Senior/Lead Fabric Data Engineer (Microsoft Fabric, Lakehouse, Data Factory, Power BI/DAX) (Remote – Cape Town preferred) at Datafin Recruitment

ENVIRONMENT:

• A global digital transformation consultancy and software solutions provider is currently seeking a Data Engineer who works comfortably at both ends of the delivery spectrum.
• You will design the data architecture that an enterprise depends on, and you will also build the pipelines that make it work. The role spans three types of engagement: migrating existing estates onto Microsoft Fabric, modernising platforms that have outgrown their original design, and standing up greenfield Fabric implementations from a blank sheet. 
• Microsoft Fabric is a firm requirement for this position. Candidates without demonstrable, hands-on Fabric delivery experience will not be considered. 
• You will work directly with client stakeholders, so the ability to explain architectural trade-offs to a technical audience and
• to a business audience is as important as the engineering itself.

DUTIES:

• Design and document data architecture for enterprise clients, covering medallion patterns, domain driven design and governance frameworks.
• Build and orchestrate ingestion and transformation pipelines, with a bias towards metadata driven approaches that scale beyond a single project.
• Lead migration and modernisation work, moving workloads from platforms such as Teradata and on premises SQL Server into Fabric and Azure.
• Deliver end to end Fabric implementations across Lakehouse, Warehouse, Data Factory, OneLake and Real Time Intelligence.
• Build and tune Power BI semantic models, including DAX, row level and object level security, and deployment pipelines.
• Establish CI/CD for data platforms, including source control, branching strategy, automated deployment and environment promotion.
• Apply AI native engineering practices to accelerate delivery, including agentic workflows and the Model Context Protocol.
• Set technical standards and review the work of other engineers. At Lead level, this includes owning the technical direction of an engagement and mentoring the delivery team.

REQUIREMENTS:

Core skills

• Microsoft Fabric, end to end Lakehouse, Warehouse, Data Factory, OneLake and Real Time Intelligence.
• Power BI Semantic models, DAX, row level security and object level security, deployment pipelines, and performance tuning.
• Data architecture Medallion patterns, domain driven design, and governance frameworks.
• Data engineering Metadata driven ingestion, ETL and ELT orchestration, and CI/CD for data platforms.
• Migration and modernisation Moving Teradata and on premises SQL estates onto Fabric and Azure, including assessment, sequencing, reconciliation and cutover.
• AI native data engineering Agentic workflows, the Model Context Protocol, and the use of Claude Code on Fabric.

Technologies

• Microsoft Fabric · Power BI · Azure Synapse · OneLake · Data Factory · DAX · T SQL · Spark · Azure DevOps · Git · MCP

Nice to have

• Experience designing and delivering training, whether formal client enablement sessions, internal upskilling, or structured handover to a client team at the end of an engagement. This carries real weight for us, because a large part of the value they leave behind is a client team that can operate the platform without us.
• Relevant Microsoft certifications in the Fabric, Azure data or Power BI tracks.
• Experience in a consulting or client facing delivery environment.
• Exposure to data governance tooling such as Microsoft Purview.

What they look for beyond the technology

• Clear written communication. Much of the role is remote, and decisions need to survive being read rather than explained in person.
• Comfort with ambiguity at the start of an engagement, and the discipline to reduce it quickly.
• A willingness to be challenged on architectural decisions, and to challenge others in turn.