Senior Data Governance Engineer

Senior Data Governance Engineer

Location: Midwest region (remote flexibility may be available)

Role Summary
The Senior Data Governance Engineer is a key technical leader responsible for architecting and implementing enterprise-grade governance and security capabilities across the organization’s data ecosystem, with an emphasis on Microsoft Fabric. This role defines and operationalizes how data is secured, cataloged, classified, and governed across domains to ensure trust, compliance, and discoverability. The Senior Engineer collaborates with data owners, architects, and security teams to design scalable frameworks, automate governance controls, and establish best practices for responsible data use.

Key Responsibilities

Governance Architecture & Framework Design

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  Design and maintain data governance architecture within Microsoft Fabric and connected platforms, ensuring consistent access management, metadata, and lifecycle controls.
  
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  Translate governance policies into technical configurations and automated workflows.
  
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  Define and evolve data ownership and stewardship models, including roles, responsibilities, and escalation paths.
  
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  Develop governance patterns and reusable templates applicable across workspaces, domains, and pipelines.
  

Security & Compliance Enablement

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  Implement role-based access control, object-level security, and data masking frameworks.
  
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  Ensure data usage complies with organizational security standards and privacy regulations.
  
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  Partner with security teams to align governance models with enterprise identity, encryption, and auditing practices.
  
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  Lead data access audits and implement automated controls to enforce least-privilege access.
  

Metadata, Lineage & Data Quality

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  Oversee metadata management and lineage tracking for visibility into data sources, transformations, and usage.
  
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  Define and maintain data quality standards and validation frameworks aligned with governance policies.
  
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  Promote adoption of certified datasets to establish consistency for analytics and reporting.
  
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  Collaborate with data stewards and domain owners to maintain accurate metadata and ownership assignments.
  

Automation & Platform Integration

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  Develop automation scripts, APIs, or CI/CD pipelines to manage governance configurations at scale.
  
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  Integrate Microsoft Fabric with enterprise governance, quality, and cataloging platforms for unified data oversight.
  
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  Build dashboards and reporting mechanisms to monitor governance KPIs, including access compliance, lineage completeness, and policy coverage.
  
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  Evaluate new governance capabilities and drive adoption of platform improvements.
  

Leadership & Collaboration

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  Serve as a technical subject matter expert and trusted advisor for governance implementation.
  
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  Mentor junior engineers and analysts on governance best practices.
  
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  Collaborate with architects, data engineers, and analytics teams to embed governance across the data lifecycle.
  
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  Contribute to the governance operating model, influencing process design, policy enforcement, and platform roadmap decisions.
  

Required Skills & Experience
Technical Expertise

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  Hands-on experience with Microsoft Fabric, including OneLake, Data Warehouse, Lakehouse, Pipelines, and Workspaces.
  
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  Skilled in designing and implementing RBAC, security models, and compliance controls.
  
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  Strong understanding of metadata management, data lineage, and classification.
  
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  Experience with automation scripting (PowerShell, Python, SQL) for governance deployment.
  
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  Familiarity with modern data architectures and their governance implications.
  
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  Knowledge of data quality frameworks, cataloging tools, and policy enforcement mechanisms.
  

Governance & Management Knowledge

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  Understanding of enterprise governance frameworks such as DAMA-DMBOK.
  
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  Experience operationalizing governance policies in distributed data environments.
  
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  Knowledge of regulatory compliance requirements affecting data security, retention, and privacy.
  
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  Ability to translate governance policies into technical and operational controls.
  

Preferred Background

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  Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Analytics, or related field; Master’s preferred.
  
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  7+ years of experience in data engineering, governance, or data platform administration.
  
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  Demonstrated success leading or influencing enterprise governance initiatives.
  
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  Experience in regulated industries preferred.
  

Key Competencies

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  Strategic thinker with strong technical expertise and attention to operational detail.
  
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  Excellent communicator bridging business goals and technical execution.
  
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  Collaborative with strong ownership and accountability.
  
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  Skilled at balancing control, scalability, and usability in governance design.
  
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  Passionate about advancing Microsoft Fabric governance and data management practices.
  

Compensation & Benefits
Competitive package including medical, dental, STD/LTD, life insurance, 401k, paid vacation, and holidays.

Fabrics