Freelance Lead Data Architect

Introduction

We are looking for a Lead Data Architect for a large organization in South Holland to design and oversee the architecture of the central data and analytics platform. You will lead the migration to Microsoft Fabric from an architectural perspective and ensure that the platform is scalable, manageable, and cost-effective.

Organization

In the coming years, the organization plans to rely much more on data to guide its decisions. A central data team within IT collects data from a variety of source systems, processes it, and makes it available as data products for areas such as finance, HR, and asset management.

The platform runs on a Lakehouse architecture in Azure, featuring a Medallion structure (bronze, silver, gold) and Delta Lake. The migration from Azure Synapse to Microsoft Fabric is currently underway. Next on the roadmap are performance optimization, data quality, monitoring, and cost management.

The team uses an agile, metadata-driven approach and has limited experience with the new platform. You’ll work closely with data engineers, data analysts, data stewards, and business stakeholders.

Job Information

You are responsible for the platform’s data architecture. You translate the organization’s goals into a target state architecture and the intermediate steps leading to it, and you ensure that the engineers build upon it in a consistent manner. You are the technical authority on design choices, but you remain closely involved in the implementation to conduct reviews and contribute ideas regarding the code.

Core Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and maintain the intermediate and target state architectures for the migration to Microsoft Fabric
• Architectural Management of the Migration: Pipelines, Notebooks, Data Models, and the Design of the Data Warehouse and Database Layers
• Establishing architectural principles, design standards, and patterns for data access, processing, and dimensional modeling
• Designing a data quality framework, monitoring, and observability across the entire data chain
• Establishing cost management (FinOps) and performance guidelines for the platform
• Ensuring security, access control, and governance in collaboration with data stewards and security
• Translate epics into architecture and features; refine the backlog together with the product owner and the engineers
• Implementing CI/CD and DataOps practices with Azure DevOps and Git, including quality and security gates
• Conducting design and code reviews, coaching data engineers, and helping the team reach the next level

Result of the assignment:

• A defined, documented target architecture and migration roadmap for the data platform
• A planned and executed migration to Microsoft Fabric based on this architecture
• Established standards and a functional framework for data quality, monitoring, and cost control
• A team that builds independently and consistently in accordance with the architecture

Job Requirements

• At least 10 years of experience in data engineering or data architecture, including at least 3 years as a (lead) data or solution architect
• Proven experience in designing and further developing data platforms in Azure, using Microsoft Fabric and/or Azure Synapse Analytics
• In-depth knowledge of Lakehouse architecture, Medallion principles, and Delta Lake
• Experience with platform migrations, preferably from Synapse to Fabric
• Strong knowledge of dimensional modeling, SQL, and PySpark
• Experience with data governance, data quality, and security-by-design in a data platform
• Experience with Azure DevOps, Git, and CI/CD principles
• Experience in an agile environment, where you translate epics into architecture and features
• You can explain complex decisions to both engineers and management, and you are proactive and persuasive

Pros

• Experience with data products based on SAP and cloud-based HR systems
• Certifications such as Fabric Data Engineer (DP-700), Fabric Analytics Engineer (DP-600), or Azure Solutions Architect Expert
• Knowledge of TOGAF or ArchiMate
• Experience with metadata-driven development and FinOps in Azure/Fabric

Offer

• Get started as soon as possible
• 6-month assignment
• Expected duration of use: up to 2 years
• 36 hours per week
• Hybrid (days on-site to be determined)

Job Application

Would you like to apply right away? Then click the "Apply" button. Do you have any questions or would you like more information? Feel free to contact Max at max@einvigi.com or call +31(0)38 211 0211.