Job Description:

On behalf of our client, Affinity is seeking a Cloud Data Specialist to join on a permanent basis. Reporting to the Team Lead, Data Operations, the Cloud Data Specialist plays a key role in the development, administration, and support of our Azure-based data platform, with a particular focus on Databricks, data pipeline orchestration using tools like Azure Data Factory (ADF), and environment management using Unity Catalog.

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and optimize scalable data pipelines using Azure Databricks and ADF.
• Administer Databricks environments, including user access, clusters, and Unity Catalog for data lineage, governance, and security.
• Support the deployment, scheduling, and monitoring of data workflows and jobs in Databricks and ADF.
• Implement best practices for CI/CD, version control, and operational monitoring for pipeline deployments.
• Implement and manage Delta Lake to ensure reliable, performant, and ACID-compliant data operations.
• Collaborate with business and data engineering teams to design data models that support analytics and reporting use cases.
• Support integration of data from multiple sources into the enterprise data lake and data warehouse
• Configure API calls to utilize our Azure APIM platform.
• Maintain and enhance data quality, structure, and performance within the Lakehouse and warehouse architecture.
• Work cross-functionally with business units, data scientists, BI analysts, and other stakeholders to understand data requirements.
• Translate technical solutions into business-friendly language and deliver clear documentation and training when required.

Required Technical Expertise:

Apache Spark (on Databricks)

• Proficient in PySpark and spark SQL
• Spark optimization techniques (caching, partitioning, broadcast joins)
• Writing and scheduling notebooks/jobs in Databricks
• Understanding of Delta Lake architecture and features
• Working with Databricks Workflows (pipelines and job orchestration)

SQL/Python Programming

• Handling JSON, XML, and other semi-structured formats
• Experience with API integration using requests, http, etc.
• Error handling and logging

API Ingestion

• Designing and implementing ingestion pipelines for RESTful API
• Transforming and loading JSON responses to Spark tables

Cloud & Data Platform Skills

• Databricks on Azure
• Cluster configuration and management
• Unity Catalog features (optional but good to have)

Azure Data Factory

• Creating and managing pipelines for orchestration
• Linked services and datasets for ADLS, Databricks, SQL Server
• Parameterized and dynamic ADF pipelines
• Triggering Databricks notebooks from ADF

Data Engineering Foundations

• Data modeling and warehousing concepts
• ETL/ELT design patterns
• Data validation and quality checks
• Working with structured and semi-structured data (JSON, Parquet, Avro)

DevOps & CI/CD

• Git/GitHub for version control
• CI/CD using Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions for Databricks jobs
• Infrastructure-as-code (Terraform for Databricks or ADF)

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field.
• 4+ years of experience in a cloud data engineering, data platform, or analytics engineering role.
• Development experience using SQL and Python is required.
• Familiarity with data governance, security principles, and data quality best practices.
• Excellent analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work collaboratively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Microsoft certifications in Azure Data Engineer, Power Platform, or related field is desired
• Experience with Azure APIM is nice to have
• Knowledge of enterprise data architecture and data warehouse principles (e.g., dimensional modeling) an asset

Affinity Earn:

Know someone who’s great for this, or any of our open roles? Earn up to $4,000/year for each successful referral through Affinity Earn. You can also earn up to $50,000 for helping us find new clients. Learn about our referral program at https://affinity-group.ca/earn/ or browse our jobs & follow us at https://www.linkedin.com/company/affinity-staffing/jobs/

About Affinity:

Affinity Group is a technology and business consulting and services company. We believe in creating long term relationships between clients and consultants that foster a mutually beneficial partnership. Affinity is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.

For more information on Affinity, please visit www.affinity-group.ca

Job Number: 12621