Senior Data Engineer (Microsoft Fabric / Azure)

About us
Hoare Lea is a human-centric and planet-conscious engineering consultancy. We offer intelligent and sustainable solutions to complex design challenges for the built environment throughout the UK and further afield.

We provide a wide range of engineering and consultancy services, including acoustics, air quality, building services (MEP), fire, lighting, security and sustainability to name but a few. Together, our highly skilled teams use technical expertise and problem-solving skills to bring buildings to life. We ensure that whatever the building, its design is outstanding, and its operations meet the needs of the communities it serves.

We are committed to providing an environment where everyone can realise their unique potential. So, in joining Hoare Lea, you will experience a business that enriches your knowledge, supports your wellbeing, and welcomes your individuality. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in our 9-day fortnight scheme, thriving community groups, varied social and networking events, and extensive professional and technical development schemes. We also offer an extensive benefits package, including private medical cover, electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, stock options, and up to 30 days of annual leave.

Whatever your ambitions or circumstances, our aim is to enable everyone to develop their knowledge, give their best, and enjoy what they do.

About the team
This role sits within the Data team within our Digital group, part of our Product and Innovation function.

It's an exciting time to join our team. We’re on a mission to transform the way the industry delivers and maintains urban environments that work for people and planet, starting with our own business, and we’re starting to build momentum.

We’ve developed an ecosystem through a mixture of procured tools and a bespoke web-based platform called Origin, designed to enable engineers and consultants to make smarter decisions using data and insights. This means gathering, using and reusing both project design data and real-world building performance data from start to finish.

About the role
We are looking for a Senior Data Engineer to take ownership of our Microsoft Fabric platform and make it a reliable foundation for analytics across the business. You will be responsible for building and maintaining data pipelines, modelling data for analytics, and ensuring the platform is governed and scalable.

Key responsibilities

• Own and manage the Microsoft Fabric environment (OneLake, Pipelines, Dataflows, Notebooks).
• Build automated ingestion pipelines for flat files and APIs (batch-oriented).
• Design and manage orchestration workflows (e.g. Data Factory, Fabric Pipelines).
• Develop and maintain data models and medallion architecture (Bronze → Silver → Gold).
• Deliver high-quality datasets optimised for Power BI consumption.
• Apply best practices in CI/CD, testing, and version control.
• Monitor and optimise pipelines for performance, cost, and reliability.
• Collaborate with the central DevOps and IT teams to ensure compliance with security and governance policies.
• Provide guidance and standards for data engineering best practice within the digital team.

About you
Skills and experience

• Strong experience in data engineering with the Azure data stack (Fabric, Data Factory, Synapse).
• Proficiency in SQL and Python for data transformation, ETL/ELT and automation.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD, Git, and DevOps practices for data workflows.
• Experience designing and implementing layered data models.
• Ability to work independently as the first data engineer and set standards from the ground up.
• Excellent communication skills, able to collaborate with IT stakeholders as well as data scientists, analysts and business stakeholders.

Nice to have

• Exposure to Microsoft Fabric specifically.
• Experience with distributed data processing (e.g. Spark).
• Familiarity with equivalent cloud platforms (AWS, GCP).
• Exposure to Snowflake or Databricks.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We are committed to providing an environment where everyone can realise their unique potential.