About

On this page you will learn about what Data Engineers and Analytics Engineers do at the Ministry of Justice. On the left hand side, there are additional pages for how to contact us, and join us.

Data Engineers and Analytics Engineers

Data engineering and analytics engineering are two distinct but closely related fields. Data engineers primarily deal with collection, transformation, and storage of raw data. They design and maintain data pipelines that enables data processing, ensuring data quality, scalability, and reliability. Lots of people like to use the term ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) when speaking about what data engineers do.

Analytics engineering is about utilising data to extract valuable insights. Analytics engineers work on building data models and developing code-based solutions to answer specific business questions. They bridge the gap between data engineering and data analysis, enabling data scientists and analysts to effectively interpret and visualise data.

To oversimplify the difference between the two, data engineers set the foundations of data pipelines, while analytics engineers add the layer of analysis and interpretation that helps decision-making.

The Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. We work to protect and advance the principles of justice. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society. You can find out more about the Ministry of Justice, our responsibilities and priorities on our website.

About Data Engineers and Analytics Engineers and the Ministry of Justice

Our beginnings

In 2017, MoJ Digital began developing the Analytical Platform as part of a move to modernise how data was accessed and used for analysis, providing analysts with modern tooling and cloud infrastructure. Recognising the changing skills needed to support this approach, MoJ established Data Engineering as a profession, initially through internal transfers. Data Engineers brought data from operational source systems into curated tables on the Analytical Platform, making it readily available for analysis. The Analytical Platform became operational in mid 2018. By early 2019, the first daily pipelines went live.

In 2022, MoJ established Analytics Engineering as a distinct profession. While Data Engineers and analysts were already creating derived tables, Analytics Engineers formalised and developed this capability, taking responsibility for transforming source data into reusable, analysis-ready datasets.

Here and now

Data engineers and analytics engineers are a core part of the digital future at the Ministry of Justice. With over forty staff, they are primarily found within the Data Science and Data Engineering division; however, many data engineers and analytics engineers also work in other parts of the Ministry of Justice and its arms-length bodies.

We are responsible for maintaining many of the data pipelines we have already established at the Ministry of Justice for courts, prison and probation datasets. As well as emerging areas of data, such as electronic monitoring.