Senior Data Engineer

Designing data platforms that are as reliable as the decisions they power.

Portrait of Rafael Donado

Currently

Senior BI Engineer

Scotiabank, Canada

Primary focus Data engineering + risk analytics
Core edge Visualization-first thinking for enterprise data

16+ years building modern analytics ecosystems across BI, cloud migration, governance, warehousing, and data visualization for banking, healthcare, FMCG, and enterprise platforms.

Power BI Azure Data Factory SQL Server BigQuery Snowflake Python PySpark Databricks AWS Azure GCP Airflow
16+ Years in technology and data delivery
3 Clouds AWS, Azure, and GCP implementation experience
End-to-end From architecture and pipelines to insight delivery
2 Languages Spanish native, English full professional proficiency
About

A profile built at the intersection of data systems, business context, and visual clarity.

Rafael has led and delivered work across data architecture, integration, warehousing, BI, governance, cloud migration, and analytics engineering. The throughline is simple: transform complexity into trustworthy, usable information.

Architecture that scales

Deep experience with data modeling, warehousing, legacy modernization, and enterprise integration.

Visualization with intent

Power BI, Tableau, SSRS, and analytical storytelling focused on operational and strategic decision-making.

Cloud and hybrid delivery

Hands-on delivery across Azure, GCP, AWS, plus migrations from on-premises and legacy ecosystems.

Capabilities

A capability stack shaped for modern data products.

Expertise Map

Analytics & Visualization 95%
Data Engineering 90%
Cloud Data Platforms 82%
Programming & Automation 76%

Tools & Platforms

Power BI Tableau SQL Server SSIS SSAS SSRS Azure Data Factory Databricks BigQuery Airflow Snowflake Python PySpark R AWS Azure GCP Data Governance

Professional Strengths

Delivery

Problem-solving, self-direction, adaptability, technical leadership.

Management

Data quality, governance maturity, master data, policy and process design.

Engineering

ETL/ELT pipelines, modeling, migrations, warehouse optimization, and integration design.

Communication

Bridging technical depth with business-facing dashboards and clear analytical narratives.

Experience

Enterprise delivery, consulting depth, and entrepreneurial execution.

2021 - Present Scotiabank

Senior BI Engineer

Leading technical initiatives in risk management data projects using SQL Server, SSIS, Python, and Power BI.

2020 - 2021 Perficient Latam

Data Engineer

Built GCP data pipelines from Cloud SQL to BigQuery with Airflow, while contributing to modeling and analytics views.

2019 - 2020 Keyrus

Data Strategy Consultant

Delivered governance, quality, MDM foundations, and architected end-to-end data solutions across Snowflake, Tableau, ADF, MySQL, and Power BI.

2018 - 2019 ASOPAGOS

Migration and Integration Leader

Led a healthcare data migration team integrating legacy and relational sources into Azure SQL Server with custom T-SQL quality workflows.

2013 - 2018 SBD SAS

Senior Database Consultant

Supported large-scale BI, migration, data quality, and high-availability architecture projects for national and international companies.

Data / IT Administrator

Managed SQL Server estates and contributed to major data center and AWS IaaS migration efforts for web portal database platforms.

2008 - 2009 SunGemini S.A.

Data / UNIX Consultant

Administered Oracle environments and executed server migrations from legacy Oracle versions to Oracle 10g.

Data Analyst

Administered SQL Server platforms and helped drive migration of core business systems to newer database infrastructure.

Entrepreneurial Track

Founder-minded execution.

SQL Dr. | Co-Founder & CTO

Built a remote DBA startup model and delivered internal tooling plus Power BI and R reporting for multi-server administration.

DR Technologies

Developed technology solutions centered on data automation, analytics delivery, and modern digital execution for business-oriented initiatives.

Binaryx | Co-Founder & CTO

Created data-centric government portals with statistical visualization capabilities and public-facing analytics experiences.

Education

Formal training backed by certifications across databases, BI, analytics, and cloud foundations.

Academic Degree

BEng in Computer Engineering

Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia

2011
Selected Certifications
  • Microsoft Certified Professional
  • Database Administrator
  • Developing SQL Data Models
  • Analyzing and Visualizing Data with Microsoft Power BI
  • Tableau Desktop Specialist
  • Azure Data Fundamentals
  • HarvardX Data Science: R Basics
Courses
  • Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005
  • Linux Advanced, Red Hat Cluster Suite
  • Oracle Advanced 10G
  • ITIL V3 Fundamentals
  • SQL 2008 for Administrators
  • Amazon Data Analytics Fundamentals
Contact

Looking for a senior data profile who can connect platform engineering with business-facing insight?

Available for strategic conversations around data engineering, BI modernization, analytics architecture, cloud data initiatives, and visualization-driven decision support.