Senior Data Architect - Fabric

About Data ElephantData Elephant is a Canadian Data, Analytics & AI consulting firm helping organizations solve complex data, analytics, AI, and machine learning challenges. We combine business understanding with hands-on technical delivery to build modern data platforms and turn data into useful outcomes.
The RoleWe are looking for a client-facing Senior Data Architect with deep Microsoft data platform expertise to lead new Microsoft Fabric implementations. You will guide clients from discovery and architecture through platform setup, delivery, and operational handover, establishing a secure and scalable foundation across Fabric, OneLake, and Azure. You should be comfortable setting technical direction while staying hands-on with prototypes, platform configuration, and complex implementation decisions.
Responsibilities
Lead discovery workshops to understand business priorities, source systems, data volumes, security requirements, and operational constraints;
translate findings intoa practical architecture and phased implementation plan.
Design new Fabric environments, including tenant and capacity considerations, workspace organization, development and production separation, and ownership and support responsibilities.
Define OneLake architecture, Lakehouse and Warehouse patterns, medallion layers, data organization, and appropriate use of shortcuts, mirroring, and data movement.
Select ingestion, transformation, and orchestration approaches across Fabric Data Factory, Dataflow Gen2, Spark notebooks, and relevant Azure services;
explain the trade-offs clearly.
Design data models and curated data products that support reporting, Power BI semantic models, analytics, and future AI and machine learning use cases.
Establish security and governance with client teams, including Microsoft Entra ID, access controls, data ownership, lineage, classification, and Microsoft Purview integration where appropriate.
Set standards for Git, CI/CD, deployment, testing, monitoring, recovery, and performance and capacity management. Validate key decisions through hands-on implementation.
Lead technical delivery and architecture reviews, mentor engineers, and work with pursuit and delivery teams on scope, estimates, dependencies, and implementation risks.
What You Bring
Significant experience designing and delivering enterprise data platforms, including technical leadership and direct client engagement.
Demonstrated experience architecting and implementing Microsoft Fabric in production, ideally taking a new environment from initial design through go-live.
Strong practical knowledge of OneLake, Fabric Lakehouse and Warehouse, Fabric Data Factory, Spark notebooks, and Delta Lake.
Strong Microsoft Azure data platform experience, including Azure Data Factory, ADLS Gen2, and Azure SQL;
ability to design integrations between Azure and Fabric.
Hands-on proficiency with SQL and Python or PySpark, plus strong data modeling, ETL/ELT, and dimensional modeling skills.
Experience designing security, governance, deployment, and operational practices, with sound judgment about performance, cost, and maintainability.
Ability to lead workshops, document architecture decisions, guide delivery teams, and translate technical options into business implications.
Additional Experience We Value
Microsoft Purview, Power BI semantic models and Direct Lake, Azure Databricks, or Azure Synapse migration experience.
Experience with Fabric capacity planning and monitoring, Real-Time Intelligence, or enterprise ERP and SaaS integrations.
Relevant Microsoft certifications, such as Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate or Fabric Data Engineer Associate;
practical delivery experience is the priority.
How You Work
You are naturally curious, stay current with emerging technologies, and enjoy learning from colleagues and clients.
You take ownership, ask thoughtful questions, and bring practical ideas to fast-paced, changing environments.
You collaborate without ego, welcome feedback, and share knowledge freely. You care about the quality of your work and the success of the team.
You communicate clearly with technical and business audiences, explain trade-offs, and build trust with clients.
Why Join Data ElephantAt Data Elephant, you will work directly with clients on meaningful challenges, contribute to how we deliver, and learn alongside experienced colleagues. You will have opportunities to take ownership, deepen your expertise, and help shape a growing consulting practice.
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