Lead Data Engineer (Azure Synapse | Synapse Notebooks | Azure DevOps)

Lead Data Engineer (Azure Synapse | Synapse Notebooks | Azure DevOps) Contract 6-month initial term, with strong likelihood of extension Up to c£500 per day Outside IR35 Remote or hybrid (West London office if preferred) We are looking for an experienced Lead Data Engineer to play a key role in the development of a modern Azure data platform, with a strong focus on Azure Synapse, Synapse notebooks and engineering best practice. This is a hands-on technical leadership role for someone who enjoys owning solutions from requirements through to deployment, working closely with business stakeholders and delivering robust, production-grade data platforms. You will be responsible for: • Designing and developing scalable ETL/ELT pipelines and reusable data products • Building and maintaining Azure Synapse solutions, with particular emphasis on Synapse notebooks, Serverless SQL and Synapse pipelines • Designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines and release processes using Azure DevOps • Developing scalable data warehouse and lakehouse solutions aligned to modern engineering best practice • Translating business requirements into robust, well-designed technical solutions • Working independently whilst collaborating closely with technical teams and business stakeholders • Providing technical leadership, mentoring and guidance across the wider data engineering team • Supporting data governance, deployment controls and engineering standards We are particularly keen to speak with engineers who have hands-on experience with: Essential • Azure Synapse Analytics • Synapse notebooks • Serverless SQL • Synapse Pipelines • Azure Data Factory • Azure DevOps, including Repos, YAML Pipelines, CI/CD and Release Management • SQL Data Warehousing and dimensional modelling • Building and deploying enterprise-scale data engineering solutions • Working directly with business stakeholders to gather requirements and own technical delivery Highly desirable • Azure Databricks • Power BI semantic models • Microsoft Fabric • Azure Data Lake • Modern data engineering and data product development We are looking for someone who is technically strong, highly hands-on and comfortable taking ownership of solutions. You will be able to clearly articulate how you have designed, built and deployed Azure data platforms, and you will have the confidence to work independently while engaging effectively with both technical teams and business stakeholders.