Fractional Data Architect for startups, scaleups, and SMEs.
I help startups, scaleups, and SMEs — Belgium (hybrid), globally (remote) — cut data chaos, technical debt, and cloud waste so their platforms can actually support the next stage of growth.
I care about healthy teams, scalable systems, and data work that actually pays for itself.
With a background in software engineering and over a decade in data engineering and architecture, I sit at the intersection of architecture, hands‑on delivery, and organizational dynamics. That means I don’t just design pretty diagrams – I work with your teams to make the system real, reliable, and economically sensible.
My sweet spot is the moment where your current data setup “kind of works” but:
- Pipelines keep breaking at the worst possible time
- Cloud costs are rising faster than revenue
- Stakeholders don’t fully trust the numbers
- Everyone is busy, but nothing gets structurally better
That’s where senior fractional data leadership beats another mid‑level hire.
What I Bring to the Table
Modern data architecture Warehouses, lakes, and lakehouses that balance scalability, cost, and complexity.
Senior data engineering & DataOps Robust pipelines, testing, observability, and incident‑proof ways of working so teams can ship without fear.
Technical debt & economics Making the cost of “quick‑and‑dirty” visible, and designing a path from constant maintenance to sustainable delivery.
Team alignment & leadership Helping data, product, and ops teams agree on ownership, priorities, and how work flows through the system.
Cloud migrations & platform modernization Pragmatic step‑by‑step modernization instead of risky big‑bang rewrites.
Clients & Experience
Over the last decade, I’ve worked with organizations such as Cerba Research, Port of Antwerp‑Bruges, Easyfairs, Big Industries (for brands like Bridgestone and Nike), and Foodpairing on data platforms and engineering initiatives.
This has included:
- Designing and delivering GxP-compliant data platforms in regulated environments.
- Leading engineering teams building cloud data warehouses and ML‑ops tracks, and migrating 150+ SQL Server artifacts to modern platforms.
- Architecting and building a greenfield GCP‑based data platform while leading 6+ BI and data engineers.
- Delivering data projects for large brands on Azure and AWS and shaping onboarding and growth paths for engineers.
- Introducing Python across teams, building Spark ETL pipelines and dashboards, and helping define early data strategy in a high‑innovation environment.
Across these contexts, the same themes show up: growing technical complexity, unclear ownership, and architectures that lag behind the business. The work focuses on making these dynamics visible and turning them into a clear path toward a leaner, more aligned, and scalable data platform.
Who I Work With
I typically work fractionally with 2–4 clients at a time:
- startups, scaleups, and SMEs (10–200 people) — Belgium (hybrid), globally (remote)
- Tech‑led companies (SaaS, fintech, B2B platforms, data‑heavy products)
You might recognize:
- “We’ve outgrown our first data stack and it’s starting to hurt.”
- “We’re spending too much on cloud and don’t know why.”
- “We need senior data leadership, but not a full‑time Head of Data yet.”
Location & Availability
Based in Belgium (Hamme). Open to fractional engagements (typically 1–3 days per week).