🏆 Great Places to Work 2024/25 – fostering an engaging and positive workplace culture
• 📈 Best Place to Work for Development – proud to be investing in people’s future
• 👩‍💼 Best Place to Work for Women – breaking down barriers to women's career progression

If you’re looking for a company with a strong culture, real career progression, and a people-first approach — all rooted in the heart of Liverpool — Grow with Acorn.

A Few Things to Know Before You Apply

We’re really excited that you’re considering joining Acorn! To help everything go smoothly, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

If your application is successful, we will commence relevant employment checks prior to you commencing employment with us. These will include a standard criminal record check and an insolvency register check.

🌍 Visa Requirements

Because our training is quite comprehensive, we can only consider applicants who have at least one year remaining on their Graduate or Post-Study Work visa. At the moment, we’re not able to offer visa sponsorship.

💬 We’re Here to Support You

We’re committed to creating an inclusive, supportive workplace where everyone can flourish. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process—or once you’re part of the team—just let us know. Whether it’s flexible hours, adapted equipment, or a bit of extra support, we’ll work with you to make sure you can do your best work.