Principal Microsoft Data & AI Engineer

Motion Recruitment; Minneapolis (MN); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Motion Recruitment seeks a Principal Microsoft Data & AI Engineer for a hybrid role across Minneapolis, MN, Irving, TX, or Charlotte, NC. The candidate will lead design and delivery of data platforms, leveraging SQL Server, Fabric, and AI-assisted workflows.

The role demands 7+ years in data/engineering, strong SQL, and hands-on experience with modern data platforms. Collaboration with business stakeholders is essential for delivering analytics-ready data assets.

Qualifications

• 7+ years engineering experience or equivalent in data/analytics.
• 7+ years in data engineering, analytics, or related.
• Advanced hands-on SQL Server and complex SQL development.
• Experience designing ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Hands-on Microsoft Fabric or equivalent cloud data platform.
• Strong data modeling knowledge (relational/dimensional/semantic).
• Experience integrating enterprise data with diverse sources.

Responsibilities

• Develop scalable data ingestion and integration pipelines using SQL Server and Fabric.
• Design enterprise data models to support Power BI and AI workflows.
• Write and optimize advanced SQL and data transformations.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate requirements into data products.
• Use AI tools to assist data analysis, SQL and code development, and documentation.
• Ensure data governance, quality, and security across environments.

Skills

Communication skills

Independent work

AI experience

Problem solving

Tools

Microsoft SQL Server

Power BI

Excel

Azure Databricks

Microsoft Fabric

GitHub

Azure DevOps

CI/CD

Python/PySpark

Job description

Outstanding long-term contract opportunity! A well-known Financial Services Company is looking for a Principal Microsoft Data & AI Engineer in Minneapolis, MN, Irving, TX, or Charlotte NC. (Hybrid).
Work with the brightest minds at one of the largest financial institutions in the world. This is a long-term contract opportunity that includes a competitive benefit package! Our client has been around for over 150 years and is continuously innovating in today's digital age. If you want to work for a company that is not only a household name, but also truly cares about satisfying customers' financial needs and helping people succeed financially,

Contract Duration: 18 Months

Required Skills & Experience

• 7+ years of Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work or consulting experience, training, military experience, education.
• 7+ years of progressively responsible experience in data engineering, database engineering, analytics
• engineering, data integration, or a related discipline.
• Advanced hands‑on Microsoft SQL Server and complex SQL development experience.
• Experience designing and delivering reusable ETL or ELT pipelines.
• Hands‑on Microsoft Fabric experience or strong experience with a comparable modern cloud data
• platform.
• Strong knowledge of relational, dimensional, semantic, and analytical data modeling.
• Experience designing enterprise data models using repository‑driven standards and Medallion
• methodology to create governed, high‑quality, analytics‑ready data assets.
• Experience integrating enterprise data with nonstandard sources such as Excel, files, APIs,
• email‑delivered data, exported reports, or authorized website data.
• Demonstrated data profiling, validation, reconciliation, and data quality problem‑solving experience.
• Advanced Excel skills, including Power Query, data models, PivotTables, advanced formulas, and external data connections.
• Experience preparing data for Power BI, Excel, human analysts, or AI‑assisted analytical workflows.
• Working knowledge of source control, code review, testing, release management, and production support.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain technical designs, assumptions, limitations, and
• findings to nontechnical stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and manage ambiguity in a complex, regulated enterprise environment.
• AI Experience
• Candidates should have practical, work‑related experience with one or more AI‑assisted engineering or
• productivity tools, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Microsoft Cowork, Devin,
• Visual Studio Code with approved AI extensions, or other enterprise‑approved LLM tools.
• Developing and refining prompts for data discovery, analysis, SQL generation, testing, documentation,
• and interpretation of results.
• Providing schema context, definitions, examples, constraints, and expected output formats within
• prompts.
• Validating AI‑generated SQL, calculations, code, summaries, and analytical conclusions.
• Recognizing hallucinations, unsupported conclusions, incorrect assumptions, and data leakage risk.
• Creating repeatable prompt templates or AI‑assisted workflows that improve analyst productivity.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Business Intelligence & Reporting
• Advanced MS Excel
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Azure Databricks
• Data Modeling
• Microsoft Fabric Components
• Power bi fabric
• SQL
• Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse, Warehouse, Data Factory, Dataflows Gen2, notebooks, or semantic model
• experience.
• Azure SQL, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Data Factory, or related Azure data services.
• Python, PySpark, PowerShell, or another data transformation and automation language.
• Power BI experience, including semantic models, DAX, Power Query, performance optimization, and
• executive reporting.
• Power Apps or Power Automate experience.
• Databricks, Delta Lake, Spark, medallion architecture, or comparable lakehouse experience.
• Experience supporting both traditional business intelligence and AI‑based analysis.
• Experience with APIs, JSON, XML, HTML parsing, browser automation, or approved web data extraction.
• Experience working with confidential or sensitive data in a regulated environment.
• GitHub, Azure DevOps, ServiceNow, CI/CD, or automated testing experience.

What You Will Be Doing

• Consult as an expert to develop or influence initiatives and resources for highly complex business and technical needs across Engineering.
• Consult on the strategy and resolution of highly complex and unique challenges requiring in-depth evaluation across multiple areas, delivering solutions that are long‑term, large‑scale and require vision, creativity, innovation, and advanced analytical and inductive thinking.
• Provide expertise to client senior leadership on innovative Engineering business solutions.
• Strategically engage with client personnel.
• Design, build, test, deploy, and support scalable data ingestion, transformation, and integration
• solutions using Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Fabric.
• Develop reusable ETL and ELT processes that move data from authorized enterprise systems into
• governed analytical data stores and semantic models.
• Write and optimize advanced SQL, including complex queries, stored procedures, views,
• transformations, and performance‑tuned processing routines.
• Design relational, dimensional, semantic, and analytical data models that support Power BI, Excel,
• human analysis, and approved AI‑assisted analysis
• Design enterprise data models using repository‑driven standards and Medallion methodology to deliver
• governed, high‑quality, analytics‑ready data assets.
• Integrate structured, semi‑structured, and unstructured data from databases, Excel, CSV files,
• email‑delivered files, APIs, exported reports, and authorized web‑based sources.
• Create controlled, repeatable processes for nonstandard data sources with validation, reconciliation,
• traceability, and error handling.
• Profile data, identify quality issues, determine root causes, and implement remediation or monitoring
• controls.
• Build curated, analysis‑ready datasets and semantic models for Power BI, Excel, analysts, and approved
• AI tools.
• Use approved generative AI tools to assist with data analysis, SQL and code development,
• documentation, testing, troubleshooting, and prompt‑based workflows.
• Validate AI‑generated SQL, code, calculations, summaries, and analytical conclusions before use.
• Translate business and analytical needs into clear data requirements, technical designs, and usable
• data products.
• Follow applicable data governance, privacy, information security, risk, and compliance requirements.

Posted By: Jennifer Reynolds