Senior Data Engineer

Bwalk; Calgary; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Boardwalk in Canada is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to lead the migration of a 30-year on-prem SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance. You will shape the migration strategy, oversee data validation, reconciliation, and cutover, and ensure robust rollback procedures.

You will collaborate with BI to build scalable ETL pipelines and Power BI models, while maintaining data quality and performance during dual-run operations.

Qualifications

• Experience migrating on-prem SQL Server to Azure cloud.
• Proficient with SQL Server 2017 and legacy schemas.
• Hands-on with Azure Data Factory and ETL pipelines.
• Strong BI data modeling for Power BI.

Responsibilities

• Lead migration design from on-prem to Azure SQL Managed Instance.
• Assess legacy schemas and remediate compatibility gaps.
• Develop rollback procedures and data validation checks.
• Orchestrate database cutover with minimal disruption.
• Lead ADF ETL framework evolution and data sync strategies.
• Refactor pipelines for high throughput and low latency.
• Collaborate with BI to optimize Power BI models.

Skills

Azure Data Factory

SQL Server

Azure SQL Managed Instance

ETL pipelines

Power BI

Data modeling

Data migration

Job description

Boardwalk provides Canadians with a quality, comfortable, home living experience. We offer rental apartments and townhouses that come in a wide breadth of shapes, sizes and sets of amenities. We operate over 34,000 units across Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Quebec.

This is a contract position

About the Role

The Senior Data Engineer provides architectural direction, technical leadership, and execution oversight for our core database modernization initiative. This role is responsible for shaping and guiding the migration strategy, including environment assessment, data validation, reconciliation, monitoring, and quality controls required to support a controlled transition from legacy SQL Server environments to Azure SQL Managed Instance. Combining deep expertise in legacy database platforms with modern Azure data technologies, this individual will help reduce migration risk, improve confidence in data quality, and establish the foundation for future business intelligence and data platform capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture & Migration Execution

• Lead the architectural design and structural execution of our migration from a 30-year-old on-premises SQL Server 2017 setup to Azure SQL Managed Instance.
• Conduct extensive legacy assessments on decades-old schemas to isolate compatibility gaps, remediate depreciated items, and clear performance blocks for Azure PaaS transition.
• Build, enforce, and test rigorous migration fallback and rollback procedures alongside active live data flows to safeguard enterprise operations.
• Orchestrate and lead database cutover activities to support a controlled transition to Azure with minimal business disruption.
• Lead the technical stewardship, evolution, and operational success of our established Azure Data Factory (ADF) ETL framework and active data synchronization strategies.
• Review, refactor, and scale existing ADF data pipelines to confidently meet high-throughput requirements and strict data latency SLAs.
• Partner directly with our Business Intelligence (BI) team to design, build, and optimize net-new ETL pipelines optimized for Power BI semantic models and dashboards.

Observability, Monitoring & Integrity

• Establish advanced alerting, schema drift detection, error-handling, and automated recovery scripts within the ADF environment.
• Apply systematic monitoring, validation, and reconciliation controls to assess data consistency between on-premises and cloud environments during dual-run operations.
• Coach internal stakeholders on pipeline health metrics and run regular post-migration data audits to ensure permanent operational readiness.

Technical Requirements

• Expert-level proficiency in Azure Data Factory (including Mapping Data Flows, Self-Hosted Integration Runtimes, and CDC mechanisms).
• Expert-level database administration and engineering depth with Microsoft SQL Server (specifically SQL Server 2017 and legacy paradigms).
• Deep hands-on experience deploying, sizing, performance-tuning, and maintaining Azure SQL Managed Instance environments.
• Strong grounding in BI data modeling concepts, star/snowflake schemas, and data warehouse formatting tailored for Power BI consumption.
• Practical understanding of hybrid network infrastructure configurations required for secure cloud data streaming (VPN gateways, ExpressRoute, and VNet isolation).

Non-Technical Requirements

• Excellent communication skills; able to clearly explain migration logic, cutover risks, and architectural compromises to business leaders.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to confidently steer cross-functional technical teams without direct organizational authority.
• Highly skilled at navigating decades-old undocumented database logic, providing clear structure out of systemic ambiguity.
• Demonstrates strong ownership, accountability, and technical leadership in maintaining reliable, well-governed data pipelines and migration processes.

Offers of employment will be contingent on satisfactory Security Background Checks, Reference Checks, and Pre-employment Physical Testing where applicable.