Azure Data Architect

Job Title: Data Architect (Azure & Databricks)

Location: Toronto ON (Hybrid)

Tech Stack: Azure Services Databricks SQL Data Lake Lakehouse and Azure Synapse

Position Summary:
We are seeking a highly skilled Data Architect with deep expertise in Azure Databricks SQL and Data Modeling. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in both traditional data warehouse architectures and modern data platform paradigms (Data Lake Lakehouse and Azure Synapse). This role requires a proven track record in designing and implementing enterprise-scale data solutions integrating multiple data sources and enabling analytics at scale.

Key Responsibilities:

Architecture & Design

• Lead the architecture design and implementation of enterprise data warehouses data lakes and lakehouses on Azure and Databricks.
• Define and enforce data modeling standards best practices and guidelines across transactional and analytical workloads.
• Architect end-to-end modern data platforms leveraging Azure Synapse Databricks Delta Lake and related Azure services (ADF ADLS Purview etc.).

Solution Delivery

• Design scalable ETL/ELT pipelines and orchestrate workflows for ingestion transformation and consumption.
• Partner with business stakeholders product teams and data engineers to deliver high-quality business-driven data solutions.
• Ensure solutions are secure performant and compliant with enterprise governance and regulatory standards.

Strategy & Leadership

• Define data strategy and reference architecture for modernization from legacy/traditional data platforms (Teradata Oracle SQL Server etc.) to modern architectures.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to engineering teams.
• Collaborate with cloud analytics and business teams to align data architecture with organizational goals.

Required Skills & Experience:

Core Expertise

• Proven experience as a Data Architect or Senior Data Engineer/Lead designing and implementing enterprise data warehouses and modern data platforms.
• Hands-on expertise with Azure services: Azure Synapse Analytics (Dedicated SQL Pools Serverless Pools) Azure Data Factory (ADF) Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS Gen2) Azure Purview.
• Strong expertise with Databricks: Delta Lake Lakehouse Spark (PySpark/Scala) MLflow.
• Very strong SQL development and optimization skills.
• Strong data modeling (3NF Dimensional Data Vault Canonical Models etc.).

Complementary Skills:

• Knowledge of traditional data platforms (Oracle Teradata SQL Server Informatica etc.) along with modern ELT/ETL frameworks.
• Solid understanding of data governance metadata management data quality and security.
• Experience in building real-time/streaming data pipelines (Kafka Event Hub etc.) is a plus.

Soft Skills:

• Excellent communication and ability to engage with business SMEs and senior stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an enterprise-scale mindset.
• Experience in mentoring and guiding teams on modern data practices.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors/Masters degree in Computer Science Information Systems or related field.
• 15 years of experience in Data Engineering/Architecture with at least 5 years in Azure & Databricks ecosystem.
• Proven track record in enterprise-scale data warehouse and lakehouse implementations.
• Certifications in Azure Data Engineer/Architect or Databricks preferred.