Senior Azure AI Data Engineer

Senior Azure AI Data Engineer

Build the Data Platforms That Power Enterprise AI

About AirGate

AirGate Technologies is a Canadian-owned Microsoft Solutions Partner specializing in Azure Infrastructure, Security, Data & AI, Modern Work and Managed Services.

We help organizations across healthcare, government, financial services, manufacturing and commercial sectors modernize their technology using Microsoft Azure.

Our team designs and delivers secure Azure Landing Zones, Microsoft Fabric platforms, AI solutions, cybersecurity, enterprise networking and managed cloud services.

As we continue to expand our Data & AI Practice, we're looking for an experienced Senior Azure AI Data Engineer to help customers build modern data platforms that enable analytics, AI and enterprise decision making.

Position Summary

The Senior Azure AI Data Engineer designs, deploys and optimizes modern Microsoft data platforms that provide the trusted, secure and governed data foundation required for Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft Fabric, analytics and modern business applications.

This is a senior consulting role combining data platform engineering, Azure infrastructure, Microsoft Fabric implementation and customer advisory services.

You'll work closely with our AI Solutions Engineers, Infrastructure, Networking and Security teams to ensure every customer has a secure, scalable and AI-ready data platform.

Mission

Build secure, governed and AI-ready data platforms that enable customers to successfully adopt Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI and enterprise analytics while establishing AirGate as one of Canada's leading Microsoft Data & AI consulting partners.

Key Responsibilities

Microsoft Fabric Platform Delivery

Design, deploy and optimize Microsoft Fabric environments including:

• Microsoft Fabric Capacity
• OneLake
• Lakehouses
• Data Warehouses
• Fabric SQL Database
• Real-Time Intelligence
• Fabric Notebooks
• Spark
• Fabric Workspaces
• Fabric Pipelines
• Dataflows Gen2
• Semantic Models
• Power BI integration
• Environment management
• Deployment pipelines

Azure Data Platform Engineering

Design and implement modern Azure data platforms including:

• Azure SQL Database
• Azure SQL Managed Instance
• SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
• Azure Storage Accounts
• Azure Blob Storage
• Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
• Azure Data Factory
• Azure Event Hubs
• Azure Service Bus
• Azure Synapse Analytics (where applicable)
• Azure AI Search data integration
• Azure Monitor and Log Analytics for data workloads

AI Data Readiness

Prepare enterprise data for AI and Generative AI solutions by:

• Assessing AI readiness
• Profiling and improving data quality
• Designing ingestion strategies
• Building structured and unstructured data pipelines
• Implementing metadata management
• Creating AI-ready data models
• Preparing data for Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Designing chunking and document processing strategies
• Building vector-ready datasets
• Integrating Azure AI Search indexes
• Supporting embedding generation workflows
• Optimizing data retrieval performance

Data Engineering

Develop modern data engineering solutions including:

• ETL and ELT pipelines
• Data ingestion frameworks
• Data transformation
• SQL optimization
• Spark workloads
• Python-based data processing
• Incremental loading strategies
• Data orchestration
• Pipeline automation
• Data validation
• Performance tuning
• Operational monitoring

Data Governance & Security

Implement secure, governed enterprise data platforms including:

• Microsoft Purview
• Data classification
• Data lineage
• Metadata management
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Microsoft Entra ID integration
• Private Endpoints
• Network isolation
• Data encryption
• Data retention policies
• Compliance controls
• AI governance support

Ensure every platform aligns with AirGate's security-first approach and Microsoft best practices.

Customer Consulting

Work directly with customers to:

• Conduct data platform assessments
• Lead Microsoft Fabric workshops
• Assess AI data readiness
• Design modern data architectures
• Develop migration strategies
• Support executive presentations
• Deliver knowledge transfer
• Guide governance discussions
• Recommend modernization roadmaps

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with AirGate's:

• AI Solutions Engineering Team
• Azure Infrastructure Team
• Cloud Networking Team
• Security Team
• Customer Delivery Managers
• Principal Enterprise Architect

Supporting projects involving:

• Azure AI Foundry
• Azure OpenAI
• Microsoft Fabric
• Azure Landing Zones
• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Azure Red Hat OpenShift (ARO)
• Enterprise cloud modernization
• Managed Services

Hands-On Delivery

This is a hands-on consulting role.

