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Chris FortCF
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Chris Fort

@chrisfort

Data Engineer at FFT Education who scaled AWS Glue workflows and cut Spark pipeline runtimes by 15–20%.

United Kingdom
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At FFT Education, I designed and maintained AWS Glue ETL/ELT pipelines processing attendance records for schools. I expanded the platform from 30–40 to 150+ Glue jobs and scripts, and targeted Spark optimisations reduced workflow runtime by 15–20% while eliminating recurring process failures.

I introduced Apache Iceberg tables to simplify student record updates and created Spark SQL data-quality workflows that surfaced issues in third-party source data. I also supported application and data teams with PostgreSQL and SQL Server development, including stored procedures, data modelling, and analytical datasets.

Previously, at National Foundation for Educational Research, I processed and prepared pupil records for the Reception Baseline Assessment pilot and built online surveys for research projects. At Learning Plus Data UK, I developed an education data analysis platform, and at Capita Employee Benefits, I worked on pension data migrations and validation.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

FE

Data Engineer

FFT Education

Oct 2021 - Jul 2026 (4 years 9 months)

Designed, developed and maintained production ETL/ELT pipelines using AWS Glue and Python/PySpark, processing 1bn+ attendance records weekly for 9,000+ schools. Led expansion of the data engineering platform from 30-40 to 150+ Glue jobs, optimized Spark performance, and introduced Apache Iceberg tables.

CB

Scheme Data Analyst

Capita Employee Benefits

Jan 2011 - Sep 2013 (2 years 8 months)

Migrated private pension scheme data to in-house administration platforms, developing bespoke SQL queries for data mapping and transformation. Conducted data audits, validation and QA checks, and produced handover documentation.

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

AWS logoAW

AWS

AWS Certified Data Engineer, Data Engineering

2026 -

Ongoing AWS Certified Data Engineer certification, begun in May 2026.

AWS logoAW

AWS

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Cloud Computing

2025 - 2025

Earned the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification.

AXELOS logoAX

AXELOS

PRINCE2 Foundation, Project Management

2019 - 2019

Earned the PRINCE2 Foundation certification.

University of Exeter logoUE

University of Exeter

Master of Arts, Western Esotericism

2008 - 2010

Grade: Merit

Completed a Master of Arts in Western Esotericism with Merit.

University of Hertfordshire logoUH

University of Hertfordshire

Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy

2002 - 2006

Grade: 2:1 Honours

Completed a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy with Second Class Honours (2:1).

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