Data engineering
ELT/ETL pipelines that pull data from systems like ERP, CRM, maritime telemetry and marketing APIs, and deliver clean, modelled data that analysts can use.
Freelance / Based in the Netherlands
Raw data in.
Decisions out.
I'm Mohammed Ben M'hand, a freelance data & AI platform engineer and solution architect. I design and build data platforms on Azure, Microsoft Fabric and Databricks. They bring the data from your source systems together in one place, so your team can trust the numbers.
- 7+ years Building data platforms
- 10+ clients Enterprise & scale-up
- Azure native Fabric / Databricks / Synapse
Companies I've worked with
About
Who you'd work with.
I start by asking stakeholders what they need to decide. Only then do I design and build the platform that answers it, instead of starting from the technology and working backwards.
Day to day I build ELT/ETL pipelines in Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databricks. I model the data with dbt and orchestrate the pipelines with Apache Airflow. I write Python, PySpark and (Spark) SQL, deploy through CI/CD on Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions, and build AI features on Azure AI Foundry, such as meeting-audio transcription and real-time email classification.
Until the end of October 2026 I was Lead Data & AI at SmartMed. I was responsible for the data and AI platform in a cloud-native, event-driven microservices architecture. I set the architectural standards, owned governance and MLOps, and brought AI/LLM solutions into the enterprise architecture.
I've worked for organisations from ASML and KPN to Port of Rotterdam and Van Oord, both as an engineer building the pipelines and as the architect designing the overall platform.
I'm a Dutch citizen and a native Dutch speaker.
- 7+Years in data
- 10+Enterprise clients
- 7Certifications held
Platform & processing
Build & deliver
Capabilities
What I do.
I can take a project from the first data extract to the final architecture documentation, or step in on one part where your team needs extra expertise.
Solution architecture
A written design for the platform: the topology, the governance model, the migration path, and the trade-offs behind each choice.
DataOps & DevOps
CI/CD for Data Factory, Synapse, Databricks and Fabric, with infrastructure defined in code and monitoring that alerts you before your users notice a problem.
AI platforms & MLOps
LLM solutions built into the enterprise architecture, with the MLOps and governance needed to run them in production.
Approach
How I work.
The steps are the same for a two-week assessment and a two-year platform build. I start by understanding the problem, then design, then build in small pieces that each go into production.
Understand
I talk to stakeholders to find out which decisions the business needs to make and what state the data is in. I don't design anything before this.
Architect
I write a target design covering the platform, governance, cost and migration path, with the trade-offs spelled out. It's documented so your team can question it.
Build
I deliver in vertical slices: one source system, end to end, in production, with CI/CD and tests from the start. Then I repeat that for the next source.
Hand over
Documentation, walkthroughs and working side by side until your engineers can run it themselves.
Experience
Where I've worked.
Seven years across healthcare, shipping, aviation, telecom, semiconductors, manufacturing, horticulture and real estate, mostly on Azure.
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Owner & Principal Consultant
The Data & Analytics Mind
My own consultancy for data engineering, data platform engineering, solution architecture and data strategy.
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Lead Data & AI
SmartMed
Led the design and delivery of data and AI platforms in a cloud-native, event-driven microservices architecture. I set the architectural standards and technology choices, implemented governance, security and scalability, set up MLOps processes and CI/CD, and brought AI/LLM solutions into the enterprise architecture. I was the main technical contact for platform and architecture, and I mentored engineers, data scientists and stakeholders.
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Azure Data (Platform) Engineer
Wulftec International / a Duravant company
Migrated an on-premises Progress OpenEdge database to Azure Synapse Analytics and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. Built the ETL pipelines for ingestion and export, implemented the business logic and SCD Type 2 history in Synapse notebooks with Python and PySpark, and optimised SQL to cut Power BI dashboard load times. Also drafted a cross-region architecture for the platform, centred on evaluating Microsoft Fabric.
