Senior Data Platform Engineer

DescriptionKforce has a client in Kansas City, MO that is looking for a Senior Data Platform Engineer with strong experience building and evolving modern data- and AI-enabled platforms. This is a hands-on, senior individual contributor role focused on designing, developing, and optimizing scalable software solutions across data, analytics, and AI workloads.Duties:* Design, develop, and maintain scalable software components for data and AI platforms using Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Services, Data Lakes, and cloud-native services* Build robust data ingestion, transformation, and serving layers that support analytics, AI, and operational use cases* Contribute to end-to-end delivery of data and AI solutions, including data pipelines, semantic models, APIs, and consumption layers* Ensure solutions meet standards for performance, reliability, security, and cost efficiency* Participate in modernizing legacy systems toward cloud-native and AI-enabled architectures* Optimize pipelines, queries, and services for scale, resilience, and operational excellence* Partner with analytics, AI/ML, and application teams to deliver reusable data assets, shared services, and self-service capabilities* Support downstream use cases such as dashboards, advanced analytics, and machine learning workloads* Apply and promote best practices for software engineering, CI/CD, testing, observability, and infrastructure-as-code* Contribute to standards for data quality, data governance, lineage, security, and monitoring (e.g., DataDog)* Data governance, risk management, and compliance using Microsoft Purview* Provide technical guidance and code reviews for peers and junior engineers* Collaborate closely with product managers, architects, and cross-functional partners to deliver high-impact solutionsRequirements* Bachelor's degree in a related field or the equivalent through a combination of education and related work experience* Azure or Microsoft Fabric certifications* 5+ years of experience building production-grade software, with significant exposure to data platforms, cloud services, or AI-enabled systems* Strong hands-on experience with Azure data technologies and modern data architecture patterns* Proficiency in SQL, with solid software engineering fundamentals (data modeling, APIs, testing, version control)* Experience with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and cloud infrastructure* Ability to design systems, reason about trade-offs, and contribute to architectural discussions* Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams* A growth mindset and passion for learning, quality engineering, and continuous improvement* Experience with Microsoft Fabric* Experience with OneLake, Lakehouse architecture, Power Platforms, or Fabric-native governance tools* Exposure to feature stores, or advanced analyticsJob TypeContractCompensation60 - $65