Hands-On Data Architect

Location: Brussels Area Belgium (Hybrid 2 Days On-Site per Week)
Contract Type: Contract / Freelance
Duration: Initial 6-Month Engagement with Possible Extension

About the Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced and hands-on Data Architect to lead the evolution of a modern enterprise data platform built on Microsoft technologies. This role combines strategic architecture responsibilities with practical technical execution ensuring the organizations data ecosystem remains scalable performant and aligned with future business growth.

The successful candidate will assess the current Azure and Power BI environment identify improvement opportunities support a migration toward Microsoft Fabric and help establish robust data governance and master data management practices. This is a key position within a broader digital transformation initiative and offers the opportunity to shape the future data architecture of a growing organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Assess and analyze the current Microsoft Azure and Power BI data platform architecture.
• Identify weaknesses risks and improvement opportunities related to platform stability scalability performance and security.
• Design and implement architectural improvements to support increasing data volumes and business growth.
• Support and co-lead the migration from the existing platform to Microsoft Fabric.
• Define and maintain enterprise data architecture standards principles and best practices.
• Design scalable data warehouse lakehouse and data modeling solutions.
• Perform capacity planning and performance optimization activities.
• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to align data architecture with organizational objectives.
• Drive knowledge transfer activities and coach internal teams to ensure long-term ownership of the platform.
• Work closely with architects data specialists and business stakeholders to support data governance and master data management initiatives.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance and perform platform adjustments when required.

Required Qualifications

Experience

• Minimum 8 years of experience as a Data Architect within enterprise environments.
• Proven experience designing and implementing Microsoft Azure data platforms.
• Extensive experience with enterprise data modeling and data warehouse/lakehouse architecture.
• Strong experience with performance tuning scalability planning and platform optimization.
• Experience supporting large-scale data platform transformations and modernization initiatives.
• Hands-on experience with Power BI in enterprise environments.

Technical Skills

• Microsoft Azure Data Services
• Microsoft Fabric
• Power BI Architecture and Governance
• Data Warehousing and Lakehouse Design
• Data Modeling
• Performance Optimization and Capacity Planning
• Data Governance Frameworks
• Master Data Management Concepts
• Cloud Architecture Best Practices
• Enterprise Data Integration

Soft Skills

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Coaching and mentoring mindset with a focus on knowledge transfer.
• Self-starter capable of operating independently in a dynamic environment.
• Pragmatic and solution-oriented approach to architecture challenges.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Microsoft Fabric migrations.
• Experience establishing or improving data governance frameworks.
• Experience working with Master Data Management solutions.
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance requirements related to data management.
• Experience working within complex multi-stakeholder environments.

What Success Looks Like

• Improved platform stability performance and scalability.
• Successful progression toward a Microsoft Fabric-based architecture.
• Clear and sustainable architecture roadmap supporting future growth.
• Effective knowledge transfer from external partners to internal teams.
• Strong alignment between business objectives and data platform capabilities.
• Enhanced governance and master data management practices across the organization.

Work Arrangement

• Hybrid working model.
• Minimum two days per week on-site in the Brussels area.
• Collaborative environment with close interaction between architecture data and business teams.

If you are passionate about modern data architecture cloud platforms and helping organizations scale their data capabilities we would like to hear from you.