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Azure Data (Platform) Engineer
Van Oord
ELT pipelines in Azure Synapse Analytics pulling from Dynamics 365, Workday, E-Business Suite and maritime systems, then led the migration of ingestion and the full environment onto Azure Databricks. Built a medallion lakehouse, helped implement a GDPR-compliant access model with Unity Catalog, deployed Azure resources with Terraform, and built Grafana monitoring for pipelines and Key Vault secrets.
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Azure Solution Architect
vb&t Real Estate Management
Designed and implemented a real estate data integration solution on Azure and Microsoft Fabric: a medallion lakehouse, Synapse pipelines integrating the ERP systems and external APIs, PySpark validation and SCD Type 2 history, and the high-level architecture documentation behind it. Also built an AI minutes app on Azure AI Foundry for the VvE services department, and a real-time AI solution that categorises and assesses all inbound email for the secretariat and VvE managers.
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Freelance Power BI Consultant
FibrXL
A one-month Power BI consultancy engagement.
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Freelance Power BI Consultant
gr8 Nederland
A one-month Power BI consultancy engagement.
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Freelance Solution Architect
Dümmen Orange
Assessed the existing data platform and delivered a strategic advisory report for extending their Microsoft Fabric implementation into a cross-region architecture. The report weighed technical sustainability against governance and compliance.
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Azure Data Engineer
KPN
Designed and implemented a data integration solution on the Azure platform, drawing the architecture in ArchiMate. Exposed REST APIs in Synapse for Awin, Google Ads, CM360, DV360, Search Console, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Snapchat and TikTok, built ETL pipelines at account, campaign, ad-set and ad level, transformed JSON to Parquet with Python and PySpark, and set up CI/CD in Azure DevOps.
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Azure Data Engineer
Port of Rotterdam / via Riviq
Migrated on-premises SAP BW to Azure Databricks with Synapse pipelines and Airflow DAGs. Applied medallion architecture with Data Vault 2.0 in a data mesh, built dbt entities in PySpark and Spark SQL with data quality checks, automated ERD generation from dbt metadata, and wrote a Python linter that detects privacy-sensitive terms in the GitHub CI pipeline, ahead of an SRE Level 3 audit.
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Azure Data Engineer
Transavia / via Riviq
ETL pipelines in Azure Data Factory with Airflow DAGs for orchestration, PySpark and Spark SQL transformations in Databricks, and an Azure Functions API exposing Transavia’s social media posts. Created dbt entities in JinjaSQL, wrote solution designs, and built the Power BI data models.
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Azure Data Engineer Consultant
Riviq
Consultant on Azure data engineering projects, delivered at Port of Rotterdam and Transavia.
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Azure Data Engineer
Shimano Europe / via Alten
Built Azure Functions APIs for B2C, giving real-time connectivity between Azure and Adobe Campaign Manager, and for B2B, syncing Shimano’s sales and inventory portal. Led the B2B interface projects in C# and .NET for real-time and batch exchange, and configured Azure API Management with client certificates, OAuth2 and JWT.
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Splunk Data Engineer
ASML / via Alten
Enhanced the Alert & Health Monitoring application in Splunk Enterprise: new features, KPIs, ITSI thresholds and alerts, and dashboards built on the collected data, with Bash and Python scripts pulling data via REST API. Worked in Agile Scrum within SAFe and presented delivered epics and features at Agile Release Train meetings.
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Data Engineer Consultant
Alten Nederland
Consultant delivering data engineering solutions, placed at ASML and Shimano Europe.
Credentials
Education & certification.
Education
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Bachelor of ICT & Business
Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Eindhoven
Specialised in data-driven business and IT management. Minors in Data Driven Business Lab, Big Data, ICT Management and Cyber Security.
Certifications held
- Databricks Certified: Data Engineer Professional
- DP-700: Microsoft Fabric Data Engineer Associate
- DP-203: Data Engineering on Microsoft Azure
- DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals
- AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
- Databricks Certified: Data Engineer Associate
- Databricks: Fundamentals
Contact
Let's talk about your platform.
Looking for a freelance data engineer, data platform engineer or solution architect? Or do you want a second opinion on an architecture? Tell me what you're working on. I reply to every message myself.