Azure Data & AI Architect

Azure Data & AI Architect

We are hiring an Azure Data & AI Architect to design and personally deliver modern data and AI solutions in the Microsoft ecosystem (Azure AI services, Microsoft Fabric, and Azure data platforms).

This is a hands-on consulting role — approximately 80% delivery/build work, with the remainder focused on continuous learning and occasional pre-sales support.

You'll work directly with clients to understand their goals, translate ambiguity into a clear technical plan, and deliver solutions that are secure, scalable, and explainable to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• This role is not research-only, prompt-only, or slideware-focused. You will be expected to ship real solutions.
• This role is client-facing. Clear, timely communication and follow-through are part of the job.
• We review applications for specificity and real project ownership. If your application is generic, overly polished, or doesn't show what you built, it will not move forward.

Key Responsibilities

Lead End-to-End Solution Delivery

• Own delivery end-to-end: requirements → architecture → design → build → test → deployment
• Serve as the technical lead: set engineering standards, unblock delivery, and ensure quality across testing and release

Architect AI Solutions

• Design and implement AI solutions using Azure AI services (e.g., Azure OpenAI, Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning) and, where appropriate, Copilot/Copilot Studio
• Emphasize security, governance, and real-world usability over experimentation for its own sake

Develop Modern Data Platforms

• Build data platforms using Azure data services (ADF, Databricks, Synapse, ADLS) and/or Microsoft Fabric
• Deliver production-grade pipelines (ETL/ELT), storage and compute patterns, and data models supporting BI and AI workloads

Leverage Automation & Power Platform (Bonus Skill)

• Use Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI) when it's the right tool for rapid business value
• Power Platform experience is a plus, not the primary focus

Collaborate Across Teams

• Partner with engineers and business stakeholders to translate requirements into buildable designs
• Coordinate with security and governance teams to ensure solutions meet best practices and client constraints

Client Engagement & Communication

• Communicate architecture decisions — including tradeoffs — in plain language
• Act as a trusted advisor: align scope to outcomes, manage expectations, and keep clients informed when things change

Innovation & IP Development

• Create reusable internal assets (reference architectures, accelerators, playbooks) that improve delivery quality

Continuous Learning

• Stay current on Azure AI and data platform changes and apply learning pragmatically to client solutions

Pre-Sales Support (As Needed)

• Support early discovery, solution envisioning, and contribution to technical proposals, estimates, and SOWs

Required Qualifications

Experience

• 10+ years delivering technology solutions, including 5+ years leading data engineering, analytics, or AI work on Azure
• Clear evidence of personal ownership — you can explain what you built, why you chose it, and what you'd change next time

Azure & Data Expertise

• Hands-on experience with Azure AI services and Azure data platforms and/or Microsoft Fabric

Architecture Judgment

• Ability to design scalable patterns (lakes, warehouses, modeling) and integrate AI responsibly into workflows
• Practical operational mindset (CI/CD and MLOps experience is a plus)

Problem-Solving & Adaptability

• Comfortable working in ambiguity, making tradeoffs explicit, and keeping delivery moving without hand-holding

Communication & Leadership

• Strong client-facing communicator who can explain complex decisions clearly and lead technical direction confidently

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Consulting or professional services background
• Power Platform and Power BI experience
• Microsoft Fabric and data governance familiarity
• Azure DevOps, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code experience
• Relevant Microsoft certifications
• Python used in real production systems
• Experience writing and maintaining code for data processing, automation, or model deployment