Data Engineer - AI Focused

Shermco•Irving, TX

31d•$115,000 - $140,000•Remote

About The Position

We are growing our data capabilities and are looking for a Senior Data Engineer to help us build the next stage of our analytics and AI journey. You'll join a small, collaborative team that already has strengths in database operations, business intelligence, and stakeholder engagement. What we need now is someone who can bring in deeper data engineering expertise and applied AI/ML experience-and help guide us into what's possible. This is a hands-on role where you will work across the full data lifecycle-ingesting, transforming, modeling, enriching, and applying advanced analytics. You'll help us navigate and adopt the rapidly evolving Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI ecosystem. We are early in our AI/ML journey, and you will play a key role in shaping and growing these capabilities alongside the rest of the team. If you're excited to build practical, meaningful data solutions and explore real AI/ML opportunities in a collaborative environment, this is the place for you.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, or a related field or equivalent professional experience.
3-7+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, or applied machine learning.
Deep experience with SQL and Python for data ingestion, transformation, and integration.
Experience with Microsoft Fabric or Azure data ecosystem tools (Data Factory, Synapse, ADLS, Databricks).
Proven ability to extract, transform, and model data from ERPs, SaaS systems, APIs, and file-based sources.
Familiarity with Spark for larger-scale transformations.
Experience applying AI/ML techniques in real-world scenarios (regression, forecasting, classification, NLP, enrichment, etc.).
Ability to work autonomously and collaborate within a small, multi-disciplinary team.
Experience working in iterative frameworks (Agile, Scrum, or similar) using Jira or equivalent tools.

Nice To Haves

Relevant certifications (Microsoft, Azure, Fabric, AI/ML) or advanced degrees are a plus but not required.
Experience with Business Central or similar ERP systems.
Exposure to Power BI semantic modeling concepts.
Experience deploying or operationalizing ML models.
Familiarity with Azure AI, Copilot, or LLM-based enrichment.

Responsibilities

Own and build end-to-end data pipelines within Microsoft Fabric.
Ingest and transform data from: ERP systems (e.g., Business Central using SQL, APIs, or OData) CRM/SaaS systems (Salesforce, Dayforce, etc.) File-based sources (CSV, JSON, Excel, cloud storage, SFTP, etc.)
Deliver reliable, validated, well-structured datasets for analytics and operational needs.
Keep pipelines lean, maintainable, and aligned with team capacity.
Build clear, analytics-ready datasets inside Fabric Lakehouse/Warehouse architecture.
Utilize SQL, Python, and Spark to normalize, join, enrich, and clean data.
Design modeling patterns that fit our team and business-simple, transparent, and scalable.
Bring real-world experience applying AI/ML techniques and understanding the landscape of available approaches.
Prepare training datasets, run models, evaluate outcomes, and integrate results back into pipelines and analytics products.
Apply ML and AI techniques to use cases such as: Process automation assisted by generative AI Forecasting and predictive modeling Classification or enrichment of structured/semi-structured data Extraction and enrichment of unstructured data (text, documents, etc.)
Use Fabric, Azure Foundry and other AI/ML capabilities in practical, value-driven ways.
Help the team explore new AI/ML opportunities as you learn our business and data, your ideas will shape our direction.
Implement testing, validation, error handling, and monitoring across pipelines and models.
Use Git and CI/CD practices appropriate to our environment.
Keep solutions simple, maintainable, and well-documented.
Work with teammates focused on BI, database engineering, and business analysis to deliver complete data solutions.
Participate in defining requirements, validating outputs and troubleshooting issues.
Work in a light Agile environment, using tools like Jira for backlog management, sprint planning, and tracking work progress.
Help break down complex initiatives into manageable increments that deliver value continually.
Stay current with Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI advancements.
Proactively propose improvements, new approaches, and opportunities.
Grow your expertise and ownership of our AI/ML capabilities over time.