Data Architect

Role Description

IT Labs is seeking an experienced Data Architect to join a project for a large, global consulting organization. This is a hands-on contractor role focused on supporting and modernizing a large, complex internal financial data and reporting platform that is critical to business users across multiple domains. The current platform is built primarily on Azure SQL and Power BI and has grown into a sizable ecosystem, creating challenges in performance, scalability, data modeling, quality, and maintainability. The client intends to modernize the platform, define a robust target architecture, and enable future growth in advanced analytics and AI capabilities.

• Assess the existing data platform to identify performance, scalability, modeling, and data quality issues.
• Design practical short-term improvements and define the longer-term target data architecture.
• Redesign data models where necessary, including fact tables, dimensions, and star schemas for improved performance and reduced duplication.
• Architect efficient batch and incremental data processing patterns (including incremental refresh for reporting).
• Work with structured, semi-structured, unstructured, and file-based data.
• Assess and recommend technologies such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse, Azure Databricks, Data Lake, and Lakehouse architectures when they add clear value.
• Enhance the scalability and maintainability of the Azure SQL and Power BI solution.
• Support future analytics and AI use-cases, including natural language interaction with enterprise data.
• Troubleshoot data issues and provide clear, actionable architectural recommendations to engineering teams.
• Produce detailed technical architectures, documentation, and implementation guides for developers.
• Work closely with both technical and business stakeholders and take ownership from architectural planning through to implementation.

Qualifications

• Strong experience as a Data Architect / Data Solutions Architect on complex enterprise data platforms.
• Proven ability designing and implementing solutions for unstructured data and multiple file formats.
• Deep knowledge of the Azure data ecosystem: Azure SQL, Data Factory, Synapse, Data Lake, and Databricks.
• Expert understanding of data warehousing, dimensional modeling, fact tables, star schemas, and analytics architectures.
• Hands-on experience solving performance and scalability challenges.
• Proficient in ETL/ELT, batch processing, incremental ingestion, and incremental refresh.
• Familiarity with Lakehouse, Delta Lake, and modern cloud data platform patterns.
• Experience building data models optimized for Power BI.
• Ability to evaluate and compare technology choices based on performance, data volume, complexity, maintainability, and cost.
• Strong documentation and communication skills; able to clearly articulate architectural decisions to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to work independently, rapidly understand new environments, and create concrete, actionable architectural plans.
• Fluent English.

Requirements

• Key Technologies: Azure SQL / SQL Server, Power BI, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Lake, Azure Databricks, Lakehouse / Delta Lake, Python, SQL, Azure Functions.

Benefits

• Full-time, 40h/week.
• 12-month contractor engagement with potential for extension.
• Contract or B2B arrangement.
• PTO provided.
• Remote work.