Senior Azure Data Engineer - Managed Services

Hippo is looking for a talented and proactive Senior Azure Data Engineer to join our growing Managed Services team. In this client-facing role, you’ll work across a variety of data platforms and cloud-based solutions to ensure our clients’ data environments are robust, scalable, and high performing. You will be a trusted technical expert, solving real world data challenges, enhancing platform reliability, and helping clients get real value from their data. As a Senior Azure Data Engineer at Hippo, you'll be a key contributor within a multi-disciplinary team, working on digital solutions that deliver real value to users. You’ll collaborate with internal teams and clients to provide technical leadership and hands‑on engineering, guiding platform development and operational excellence. Please note, we are looking for candidates who are looking for growth at this level (Senior), therefore the advertised salary band is the lower end of our full banding for this level of position, allowing for progression in the role. There is an on-call requirement as part of our Managed Services Team. All applicants must be willing to be part of the rota.

Key Responsibilities

• Support and enhance data solutions built on Microsoft Fabric, SQL, Azure Data Factory, and SSIS.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and proactively resolve data pipeline issues across multiple client environments.
• Design and implement robust CI/CD practices for data workflows and deployments.
• Lead on performance tuning, data optimisation, and platform reliability improvements.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to gather requirements, deliver updates, and translate complex data issues into clear actions.
• Maintain strong client relationships with a focus on reliability, trust, and value delivery.
• Share best practices and mentor junior data engineers within the team.
• Champion continuous improvement in development practices, testing, and deployment.

Skills and experience that you need

Essential Skills

• Proven experience as a Data Engineer supporting production data pipelines and platforms.
• Strong knowledge of T‑SQL and SQL Server with experience in performance tuning and query optimisation.
• Hands‑on experience with Microsoft Fabric and Azure Data Factory, including pipeline orchestration, linked services, environment management and parameterisation.
• Experience with SSIS for ETL processes and legacy data integration tasks.
• Experience in a range of architecture approaches and building scalable, resilient systems.
• Expertise in designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Azure DevOps.
• Proven ability to work within Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and a Test‑Driven Development (TDD) environment.
• Strong communication skills, capable of engaging both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Experience in managing multiple client environments, ensuring stability, scalability, and performance optimisation.

Desirable Skills

• Understanding of data governance, data quality, and metadata management practices.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (e.g. Bicep, Terraform, or ARM templates).
• Familiarity with Power BI, Synapse Analytics, or other components of the Microsoft data ecosystem.
• Experience with scripting or programming languages such as Python for automation or data transformation.
• Exposure to IT Service Management (ITSM) tools like HaloPSA, ServiceNow, or similar.
• Experience working in a consultancy environment or supporting multiple concurrent client engagements.
• Knowledge of monitoring and alerting tools like Azure Monitor and Log Analytics.

What makes us great

As well as a competitive salary which we’re transparent about from the outset, you can also expect a range of benefits:

• Contributory pension scheme (Hippo 6% with employee contributions of 2%)
• 25 days holiday plus UK public holidays
• Perkbox access for a wide range of discounts
• Critical illness cover
• Life assurance and death in service cover
• Volunteer days
• Cycle‑to‑work scheme for the avid cyclists
• Salary sacrifice electric vehicles scheme
• Season ticket loans
• Financial and general wellbeing sessions
• Flexible benefits scheme with options of: private health cover, private dental cover, additional company pension contributions, additional holidays (up to an extra 2 days), wellbeing contribution, charity contributions, tree planting

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Hippo

At Hippo, we’re dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that works for everyone. We understand that having a diverse team unlocks our capacity for innovation, creativity and problem solving. Only by building a community of diverse perspectives, cultures and socio‑economic backgrounds can we create an environment where all can contribute and thrive. We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and people with disabilities. We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process that reflects our workplace culture. We are a registered Disability Confident Employer, Mindful Employer, Endometriosis Friendly Employer and a member of the Armed Forces Covenant. Hippo continually strives to remove barriers, provide accommodations and offer reasonable adjustments to ensure equity throughout our practices.

Hippo locations

We are headquartered in Leeds and have offices across the UK in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Bristol. We're on the lookout for top talent nationwide but you need to be located within reasonable travelling distance from one of our offices which will be your contracted office location. Given the dynamic nature of a consulting business, you may be required to work on‑site at a Hippo office or at an in/out of town client location for a number of days per week (client dependent) and therefore candidates will need to be open/flexible to travel. Plus, we offer a generous relocation support package of up to £8k (please ask for terms and conditions) to help make your move a smooth one.