Lead Data Engineering Architect

adesso Belgium, who are we? We are an IT (start-up) provider working under the adesso umbrella with a proven track record in different industries. The new Belgian entity of adesso is part of the expansion and growth strategy of the adesso group. With more than 12,000 employees spread over 70 locations, we are entering an exciting period with our presence in Brussels, the capital of Europe.

At adesso Belgium, we combine the entrepreneurial energy of a growing local organisation with the expertise and reach of an international technology group. Our Data & AI practice helps clients turn data into measurable value by designing and delivering secure, scalable and production-ready platforms.

Your role

As Lead Data Engineering Architect, you will be a senior technical leader and trusted advisor for our clients. You will combine architecture expertise, hands-on engineering know-how and delivery leadership to help our customers design, build and evolve modern data platforms.

Working closely with the Practice Lead and a growing team of consultants, you will play a key role in shaping delivery success, guiding technical decisions, mentoring engineers and supporting the continued growth of our Data & AI practice in Belgium.

You will lead architecture and delivery activities across multiple client engagements, act as a trusted technical counterpart for stakeholders, and help translate business objectives into scalable, secure and production-ready data platform solutions.

As the practice continues to grow, you will have the opportunity to progressively expand your responsibilities in areas such as client development, pre-sales, recruitment, coaching and practice leadership.

• participate the end-to-end delivery of Data Platform & Engineering engagements, from initial scoping through kick-off, onboarding, execution, steering, quality assurance and closure of the delivery.

• Act as the primary technical contact for clients, building trusted relationships with delivery stakeholders, sponsors and decision-makers.

• Coordinate between one and four engagements, maintaining clear priorities, delivery plans, dependencies, risks, decisions and escalation paths.

• Take ownership of scope and architecture decisions, with broader staffing and delivery choices made in close collaboration with the Practice Lead.

• Lead operational steering meetings, communicate progress transparently and manage technical issues, delays, consultant transitions and scope changes.

• Safeguard delivery quality through architecture reviews, engineering standards, technical assessments and hands-on quality checks.

• Identify follow-on opportunities within existing engagements and bring them to Sales and the Practice Lead without compromising delivery focus.

Architecture and engineering leadership

• Design and evolve modern cloud data platform architectures, primarily across Microsoft Azure, Databricks and Microsoft Fabric, with Snowflake experience considered an advantage.

• Remain hands-on when required, particularly in Python, PySpark, Terraform, Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD.

• Define scalable patterns for ingestion, transformation, orchestration, security, monitoring, deployment and operational quality.

• Translate business and non-functional requirements into pragmatic architecture choices and executable delivery plans.

• Challenge designs constructively, coach engineers and ensure that solutions are maintainable, secure, cost-conscious and ready for production.

• Contribute across adjacent Data & AI topics when an engagement requires cross-domain collaboration.

Pre-sales and practice contribution

• Support technical qualification, solution shaping, architecture, effort estimation, staffing, planning and risk assessment for new opportunities.

• Present and defend proposed solutions with clients, supported by the Practice Lead where appropriate.

• Run technical interviews and provide a clear go/no-go recommendation for Data Platform & Engineering candidates.

• Help shape recruitment priorities and support the certification and competence development of consultants.

• Represent the practice credibly in client discussions and, over time, contribute to reusable assets, delivery standards, partner activities and the evolution of the Data Platform offering.

Your profile

Must have

• 9+ years of experience in Data Engineering, Cloud Data Platforms, Data Architecture or Technology Consulting.

• Strong expertise in Microsoft Azure and Databricks, with experience delivering modern cloud-based data platforms.

• Solid hands-on experience with Python, PySpark and modern data engineering practices.

• Experience designing and delivering scalable, secure and maintainable data solutions in enterprise environments.

• Ability to translate business requirements into architecture decisions and practical delivery plans.

• Experience interacting directly with clients, leading workshops and communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Proven ability to coach, mentor or guide engineering teams.

• Professional fluency in English and native proficiency in either French or Dutch.

• Willingness to work with clients across Belgium and collaborate regularly with the Brussels-based team.

Nice to have

• Experience with Microsoft Fabric and/or Snowflake.

• Experience with Terraform, Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD practices.

• Knowledge of DataOps, DevOps, cloud security, governance, observability or FinOps.

• Experience leading delivery teams or coordinating multiple parallel workstreams.

• Experience supporting pre-sales activities, solution design or effort estimation.

• Experience in consulting environments and customer-facing delivery organizations.

• Familiarity with Agile delivery frameworks such as Scrum, SAFe or PRINCE2.

• Microsoft, Databricks or other relevant cloud certifications.

Why join adesso Belgium?

• Meaningful work and projects: work within your domain of expertise where you can create value for customers and grow together with the company

• Strategic opinion: your opinion and contribution to the expansion of the company is very valuable and counts! You can give the company direction bringing in your ideas, creativity, and vision for future growth!

• Growtogether: with over 400 training courses and our digital learning platform, we support your continuous development.

• Knowledge sharing & building communities: you will build a knowledge center and Data & AI community (BENELUX)

• Work-Life Balance & Flexibility: Enjoy hybrid working options and a dynamic work environment: we are located in the beautiful ‘Gare Maritime’ building (Tour & Taxi) nearby the Brussels North Train Station with a lot of different facilities like the food corner, gym, padel courts, …. there is even a skate park :)

• Comprehensive Benefits: Competitive salary, company car with a mobility budget, charging card, net allowance, meal vouchers, insurances, FIP and 32 days of annual leave.

• Global Reach with Local Expertise: you will be part of a small agile company where our culture code will drive us to success. As part of an international company, we are supported in different domains with expertise and top-notch reference cases!