About RipjarRipjar was founded by veterans of GCHQ to bring national security-grade intelligence tools to the fight against financial crime. Financial crime funds human trafficking, terrorism, corruption and sanctions evasion on a global scale, and the organisations on the front line need technology built to match the threat. Today, Ripjar's AI-native software and data fusion products are used by governments, the world's largest banks, and global enterprises to automate the detection, investigation and monitoring of serious financial crime. Every day, hundreds of customers and thousands of daily active users rely on the platform to screen hundreds of millions of names for risk in real time, prevent money laundering and stop terrorist financing. If you want your work to matter, this is where it happens.We are a remote first team, with a head office based in Cheltenham. This position is open to UK wide candidates. If you are based near Cheltenham, you are more than welcome to work from our office at any time.About the RoleWe see a Data Engineer as a software engineer who specialises in distributed data systems. You’ll join the Data Engineering team, whose prime responsibility is the development and operation of the Data Collection Hub, a platform that ingests data from many sources, processes/enriches it, and distributes it to multiple downstream systems.We’re looking for someone with 2+ years of industry experience building and operating production software who enjoys working across data pipelines, distributed systems, and operational reliability.What you’ll doEngineer distributed ingestion services that reliably pull data from diverse sources, handle messy real-world edge cases, and deliver clean, well-structured outputs to multiple downstream products.Build high-throughput processing components (batch and/or near-real-time) with a focus on performance, scalability, and predictable cost, using strong profiling and measurement practices.Design and evolve data contracts (schemas, validation rules, versioning, backward compatibility) so downstream teams can build with confidence.Own production quality: write maintainable code, strong unit/integration tests, and add the observability you need (metrics/logs/tracing) to diagnose issues quickly.Improve platform reliability by hardening pipelines against partial failures, retries, rate limits, data drift, and infrastructure issues—then codify those learnings into better tooling and guardrails.Contribute to CI/CD and developer experience: faster builds, better test signal, safer releases, and automated operational checks.Participate in design reviews, code reviews, incident retrospectives, and iterative delivery—making pragmatic trade-offs and documenting them clearly.Technology Stack Languages: Predominantly Python and Node.jsDistributed/data platforms: HDFS, HBase, Spark, plus increasing use of Kubernetes and cloud servicesStorage/search: MongoDB, OpenSearchOrchestration: Airflow, Dagster, NiFiTooling: GitHub, GitHub Actions, Rundeck, Jira, ConfluenceDeployment/config: Ansible (physical), Terraform / Argo CD / Helm (Kubernetes)Development environment: MacBook (typical)RequirementsEssential:2+ years building and operating production software systemsFluency in at least one programming language (Python/Node.js a plus)Experience debugging moderately complex systems and improving reliability/performanceStrong fundamentals: data structures, testing, version control, Linux basicsNice to have:Spark/PySpark experienceHadoop ecosystem exposure (HDFS/HBase)Workflow orchestration (Airflow/Dagster/NiFi)Search/indexing (OpenSearch, MongoDB)Kubernetes and infrastructure-as-codeDegree in Computer Science or numerical degreeBenefitsCompetitive salary DOE25 days annual leave + your birthday off, in addition to bank holidays, rising to 30 days after 5 years of service.Remote workingPrivate Family Healthcare.35 hour working week.Employee Assistance Programme.Company contributions to your pension.Pension salary sacrifice.Enhanced maternity/paternity pay.The latest tech including a top of the range MacBook Pro.
About Ripjar
Ripjar was founded by veterans of GCHQ to bring national security-grade intelligence tools to the fight against financial crime. Financial crime funds human trafficking, terrorism, corruption and sanctions evasion on a global scale, and the organisations on the front line need technology built to match the threat.
Today, Ripjar's AI-native software and data fusion products are used by governments, the world's largest banks, and global enterprises to automate the detection, investigation and monitoring of serious financial crime. Every day, hundreds of customers and thousands of daily active users rely on the platform to screen hundreds of millions of names for risk in real time, prevent money laundering and stop terrorist financing.
