Lead MS Fabric Data Engineer

Location: Remote, South Africa
Employment Type: Permanent, Full-time

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Data Engineer to design, develop and modernise enterprise data platforms using Microsoft Fabric. This opportunity combines hands-on engineering with data architecture, technical leadership and client-facing delivery.

You will contribute to a variety of projects, including cloud data migrations, existing platform optimisation and new data platform implementations.

Strong, practical experience with Microsoft Fabric is essential. Candidates must have demonstrable experience delivering Fabric solutions in a professional environment.

The role involves working with both technical teams and business stakeholders, so the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and make sound architectural decisions is important.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable data architectures, incorporating medallion architecture, domain-driven design and data governance principles.

• Develop and orchestrate robust data ingestion and transformation pipelines, using metadata-driven engineering approaches where appropriate.

• Lead data migration and platform modernisation initiatives, moving legacy and on-premises data environments to Microsoft Fabric and Azure.

• Deliver end-to-end solutions across Fabric Lakehouse, Warehouse, Data Factory, OneLake and real-time data capabilities.

• Develop and optimise Power BI semantic models, including DAX, security configurations and deployment processes.

• Implement CI/CD practices, source control, branching strategies and automated deployment processes across data environments.

• Apply AI-assisted engineering techniques and emerging tools to improve development efficiency.

• Establish engineering standards, conduct code and solution reviews, and promote best practices.

• At Lead level, take ownership of technical delivery, architectural decisions and the development of other engineers.

• Support knowledge transfer and enable client teams to maintain and operate delivered solutions independently.

Essential Skills and Experience

Microsoft Fabric

• Strong hands-on experience delivering end-to-end Microsoft Fabric solutions.

• Practical knowledge of Lakehouse, Warehouse, OneLake, Data Factory and real-time data capabilities.

Data Engineering

• Experience developing scalable ETL/ELT pipelines and orchestration frameworks.

• Knowledge of metadata-driven ingestion and transformation patterns.

• Experience implementing CI/CD for data platforms.

Data Architecture

• Understanding of medallion architecture, domain-driven design and governance principles.

• Ability to design secure, scalable and maintainable enterprise data solutions.

Power BI

• Experience developing and optimising semantic models.

• Strong DAX knowledge, including row-level and object-level security.

• Experience with deployment pipelines and performance optimisation.

Migration and Modernisation

• Experience migrating legacy data platforms, including Teradata and on-premises SQL Server, to modern cloud data environments.

• Ability to contribute to migration assessments, planning, data reconciliation, testing and cutover activities.

Development and Tooling

• T-SQL and Spark.

• Azure DevOps and Git.

• Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools, agentic workflows and the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Desirable Experience

• Microsoft certifications in Fabric, Azure Data or Power BI.

• Experience delivering technical training, client workshops or structured knowledge-transfer sessions.

• Background in consulting, professional services or other client-facing delivery environments.

• Familiarity with data governance and catalogue tools such as Microsoft Purview.

• Experience mentoring engineers and establishing technical delivery standards.

What We're Looking For

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• The ability to work independently in a remote environment.

• A structured approach to solving complex technical problems.

• Confidence working with ambiguity and translating requirements into practical solutions.

• The ability to explain and justify architectural decisions to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• A collaborative mindset and willingness to challenge existing approaches constructively.

Location and Working Arrangements

This is a fully remote position open to candidates across South Africa. Candidates based in Cape Town will be particularly well suited, as occasional in-person meetings may be required. Applicants elsewhere in the country will also be considered, provided they can accommodate occasional travel.