Lead Data Engineer – Microsoft Fabric

Lead Data Engineer – Microsoft Fabric – Contract – Mostly Remote We are looking for an interim Lead Data Engineer to support a global organisation delivering a Microsoft Fabric data platform programme. This is a hands-on engineering delivery role within a small programme environment. The successful candidate must be comfortable operating independently, taking ownership of delivery outcomes, identifying risks early, and producing production-quality data assets with minimal supervision. The role is focused on building and maintaining reliable data pipelines and transformations within Microsoft Fabric, delivering trusted Bronze, Silver and Gold data assets for analytics and reporting. Key responsibilities • Build and maintain data pipelines and transformations within Microsoft Fabric • Deliver production-ready Medallion architecture data assets across Bronze, Silver and Gold layers • Implement robust validation, reconciliation and testing processes • Build analytical and dimensional datasets • Work with API, JSON and incremental data ingestion patterns • Support deployment through Dev, UAT and Production environments • Communicate progress, risks, blockers and dependencies clearly and proactively • Produce concise technical documentation where required Essential experience • Strong hands-on data engineering experience • Microsoft Fabric experience, or closely related cloud data platform experience • Strong SQL and Python/PySpark skills • Experience building analytical and dimensional datasets • Experience with API, JSON and incremental ingestion patterns • Experience operating within structured deployment and release processes • Strong engineering judgement and problem-solving capability • Ability to break down complex problems before writing code • Strong data validation, reconciliation and testing mindset • Clear, proactive communication Candidate profile We are looking for a strong engineer who knows Fabric, not simply a Fabric developer. The ideal person will naturally define validation approaches before declaring work complete, think in terms of root cause rather than symptoms, escalate blockers early, and communicate clearly when risks or dependencies arise. Contract details • Duration: 3–6 months initially • Location: Mostly remote • Office: City of London, 2–3 days roughly once per month, plus occasional ad hoc attendance • Start: ASAP / soon as available