Data Engineer – Microsoft Fabric / Azure Data Platform — Remote – U.S. Eastern Time Zone - Kore1

KORE1, a nationwide provider of staffing and recruiting solutions, is seeking a Data Engineer – Microsoft Fabric / Azure Data Platform for a growing environmental consulting organization. This is an opportunity to join a greenfield data-platform initiative and help build a modern enterprise data environment from the ground up. The organization is rebuilding its existing Azure data lake using Microsoft Fabric, creating a unified platform that will ultimately support analytics, reporting, and future AI/ML initiatives. The Data Engineer will initially work alongside an experienced implementation partner and internal technical team to design and build the new environment. Over time, this individual is expected to become the internal technical owner of the data platform, establishing standards, defining the roadmap, and helping determine how the platform evolves. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys hands-on engineering today but wants the opportunity to grow into broader technical ownership. Key Responsibilities Help design and implement a new enterprise data platform utilizing Microsoft Fabric and Azure. Build and maintain production ETL/ELT pipelines that ingest and transform data from multiple internal and external sources. Work with the implementation partner and internal technical team during the initial platform build and knowledge-transfer process. Design and maintain data structures within a modern Lakehouse environment. Establish standards and best practices for data organization, naming, governance, source control, deployment, testing, monitoring, documentation, and error handling. Write, troubleshoot, and optimize SQL across complex datasets. Partner with business and technical stakeholders to understand source data, business requirements, and downstream use cases. Serve as an internal technical resource for the platform, troubleshooting issues and building organizational knowledge. Support downstream analytics, reporting, and future AI/ML initiatives. Help reduce reliance on outside implementation resources by developing strong internal ownership of the platform. Continuously evaluate new technologies and approaches as the data environment evolves. Required Qualifications Hands-on experience with Microsoft Fabric. Strong experience within the Microsoft Azure data ecosystem. Experience designing, building, and supporting production ETL/ELT data pipelines. Strong SQL skills, including the ability to write, interpret, troubleshoot, and optimize queries. Strong understanding of ETL concepts and data-pipeline architecture; experience with a specific ETL tool is not required. Demonstrated ability to learn and adopt new technologies quickly. Ability to independently own technical initiatives from design and implementation through documentation and ongoing support. Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities. Ability to collaborate effectively with both technical teams and business/domain experts. Ability to work core business hours in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone. U.S. citizenship required. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Preferred Qualifications Experience with Microsoft Fabric technologies such as OneLake, Lakehouse, Data Factory, Notebooks, and Spark. Experience designing medallion or multi-layer Lakehouse architectures, including bronze/silver/gold patterns. Python and/or PySpark experience. Experience developing data pipelines supporting AI/ML or advanced analytics workloads. Experience working with complex or highly varied datasets. Experience within environmental consulting, engineering, scientific, government contracting, or a similar professional-services environment. Located within reasonable distance of the Baltimore, MD / greater Washington, D.C. region for occasional in-person collaboration. Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate is an intellectually curious, adaptable Data Engineer who enjoys building and learning rather than simply maintaining an established environment. We're looking for someone who can quickly learn new technologies, comfortably navigate ambiguity, and take increasing ownership as the platform matures. You should be able to work effectively with subject-matter experts who may not be data engineers and translate their business and technical needs into scalable data solutions. This role offers a significant growth opportunity: the initial focus will be hands-on implementation, with the longer-term goal of becoming the primary technical owner of the organization's data platform. Work Arrangement This position is fully remote, with employees expected to work core hours aligned with the U.S. Eastern Time Zone. Candidates located near the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region are preferred for occasional in-person collaboration, but in office attendance is not required. Contract-to-Hire This position will begin as a contract-to-hire engagement with the intention of converting to a permanent, full-time position. The anticipated permanent salary range is $110,000–$125,000, depending on experience and qualifications. The organization is targeting a near-term start to align with the initial platform implementation; however, finding the right long-term fit is more important than meeting a specific start date.