You will be expected to:

• Deploy Microsoft Fabric environments.
• Build enterprise data platforms.
• Configure Azure data services.
• Develop SQL, Spark and Python-based data solutions.
• Build reusable data engineering components.
• Support data migration projects
• Optimize platform performance.
• Troubleshoot production issues.
• Support customer workshops.
• Produce technical documentation.
• Mentor junior engineers.

Practice Development

Approximately 10–15% of your time will focus on growing AirGate's Data & AI practice by:

• Developing reusable Fabric deployment accelerators.
• Building data engineering templates.
• Creating AI data readiness assessment methodologies.
• Developing governance standards.
• Building demonstration environments.
• Evaluating new Microsoft Fabric capabilities.
• Delivering internal technical training.
• Supporting pre-sales engagements.
• Publishing technical best practices.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of Azure data platform engineering experience.
• Strong Microsoft Fabric implementation experience.
• Strong SQL development and performance tuning skills.
• Experience with Azure SQL Database and SQL Managed Instance.
• Experience with Azure Storage and Data Lake.
• Experience building ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Experience with Python for data engineering.
• Experience preparing data for AI or analytics workloads.
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills.
• Experience working directly with customers in consulting or solution delivery roles.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with:

• Microsoft Fabric
• OneLake
• Spark
• Azure Data Factory
• Azure AI Search
• Azure OpenAI integrations
• Microsoft Purview
• Power BI
• Azure Synapse Analytics
• Bicep or Terraform
• Azure networking fundamentals
• Azure security
• Git and Azure DevOps

Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Engineer Associate and related Microsoft certifications are highly desirable**.**

Key Performance Indicators

Success in this role will be measured by:

Customer Success

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
• Successful Fabric adoption
• AI readiness improvements
• Executive customer feedback

Delivery Excellence

• Successful platform deployments
• Data quality improvements
• Documentation quality
• Operational readiness
• Platform performance and reliability

Technical Excellence

• Reusable deployment assets
• Pipeline reliability
• Automation
• Governance implementation
• AI data readiness

Practice Development

• Knowledge sharing
• Mentoring
• Fabric accelerators
• AI readiness methodologies
• Technical innovation
• Contributions to delivery standards

Compensation

Base Salary + Performance Bonus based on:

• Customer Satisfaction
• Delivery Quality
• Practice Development
• Automation
• Knowledge Sharing
• Mentoring
• Innovation
• Business Contribution

Additional benefits include:

• Fully remote (Canada)
• Microsoft certification support
• Professional development budget
• Access to the latest Microsoft Data & AI technologies
• Flexible work environment
• Opportunity to work on enterprise Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Platform and AI readiness projects across Canada

Career Growth

You'll become a key member of AirGate's Data & AI Practice, working alongside AI Solutions Engineers, Azure Infrastructure Architects and Security Architects to deliver complete AI platforms for customers.

As AirGate grows, you'll have opportunities to:

• Lead enterprise Microsoft Fabric programs.
• Define AirGate's AI Data Readiness methodology.
• Build reusable Fabric deployment frameworks.
• Mentor future data engineers and architects.
• Influence Microsoft's Data & AI best practices within AirGate.
• Grow into a Lead Data Architect or Principal Data Architect role.

Why Join AirGate?

Enterprise AI starts with trusted data.

You'll help customers build the secure, governed and high-performing data platforms that make AI successful—not just today, but for years to come.

You'll work on Microsoft Fabric, Azure SQL, AI-ready data architectures, enterprise analytics and modern cloud data platforms while collaborating with experts across AI, networking, infrastructure and security.

If you're passionate about Microsoft Fabric, Azure data platforms, AI readiness and helping organizations unlock the value of their data, we'd love to meet you.

Pay: $115,000.00-$155,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Casual dress
• Company events
• Dental care
• Extended health care
• Paid time off
• Vision care
• Work from home

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree (preferred)

Experience:

• Azure Data Platform: 5 years (required)
• Azure AI Foundry: 1 year (required)
• Microsoft Fabric: 3 years (required)
• Data Security and Governance: 2 years (preferred)

Location:

• Greater Toronto Area, ON (required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Greater Toronto Area, ON