If you want your work to matter, this is where it happens.
We are a remote first team, with a head office based in Cheltenham. This position is open to UK wide candidates. If you are based near Cheltenham, you are more than welcome to work from our office at any time.
About the Role
We see a Data Engineer as a software engineer who specialises in distributed data systems. You’ll join the Data Engineering team, whose prime responsibility is the development and operation of the Data Collection Hub, a platform that ingests data from many sources, processes/enriches it, and distributes it to multiple downstream systems.
We’re looking for someone with 2+ years of industry experience building and operating production software who enjoys working across data pipelines, distributed systems, and operational reliability.
What you’ll do
- Engineer distributed ingestion services that reliably pull data from diverse sources, handle messy real-world edge cases, and deliver clean, well-structured outputs to multiple downstream products.
- Build high-throughput processing components (batch and/or near-real-time) with a focus on performance, scalability, and predictable cost, using strong profiling and measurement practices.
- Design and evolve data contracts (schemas, validation rules, versioning, backward compatibility) so downstream teams can build with confidence.
- Own production quality: write maintainable code, strong unit/integration tests, and add the observability you need (metrics/logs/tracing) to diagnose issues quickly.
- Improve platform reliability by hardening pipelines against partial failures, retries, rate limits, data drift, and infrastructure issues—then codify those learnings into better tooling and guardrails.
- Contribute to CI/CD and developer experience: faster builds, better test signal, safer releases, and automated operational checks.
- Participate in design reviews, code reviews, incident retrospectives, and iterative delivery—making pragmatic trade-offs and documenting them clearly.
Technology Stack
- Languages: Predominantly Python and Node.js
- Distributed/data platforms: HDFS, HBase, Spark, plus increasing use of Kubernetes and cloud services
- Storage/search: MongoDB, OpenSearch
- Orchestration: Airflow, Dagster, NiFi
- Tooling: GitHub, GitHub Actions, Rundeck, Jira, Confluence
- Deployment/config: Ansible (physical), Terraform / Argo CD / Helm (Kubernetes)
- Development environment: MacBook (typical)
Requirements
Essential:
- 2+ years building and operating production software systems
- Fluency in at least one programming language (Python/Node.js a plus)
- Experience debugging moderately complex systems and improving reliability/performance
- Strong fundamentals: data structures, testing, version control, Linux basics
Nice to have:
- Spark/PySpark experience
- Hadoop ecosystem exposure (HDFS/HBase)
- Workflow orchestration (Airflow/Dagster/NiFi)
- Search/indexing (OpenSearch, MongoDB)
- Kubernetes and infrastructure-as-code
- Degree in Computer Science or numerical degree
Benefits
- 25 days annual leave + your birthday off, in addition to bank holidays, rising to 30 days after 5 years of service.
- Remote working
- Private Family Healthcare.
- 35 hour working week.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Company contributions to your pension.
- Pension salary sacrifice.
- Enhanced maternity/paternity pay.
- The latest tech including a top of the range MacBook Pro.
We have brought together an experienced team with
the expertise, drive and ambition to change the way Governments and
global institutions fight crime. Blending technological thought leadership, passionate analysis, customer advocacy and entrepreneurial vision we bring a fresh and diverse approach to the ever-changing threat landscape.Now we need your help to grow and continue our journey in developing the very best technology to scale and support analysts working in financial crime, or developers working around the world with our groundbreaking LABYRINTH platform
We have brought together an experienced team with
the expertise, drive and ambition to change the way Governments and
global institutions fight crime. Blending technological thought leadership, passionate analysis, customer advocacy and entrepreneurial vision we bring a fresh and diverse approach to the ever-changing threat landscape.
Now we need your help to grow and continue our journey in developing the very best technology to scale and support analysts working in financial crime, or developers working around the world with our groundbreaking LABYRINTH platform
