Data Engineer

**About The Company** MCS Group is a leading recruitment agency renowned for connecting talented professionals with innovative organizations across various industries. With a strong presence in the UK and Ireland, MCS Group prides itself on delivering tailored recruitment solutions that align with clients' strategic goals. The company fosters a collaborative environment, emphasizing professional growth and excellence in service delivery. Its extensive network and industry expertise enable it to identify the best talent for roles spanning technology, finance, engineering, and more, ensuring both clients and candidates achieve their aspirations. **About The Role** We are collaborating with a rapidly expanding UK-based software company operating within the insurance sector to recruit an Azure SQL DBA / Data Platform Engineer for a new, pivotal role. This position offers a unique opportunity to take ownership of the company's data platform strategy, focusing on modernizing and consolidating client reporting solutions into Azure-based, repeatable processes. The role involves designing, developing, and maintaining data pipelines, ensuring the health and performance of the Azure SQL estate, and working closely with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality data solutions. This is a strategic, hands-on position that requires a proactive individual capable of defining the roadmap for the company's data platform evolution, with scope for future team leadership and growth. **Qualifications** The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in SQL Server and Azure SQL administration, with proven experience in managing and optimizing large-scale data environments. Hands-on expertise with ETL tools, particularly Azure Data Factory or Microsoft Fabric, is essential. Candidates should demonstrate proficiency in T-SQL, performance tuning, and query optimization. Experience with cloud-based data solutions, including Azure Synapse, Data Lake, or Power BI, is advantageous but not mandatory. A self-starter attitude, excellent stakeholder engagement skills, and the ability to work independently are crucial. Relevant certifications in Azure or SQL Server, along with experience in data governance, master data management, and CI/CD practices for databases, will be highly regarded. **Responsibilities** Taking ownership of the data platform strategy, the successful candidate will lead efforts to migrate bespoke client reporting into Azure-based, scalable solutions. Key responsibilities include assessing the current data landscape across a diverse client base, designing and implementing ETL pipelines, and delivering data in various formats to meet client needs. You will collaborate with the head of data to understand report requirements and work alongside a dedicated Azure platform engineer to provision necessary resources. Monitoring and maintaining the health of the Azure SQL environment, including performance tuning, capacity planning, backups, and security management, will be a core part of your daily tasks. Additionally, you will identify and resolve performance issues, optimize queries, and explore innovative AI-assisted data transformation techniques, leveraging tools like Azure AI Foundry. As the role develops, there will be opportunities to build and lead a team, contributing to the company's long-term data strategy and growth plans. **Benefits** The company offers a comprehensive benefits package, including a competitive salary, continuous professional development opportunities, and a pension scheme with salary sacrifice options. Employees enjoy an enhanced holiday entitlement, a holiday trading scheme, private healthcare, and wellbeing memberships. Additional perks include eyecare, flu vaccinations, paid lunch hours, and participation in social and team-building events. The role is based in Belfast with a hybrid working model, requiring three days in the office from Tuesday to Thursday, and two days from home. There are no out-of-hours or on-call commitments, providing a healthy work-life balance. This position presents a rare chance to shape a greenfield data platform and grow within a forward-thinking organization that values innovation and professional growth. Equal Opportunity MCS Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees. We celebrate diversity and are dedicated to ensuring fair treatment regardless of race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristic protected by law. We believe that diverse teams drive innovation and success, and we actively promote a workplace culture that respects and values individual differences. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic.