Noel Spencer

Senior Data Architect & Engineer

Data modeling, dbt, data governance, Airflow, and Python — on Snowflake, Databricks, and Azure analytics platforms.

Berlin · open to senior data architecture and engineering roles

40% cloud cost reduction (Snowflake) dbt · Airflow · data governance 10+ years · Python & SQL
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About

Data architect and engineer with over 10 years in data management, BI, and software development — in Berlin since 2020, previously in Canada. Core practice areas: data modeling, dbt transformations and CI/CD, data governance, pipeline orchestration with Airflow, and Python for engineering and analytics workloads.

I design scalable warehouse layers, lead cloud migrations, and run analytics engineering teams — standards for models, tests, PR review, and access policies. Invited by Snowflake to present on warehouse migration and by dbt on CI/CD for dbt projects; mentor to junior and experienced engineers. Most recently Data Architect at Enpal; before that Senior Data Engineer at BASF.

How I work

Ingest from ERPs, CRMs, and APIs → orchestrate with Airflow (and Fivetran or Azure Data Factory) → warehouse on Snowflake, Databricks, or Azure Synapse → data modeling and transforms in dbt with tested CI/CD → govern access and quality through data governance policies → serve Power BI, Tableau, and downstream analytics. Python for pipeline code, tooling, and ad hoc analysis alongside SQL.

  • Modeling & transform — dimensional models, dbt marts, tests, documentation, PR review
  • Governance — lineage expectations, ownership, Entra/AD access, RLS and layer policies
  • Orchestration — Airflow DAGs, dbt runs in Azure DevOps / GitHub Actions
  • Platforms — Snowflake, Databricks, Azure Synapse, Azure SQL, Postgres
  • Sources — Dynamics, SAP, Salesforce, APIs

Experience

2021 — Feb 2026
Data Architect
Enpal · Berlin
  • Migrated data architecture to Snowflake; 40% reduction in cloud service costs with stronger security and performance.
  • Led analytics engineering: data modeling, dbt development, CI/CD PR reviews, and data governance standards.
  • Owned Airflow orchestration and Python-backed pipeline work with dbt, Fivetran, and Azure DevOps.
  • Led cross-functional migration from SQL Server to Snowflake and Databricks.
  • Designed security frameworks and data layer policies for Snowflake and Azure SQL DWH.
  • Automated user provisioning via Azure Entra security groups.
  • Led technical hiring and mentored data engineers.
2020 — 2021
Senior Data Engineer
BASF · Berlin
  • Migrated global data objects from SQL Server to Azure Synapse with Azure Data Factory.
  • Designed secure data models and schemas; ETL with Azure Data Factory and Python where needed.
  • Improved access control and governance via Active Directory groups and security policies.
  • Contributed to Tableau → Power BI transition for reporting.
  • Outstanding performance score for on-time, on-budget delivery of business-critical objectives.
2016 — 2019
Business Intelligence Developer / Software Developer
Bulk Barn · Toronto
  • Data warehouse architecture; NAV to SQL migrations and ETL performance work.
  • C# web applications for pricing and purchase-order automation; SSIS/SSRS reporting.
2010 — 2016
Database Administrator & Developer
Gambles Ontario Produce · Toronto
  • SQL Server administration, ETL, ERP and BI projects, and large-scale document management.
Community
Invited speaker & mentor
Snowflake · dbt
  • Snowflake — asked to present at their event on migrating to Snowflake (legacy warehouse and pipeline migration).
  • dbt — asked to present on CI/CD processes for dbt (testing gates, PR workflows, and reliable deploys).
  • Mentoring — coaches junior and experienced engineers on dbt, Python, SQL, and cloud analytics platforms (modeling, pipelines, and warehouse practice).

Technologies

Data modeling & governance

Dimensional modeling, warehouse layer design, dbt project structure, tests and documentation, data governance policies, ownership and access standards

dbt & orchestration

dbt (models, macros, CI/CD), Apache Airflow, Fivetran, dlt, Azure Data Factory, SSIS

Languages

Python, SQL, C#, JavaScript

Platforms & reporting

Snowflake, Databricks, Azure Synapse, Azure SQL, SQL Server, Postgres · Power BI, Tableau · Azure DevOps, Entra/AD, Terraform

Education & certifications

York University — BBA with Honours (Business Administrative Studies)

Ryerson University — Computer Application Programming certificate (partial, 4.0 GPA)

Azure Data Engineer, Azure Fundamentals, Databricks Fundamentals, Airflow Fundamentals, CompTIA A+