Contract Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Jobs in Colorado

Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Position Overview

This position will be based on-site at our office in Denver, CO. in alignment with our flexible work policy. (3 days on site required, 2 days flexible).

Vantage Data Centers is seeking a MidLevel Data Engineer to help build, operate, and scale our enterprise data platform. This role is designed for an engineer who can operate independently, execute reliably in a fastpaced environment, and take ownership of data pipelines and datasets with minimal rampup.

As part of the Data Engineering & Business Intelligence team, you will be responsible for delivering productionready data solutions that support analytics, reporting, and emerging AIenabled use cases. You will work closely with senior data engineers and business partners, but this role assumes a selfstarter mindset with the ability to move from requirements to implementation without constant oversight.

Success in this position requires comfort with ambiguity, strong execution discipline, and accountability for results.

Essential Job Functions

• Design, build, and maintain reliable, scalable data pipelines using Python and PySpark on the Microsoft Azure data platform.

• Develop and operate batch and incremental data pipelines leveraging Azure Data Factory for orchestration and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 as the primary data store.

• Independently implement SQL- and Sparkbased transformations to produce curated datasets that support enterprise reporting, analytics, and downstream consumption.

• Take ownership of assigned data pipelines and datasets, including monitoring, troubleshooting, and performance optimization in production environments.

• Work with Azure (dedicated or serverless where applicable) to support analytical workloads and data consumption patterns.

• Collaborate with business analysts and crossfunctional stakeholders to translate data requirements into practical, working data solutions.

• Prepare and structure data to support advanced analytics and AIenabled use cases by ensuring data quality, consistency, and documentation.

• Apply established data governance, security, and engineering standards to ensure compliant, maintainable, and scalable solutions.

• Participate in code reviews, technical discussions, and platform improvement initiatives as an active contributor.

• Proactively identify data quality issues, pipeline risks, and improvement opportunities, and communicate them clearly in a fastpaced environment.

Duties

• Develop and maintain PySpark notebooks and jobs to ingest, transform, and curate data within the enterprise data platform.

• Build and modify Azure Data Factory pipelines for batch and incremental data ingestion.

• Implement Sparkbased transformations that write curated datasets to Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 using established folder structures and naming conventions.

• Create and maintain SQL views and tables in Azure Synapse to support analytics and reporting use cases.

• Respond to pipeline failures, data validation issues, and operational alerts.

• Perform basic performance tuning of Spark jobs (e.g., partitioning, filtering, incremental logic) within established architectural patterns and standards.

• Validate data outputs with business partners and address data defects or discrepancies.

• Commit code using Git, follow branching standards, and participate in pull request reviews.

• Update documentation for pipelines, datasets, and operational runbooks as changes are made.

• Execute assigned backlog items within sprint timelines and raise risks or blockers early.

• Additional duties as assigned by management

Job Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Analytics, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in data engineering or analytics engineering.

• Proficiency in Python for building and maintaining data pipelines, automation, and data processing workflows, including use of PySpark.

• Proficiency in SQL for querying, transformation, and analytical data processing.

• Solid understanding of ETL/ELT pipelines, data transformation patterns, and data integration concepts.

• Experience analyzing enterprise data sources to identify data relationships, transformations, and business rules.

• Experience building solutions on the Microsoft Azure platform with exposure to services such as Databricks, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, and related analytics services.

• Experience working with source control and CI/CD workflows using tools such as GitHub or Azure DevOps.

• Working knowledge of data modeling fundamentals, including fact and dimension tables.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate across teams in a fastpaced environment.

• Experience working in Agile development environments.

• Experience using collaboration and project tracking tools such as Jira or similar tools.

• Travel required is expected to be up to 10% but may increase over time as the business evolves.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working with distributed data processing frameworks, including Apache Spark.

• Exposure to advanced analytics or AIadjacent data use cases, including preparing data for machine learning or intelligent applications.

• Familiarity with additional Azure services such as Azure Functions or Logic Apps in support of data workflows.

• Experience supporting data platform enhancement, refactoring, or modernization initiatives.

• Familiarity with data quality, reliability, and operational best practices in production environments.

• Experience working in a scaling or fastpaced organization where priorities evolve quickly.

Physical Demands and Special Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle, or feel objects; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop or kneel; talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Additional Details

• Salary Range: $100,000-$130,000 + Bonus (this range is based on Colorado market data and may vary in other locations)

• This position is eligible for company benefits including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program that includes company match, and many other additional voluntary benefits.

• Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including your qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience and may fall outside of the range shown.

#LI-SM2

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other's strengths and respecting each other's weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.

We'll be accepting applications for at least one week from the date this role is posted. If you're interested, we encourage you to apply soon-we're excited to find the right person and will keep the role open until we do!