Lead Data Platform Engineer

DescriptionKforce is looking for a Lead Data Platform Engineer for a contract to hire opportunity in Kansas City, MO.Summary:We are creating a unified data foundation that accelerates innovation and drives measurable business impact. As a visionary Lead Data Platform Engineer to architect, you will evolve, and lead our next-generation AI and data ecosystem. This is a hands-on leadership role that blends technical depth, strategic thinking, and shaping the technical vision of a modern data, data analytics, AI, and ML platforms. You'll drive the design, development, and optimization of our enterprise data platform, integrating Power Platforms, Microsoft Fabric components with modern cloud-native and AI-driven technologies. Duties:* Architect & Build:Design and deliver scalable data AI platform solutions using Microsoft Fabric, Data Lake, SHIR, Power BI, Fabric-native services and Power Platforms* Lead Initiatives:Drive end-to-end implementation of data projects, from ingestion and transformation to governance, observability, and consumption. Ensure high standards of data reliability, security, and performance* Modernize Infrastructure:Migrate legacy systems to cloud-native and AI-enabled architectures, ensuring performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency* Enable Data & AI Products:Collaborate with analytics, visualization, engineering, and business teams to deliver reusable data assets, semantic models, and self-service capabilities* Promote Data Mesh Principles:Work with domain teams to decentralize data ownership and promote self-service capabilities that include data and AI services* Champion Best Practices:Establish and enforce standards for data quality, lineage, security, and monitoring* Mentor & Guide:Provide technical leadership, coaching, and career development for data engineers and platform developers* Cross-Functional Partnership:Work closely with product managers, business leaders and vendors to prioritize and deliver high-value outcomesRequirements* Bachelor's degree in a related field or the equivalent through a combination of education and related work experience* 7+ years of proven experience designing, implementing, and leading enterprise-scale data platforms* Deep expertise in Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Services and modern data and AI architecture patterns* Strong proficiency in SQL, Python and data modeling techniques* Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps for data, ML Ops practices, and infrastructure-as-code* Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills* Demonstrated ability to lead small teams while remaining hands-on with complex technical challengesJob TypeContractCompensation60 - $68