At IVC Evidensia Belgium, we are transforming the way data is managed, consumed and leveraged across the organisation.
As part of this exciting journey, we are implementing a Databricks platform that will become the foundation for analytics, reporting and data-driven decision making across Belgium.
We are looking for a Data Engineer to take ownership of the technical evolution of this platform.
You will be responsible for building and optimising scalable data pipelines, integrating new data sources, ensuring data quality and reliability, and continuously improving platform performance and cost efficiency.
Working closely with the Data Analyst, business stakeholders and Group Data teams, you will play a critical role in enabling high-quality analytics while establishing best practices for data engineering, automation and governance.
Your responsibilities
As a Data Engineer, you will be responsible for:
- Design, build, maintain and optimise data pipelines within Azure Databricks.
- Take technical ownership of data ingestion from source systems into the Belgium data platform.
- Build and maintain Bronze, Silver and Gold data layers using a medallion architecture.
- Add and integrate new data sources, including internal systems, external datasets, APIs and file-based feeds.
- Improve pipeline performance, reliability, monitoring and observability.
- Identify opportunities to speed up data processing and reduce platform running costs.
- Support the transition from legacy reporting and data infrastructure to a modern Databricks Lakehouse platform.
- Work closely with the Data Analyst to provide trusted, consumption-ready datasets for Power BI reporting and self-service analytics.
- Collaborate with business users and SMEs to understand data requirements and translate them into robust technical solutions.
- Implement data quality checks, validation rules and reconciliation processes.
- Support documentation of data flows, business definitions, assumptions and technical design decisions.
- Contribute to the definition of engineering standards, reusable patterns and platform best practices.
- Work within DevOps ways of working, using version control, deployment practices and structured delivery methods.
- Support secure development practices, including access management, scalability, performance and other non-functional requirements.
- Proactively seek innovative solutions to improve the platform, automate manual processes and increase the value delivered from data.
Who are we looking for?
- We are looking for a technically skilled and business-aware Data Engineer with strong experience in modern cloud-based data platforms and a practical mindset for delivery.
- You should be comfortable working with data storage, processing, modelling and orchestration concepts, and have experience building and maintaining production-grade data pipelines. Experience with Azure Databricks, Azure Data Factory and cloud-based data engineering is particularly important for this role.
- You will act as a key interface between business stakeholders, the Belgium Data Analyst, technology teams and Group Data teams, so excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills are essential.
- You should be confident working in an environment where the data platform is evolving, priorities may change, and pragmatic decisions are needed to balance short-term delivery with long-term platform health.
Your profile
- Proven experience as a Data Engineer or Analytics Engineer in a modern data environment.
- Hands-on experience with Databricks, including AI/BI Dashboards and Genie.
- Strong SQL skills and experience working with relational data.
- Strong Python and/or PySpark experience.
- Experience designing, building and maintaining ELT/ETL data pipelines.
- Experience with orchestration tools such as Azure Data Factory or equivalent.
- Good understanding of medallion architecture, including Bronze, Silver and Gold data layers.
- Experience working with cloud-based data storage and processing technologies.
- Understanding of data modelling and building consumption-ready datasets for BI and analytics.
- Experience integrating data from multiple structured and semi-structured sources, including APIs, JSON, databases and files.
- Good understanding of performance optimisation, scalability and cost management in cloud data platforms.
- Experience with Git, Azure DevOps or similar version control and delivery tooling.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to troubleshoot pipeline, data quality and performance issues.
- Excellent communication skills and ability to explain technical topics to non-technical stakeholders.
- Ability to work collaboratively with analysts, architects, infrastructure teams and business users.
- Excellent communication skills in Dutch and English.
- Experience with Delta Lake and Databricks optimisation techniques.
- Experience with Unity Catalog or data governance tooling.
- Exposure to Power BI and analytical consumption patterns.
- Experience working in a multi-site, multi-country or federated data environment.
- Experience with data quality frameworks, metadata management and lineage.
- Knowledge of Infrastructure-as-Code tools such as Bicep or Terraform.
- Experience with APIs, Azure Functions or event-driven data architectures.
- Experience in healthcare, veterinary, retail or service-based organisations.
- Knowledge of French would be an advantage, depending on the stakeholder environment.
About IVC Evidensia
Since the 2017 merger between the UK-based IVC and the Northern European Evidensia Group, IVC Evidensia has been the largest veterinary care group in Europe. IVC Evidensia has also been active in Belgium since 2018.
At IVC Evidensia Belgium, our goal is healthy and happy pets and owners. Our mission is to deliver high-quality care and, when necessary, a dignified farewell. We set the bar high through collaboration - ranging from primary and preventive care to the most advanced specialist care.
However, this is not achieved through centralization: IVC Evidensia believes in local entrepreneurship for every practice, region, and country. Veterinary care is evolving faster than ever, and IVC Evidensia plays an active role in this evolution by supporting education and scientific research.
Today, IVC Evidensia Belgium counts 570 colleagues across more than 57 veterinary practices, clinics, and pet crematoria spread throughout Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia. This allows us to rely on a vast wealth of expertise within the group, both nationally and internationally.