Senior Data Fabric Data Engineer
Johannesburg (Hybrid) - Midrand | Full-time, Permanent | Senior Level
About the Opportunity
An established data and analytics consulting environment is seeking a Senior Data Fabric Data Engineer to lead the design, build and delivery of modern, end-to-end data solutions across multiple client engagements. The role has a strong Microsoft technology focus, particularly Microsoft Fabric, Azure and Power BI, and combines hands‑on engineering with solution architecture, client engagement and technical leadership.
Role Overview
You will take ownership of the technical architecture of client data platforms, from ingestion and Bronze/Silver/Gold Lakehouse and Warehouse layers through to semantic models supporting Power BI. The role includes production implementations, legacy BI migrations, proof‑of‑concept initiatives, ongoing platform support and mentoring of junior and mid‑level engineers.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and build end‑to‑end Microsoft Fabric solutions, including Lakehouses, Warehouses, Data Pipelines, Dataflows Gen2 and Notebooks.
- Architect medallion (Bronze/Silver/Gold) data models and define ingestion, transformation and curation standards.
- Build and optimise ingestion pipelines from sources such as SQL Server, Azure SQL, REST APIs, Excel/SharePoint and ERP/finance systems.
- Develop semantic models using DirectLake, Import, DirectQuery and composite modelling to support Power BI and self‑service analytics.
- Lead migrations from legacy BI and ETL platforms such as QlikView/Qlik Sense, Synapse, SSIS and SSRS to modern cloud architectures.
- Write and optimise T‑SQL, PySpark and Python for transformation, data quality and performance tuning.
- Implement CI/CD, source control, workspace governance and environment promotion using Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.
- Establish monitoring, alerting, data validation, security and governance practices.
- Lead client requirements workshops, translate business needs into technical designs and document current/future‑state architectures.
- Lead technical workstreams and proof‑of‑concept implementations, support critical platform issues and mentor less experienced engineers.
Required Skills & Technology
- Microsoft Fabric: Lakehouse, Warehouse, Pipelines, Dataflows Gen2 and Notebooks.
- Azure technologies including Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL, Azure Data Lake and Azure Data Factory.
- Strong T‑SQL, PySpark, Python and Spark SQL skills.
- Power BI, DAX, data modelling and semantic modelling.
- DirectLake, Import/DirectQuery and composite models.
- Delta Lake, SSIS, Power Query (M) and SQL Server.
- Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions, Git‑based source control and CI/CD.
- Data platform security, access controls, governance, monitoring and backup/recovery concepts.
Experience & Qualifications
- 5+ years' experience in data engineering, BI development or data warehousing, ideally in a client‑facing consulting environment.
- Hands‑on production experience delivering Microsoft Fabric solutions, including Lakehouse/Warehouse builds, pipelines and semantic modelling.
- Experience migrating legacy BI/ETL platforms to modern cloud architectures.
- Experience leading technical workstreams or small teams and mentoring junior engineers.
- Bachelor's degree or diploma in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science or a related field (NQF 6 or higher).
Certifications
Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate - required or in progress.
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate - required or in progress.
- Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate - advantageous.
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals - minimum baseline where the above certifications are still in progress.
Advantageous Experience
- Databricks and exposure to AWS or GCP.
- Machine learning workflows on Microsoft Fabric or data science tooling such as Python or R.
- SQL Server high‑availability and disaster‑recovery concepts.
- Agile/Scrum or Kanban delivery methods.
- Consulting or professional‑services experience managing multiple concurrent client engagements.
Personal Attributes
- Strong client‑facing communication and stakeholder‑management skills.
- Confident running workshops and presenting technical or architecture decisions.
- Self‑motivated problem‑solver who takes ownership from design through production support.
- Structured and methodical, with strong technical documentation habits.
- Collaborative and comfortable mentoring less experienced team members.
- Able to manage multiple client engagements and changing priorities.
This is an excellent opportunity for a senior data professional who wants to combine hands‑on Microsoft Fabric engineering with architecture, client engagement and technical leadership.