Associate Data Architect

We are looking for a strategic and hands-on Operations Lead to ensure the resilience, performance, and cost-effectiveness of our Azure-based data platform. This role combines platform reliability, incident response, SLA ownership, and cost management (FinOps) with deployment oversight and CI/CD ownership. You will act as the single point of contact for operational issues, coordinate responses to outages, drive platform optimizations, and lead FinOps forums across internal customer groups.

Responsibilities:

• Ensure smooth day-to-day operations of the data platform, covering Azure Synapse, Azure Databricks, ADF, and Power BI.
• Lead root cause analysis, platform incident triage, and stakeholder communications for data quality, delays, or outage incidents.
• Continuously monitor and optimize pipeline performance, compute workloads, Power BI refreshes, and platform resource utilization.
• Define and enforce SLAs for critical datasets, pipelines, and reporting assets.
• Lead FinOps forums with business stakeholders to analyze platform usage, identify cost-saving opportunities, and increase accountability.
• Track, report, and optimize spend across Databricks clusters, Synapse pools, ADF activity runs, and Power BI usage.
• Manage and improve CI/CD pipelines for deploying data pipelines (ADF), notebooks (Databricks), and Power BI assets.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure safe, automated, and compliant releases of data workflows and platform changes.
• Own version control hygiene, release management standards, and rollback procedures for critical changes.
• Implement observability solutions using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, or other native tools to detect issues proactively.
• Create operational dashboards and alerts and automate common failure recovery tasks where possible.
• Develop and maintain runbooks, escalation protocols, and incident management playbooks.
• Collaborate with data engineering and analytics teams to align operational strategy with business priorities and platform roadmap.

Requirements:

• 8+ years in data platform or data operation roles
• 2+ years in a leadership or strategic position supporting modern cloud-based data platforms
• Strong hands-on experience with Azure Synapse, Databricks, ADF, and Power BI
• Experience managing CI/CD workflows for data deployments (e.g., Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions)
• Familiarity with Infrastructure-as-Code, release automation, rollback planning
• Solid grasp of cloud-native monitoring and incident management practices
• Excellent communication skills, especially during high-stakes operational incidents
• Strategic mindset linking technical performance with business value and cost
• Strong documentation, process ownership, and problem-solving skills
• Experience with Azure Purview, data governance tooling, or automated data quality checks
• Familiarity with ITIL or formal service management practices
• FinOps or Azure cost management certification
• Knowledge of GDPR, HIPAA, or other data compliance standards

We have an amazing team of 700+ individuals working on highly innovative enterprise projects & products. Our customer base includes Fortune 100 retail and CPG companies, leading store chains, fast-growth fintech, and multiple Silicon Valley startups.

What makes Confiz stand out is our focus on processes and culture. Confiz is ISO 9001:2015 (QMS), ISO 27001:2022 (ISMS), ISO 20000-1:2018 (ITSM), and ISO 14001:2015 (EMS) certified. We foster a vibrant culture of learning through collaboration and making the workplace fun.

People who work with us engage with cutting-edge technologies while contributing to the company's and their own success.

To learn more about Confiz Limited, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/company/confiz-pakistan/