Data Engineer

Job Title: Data Engineer (Warehouse, BI & SQL DBA)

Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Duration: 6 months

Position Purpose: Our client is seeking a Data Engineer (Warehouse, BI & SQL DBA) to join our Scottsdale-based team and own our end-to-end Microsoft data platform—from database design and administration, through reliable data pipelines, into a governed enterprise Data Warehouse/Lake-house (Azure Synapse and/or Microsoft Fabric), and ultimately enabling analytics and reporting in Power BI. This role blends hands-on SQL Server/Azure SQL engineering and DBA responsibilities with modern ELT/ETL development, dimensional modeling, performance tuning, security, and data governance. You will partner closely with application teams, business stakeholders, and analytics users to deliver trusted, well-documented datasets and scalable solutions that support operational and strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and administer SQL Server and Azure SQL databases, including schema design, indexing strategies, constraints, and data integrity controls.
• Own core DBA functions: backup/restore, HA/DR, patching and upgrades, capacity planning, monitoring/alerting, and routine maintenance.
• Build and optimize ELT/ETL pipelines using Microsoft tooling (e.g., Azure Data Factory/Synapse Pipelines and/or Fabric Data Factory), integrating data from on-prem and cloud sources.
• Develop scalable transformation patterns using T-SQL and Spark (where applicable), implementing repeatable, testable data-processing frameworks.
• Design and manage the enterprise Data Warehouse/Lakehouse, including dimensional modeling (star/snowflake), incremental loads, historization (SCD), and semantic layer alignment for BI.
• Administer and optimize Azure Synapse and/or Microsoft Fabric (Lakehouse/Warehouse), including workspace organization, resource governance, and performance/cost tuning.
• Enable Power BI reporting by delivering curated datasets, developing and supporting semantic models, and partnering with analysts on performance, refresh strategies, and best practices.
• Implement data quality, reconciliation, and observability (logging, lineage, SLAs), and drive root-cause analysis for data issues across pipelines and reporting.
• Establish and enforce security and governance controls (RBAC, least privilege, encryption, PII handling, auditability) across databases, lakehouse/warehouse, and BI.
• Automate deployments and operations using Git-based workflows and CI/CD (Azure DevOps/GitHub), including infrastructure-as-code where appropriate.
• Create technical documentation for data models, source-to-target mappings, operational runbooks, and support procedures.
• Collaborate with application engineering, product, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into reliable data products and deliver iteratively in an Agile environment.

Experience/Qualifications:

• 6+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering and/or data warehouse engineering, including building production-grade pipelines and curated datasets.
• 4+ years administering and tuning SQL Server and/or Azure SQL (query optimization, indexing, security, backup/restore, and maintenance).
• Strong proficiency with T-SQL, relational data modeling, and performance tuning (execution plans, statistics, partitioning, and concurrency patterns).
• Experience building ELT/ETL with Azure Data Factory/Synapse Pipelines and/or Fabric Data Factory; familiarity with event/file-based ingestion patterns.
• Experience designing and operating a modern warehouse/lakehouse using Azure Synapse and/or Microsoft Fabric (Lakehouse/Warehouse, notebooks/Spark, and orchestration).
• Strong understanding of data warehouse concepts and modeling techniques (Kimball dimensional modeling, SCD, data marts, and semantic layer alignment).
• Power BI experience supporting enterprise reporting (datasets/semantic models, refresh strategies, performance optimization, and workspace governance).
• Experience with Azure security and identity patterns (Azure AD, managed identities, Key Vault, RBAC) and protecting sensitive data (PII) end-to-end.
• Hands-on experience with DevOps practices: Git branching, code reviews, CI/CD, and automated deployments (Azure DevOps and/or GitHub).
• Strong troubleshooting skills across data pipelines, databases, and BI; ability to communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience using AI-assisted tools to support database administration, SQL development, reporting, troubleshooting, and workflow optimization is preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience.