Please note that this is a contract role providing services to Microsoft through external staffing partners of Allegis Global Solutions (AGS). If you are selected for this role, you will be employed by AGS and will not be an employee of Microsoft.
Role Summary
This is a hands-on senior data engineering contractor role focused on modernising an existing Azure data platform. The person will lead a Unity Catalog migration, redesign data orchestration processes, improve platform reliability, and reduce cloud spend. They will provide technical leadership while remaining heavily involved in architecture, code reviews, and delivery. This is best suited to someone who has already led Azure Databricks transformation projects in production environments.
Key Responsibilities
Lead the technical delivery of a data platform modernization programme.
Own the design and execution of Unity Catalog migration across key data domains.
Define and implement modern orchestration patterns, replacing legacy workflows.
Improve performance and reduce costs across Databricks clusters, Spark jobs, storage, and scheduling.
Establish engineering standards for:
Review architecture decisions and critical pull requests.
Mentor engineers and provide technical guidance.
Work closely with platform, product, analytics, and business stakeholders.
Deliver migrations with minimal business disruption.
Must-Have Skills (Non-Negotiable)
Technical
Azure Databricks (expert level)
Azure Data Factory (ADF)
SQL
Python
Apache Spark
Cloud platform optimisation and cost reduction
Data platform migrations or modernization programmes
Git and modern code review practices
CI/CD implementation
Monitoring, observability, and incident management
Experience
Led delivery of production-grade Azure data platforms.
Successfully delivered large migration or transformation projects.
Experience making measurable improvements in performance, reliability, and cloud costs.
Comfortable operating as a technical lead rather than only an individual contributor.
Nice-to-Have Skills
Unity Catalog migration experience
Gaming industry experience
Game telemetry / event-streaming data experience
Power BI
Tableau
Lakehouse architecture expertise
Data reliability engineering (DRE) background
Experience Level Guidance
Ideal Level
8-15+ years in Data Engineering / Data Platform Engineering
3-5+ years working heavily with Azure Databricks
Previous Technical Lead, Lead Data Engineer, Principal Data Engineer, or Data Platform Architect experience
Additional Details:
Location: Atherstone, England
Duration: 12 months
Shift Timings: Hybrid (Hours minimum 10-4pm; 3 days / week onsite)
Pay Range: £255/day to £287/day (PAYE)
Weekly Schedule: 40 hours
As a workplace, Allegis Global Solutions focuses on relationships – with each other, our clients and our candidates. In fact, serving others is one of our core values. We support open communication and recognize that giving constructive criticism can be even harder than receiving it. We appreciate the fearless and the passionate, who force us to be better. Everything we do sits on a pillar of diversity, equity and inclusion - diverse perspectives, backgrounds and ideas achieve innovation and make us successful.
Please note that we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to screen, assess, or select applicants for this position. These tools may analyze application materials and assist our team in identifying candidates whose qualifications best match the requirements of the role. If you have questions about our use of AI in the hiring process, or would like more information, please contact us.
Pay Rate Range
255 - 287 GBP daily
