Vipin Kumar Get in touch
Open to Data Architect roles

I design data platforms and build the pipelines that run them.

Data Architect

21+ years in IT, 16+ in data. I architect enterprise data platforms for high-volume financial services, and I'm now building toward agentic AI on top of them.

Contact me See my AI journey →
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ADF · orchestrate Databricks · PySpark Fabric · lakehouse Agents · next
21+years in IT, 16+ in data
45%faster ETL execution
70%fewer ETL failures
10+zero-data-loss migrations
About

An architect who still writes the code

I'm a Data Architect working as Principal Data Engineer at a financial services company in Trivandrum, where I've spent 17 years on the data behind lending and finance operations. I set the target architecture, the standards and the migration roadmap, and I build the Azure Data Factory, Databricks and PySpark pipelines myself.

Doing both keeps the architecture realistic and the pipelines pointed where the platform is going. Right now I'm leading the move from 50+ legacy SSIS packages to an Azure-native platform with a Bronze/Silver/Gold lakehouse on ADLS Gen2.

I started in 2004 fixing hardware and networks, then moved into application support and SQL Server. So I know the business behind the data as well as the tables.

Team lead · 4 engineersFinancial servicesAzure + AWSGenAI / RAGTrivandrum, India
platform.lineageADLS Gen2 · medallion
SQL Server File feeds Core apps ADF metadata-driven Bronze · raw Silver · valid Gold · business Databricks PySpark Power BI AI agents
Impact

Results in production

Measured on live finance systems.

45%

Faster ETL execution

Re-engineered workflow architecture and package design.

70%

Fewer ETL failures, less processing time

Redesigned logging and error handling.

40%

Faster complex queries

Indexing, execution plans and T-SQL refactoring.

25%

Lower storage cost

Structured data archival architecture.

10+

SQL Server upgrades, zero data loss

Impact analysis, runbooks, parallel runs, rollback plans.

25%

Faster incident response

Proactive production monitoring and alerting.

Experience · 2004 to now

21 years, refined in layers

Grouped the way I'd build a lakehouse: a raw foundation, a refined middle, and business-ready output on top.

Gold

Architecture & leadership

2019 – present

Principal Data Engineernow

Apr 2025 – Present
Financial services company · Trivandrum
  • Architected the target-state platform and lead the phased migration of 50+ legacy SSIS finance packages to Azure Data Factory, Microsoft Fabric, Databricks and PySpark.
  • Set architecture standards for the production SQL Server estate; directed 10+ version upgrades with zero data loss.
  • Improved ETL efficiency by up to 45% and cut ETL failures and processing time by up to 70%.
  • Designed a data archival architecture that reduced storage cost by 25%.
  • Mentor a team of 4 data engineers; deliver Power BI and SSRS dashboards for management.

Senior Data Engineer

Apr 2019 – Mar 2025
Financial services company · Trivandrum
  • Designed Star Schema warehouse models for faster analytics and executive reporting.
  • Architected ETL/ELT pipelines on SSIS, ADF, Databricks and PySpark as the base for cloud migration.
  • Led database modernization POCs to AWS RDS.
  • Built automated ingestion for 20+ daily CSV feeds with schema validation, logging and retries.
Silver

Database engineering

2009 – 2019

Database Developer / Deputy Manager

Apr 2014 – Mar 2019
Financial services company · Trivandrum
  • Built T-SQL procedures, SQL Agent jobs, views and functions for finance and lending applications.
  • Turned business and reporting requirements into optimized database designs.
  • Improved query performance by up to 30%; cut recurring support requests by 25%.

Application Engineer

Jun 2009 – Mar 2014
Financial services company · Trivandrum
  • Supported SQL Server databases and wrote queries and procedures for branch and corporate operations.
  • Handled data extraction, validation and reconciliation across operational systems.
Bronze

Systems & support

2004 – 2009

Technical Specialist

Oct 2007 – May 2009
Growell Infosys · Ernakulam
  • On-site and remote support for software and network systems; network configuration and troubleshooting.

Technical Team Member

Sep 2005 – Jul 2007
GMT Systems · Ernakulam
  • Supported software and network systems and helped configure networks.

System Support Specialist

Dec 2004 – Aug 2005
Self-employed · Jalore, Rajasthan
  • Freelance desktop repair and maintenance for home and office customers.
Key projects

Selected work

Swipe or use the arrows.

Architecture diagram
01 · Finance platform · Azure

End-to-end ETL architecture for a core lending platform

A central analytics platform fed by multiple operational systems, built to scale into AI/ML and GenAI.

SQL ServerSSISADFADLS Gen2DatabricksPySparkPower BI
  • Metadata-driven ETL framework: source config, ingestion, validation, dependencies, error handling, audit logging.
  • Bronze/Silver/Gold medallion architecture on ADLS Gen2 for quality and traceability.
  • Incremental, watermark-based loads to cut data movement.
Migration screenshot
02 · Modernization · SQL Server

SQL Server upgrade and ETL workflow modernization

10+ version upgrades and migrations across critical finance environments, with zero data loss.

SQL ServerSSIST-SQLSQL AgentSSRSTuning
  • End-to-end impact analysis across databases, packages, jobs, reports and downstream systems.
  • Re-engineered orchestration: up to 45% more efficient, up to 70% fewer failures.
  • Verified with reconciliation, record counts and parallel runs; standard runbooks and rollback plans.
GenAI demo
03 · Applied AI · POC

GenAI and RAG for finance knowledge

Proofs of concept that put LLMs on top of governed finance data.

LLMRAGEmbeddingsPythonSQLAzure
  • RAG assistant answering questions from internal finance, lending and technical documents.
  • Natural-language-to-SQL assistant with metadata context and review before execution.
  • LLM-written branch performance summaries on top of SQL analytics.
From GenAI to Agentic AI

Where I'm heading next

Data platforms are becoming the ground that AI agents stand on. I'm building the skills to design both.

DoneMar 2025

Lakehouse foundations

Databricks Fundamentals accreditation; medallion lakehouse in production.

DoneFeb – Mar 2026

GenAI foundations

Introduction to Gen AI (Coursera) and Claude 101 (Anthropic).

Built2026

RAG & NL-to-SQL

Finance knowledge assistant and a text-to-SQL assistant with safety review.

DoneAug 2026

GenAI on Databricks

Generative AI Fundamentals accreditation from Databricks.

NowLate 2026

Agentic AI

LLM agents with tool use, MCP and multi-step workflows over enterprise data.

Goal

AI Data Architect, building agentic data platforms

Platforms where governed data, pipelines and AI agents work together: agents that can query trusted data, run and repair pipelines, and explain the numbers to the people who use them.

What drives me

My motivation

I started in 2004 repairing PCs for homes and offices in a small town in Rajasthan. Every step since, from SQL Server to Azure to AI, I learned by doing the work. I'm still learning.

— Vipin Kumar

01 · Journey

Self-made, step by step

From desktop repair to designing enterprise data platforms. Each role was earned on the job.

02 · Learning

Always a student

SQL Server, cloud, GenAI and now agents. Each new wave is a reason to start learning again. Three AI certifications in 2026 alone.

03 · Purpose

Data that helps people

I build platforms so branch and lending teams can serve customers faster, with numbers they trust.

04 · Giving back

Lift others up

I mentor engineers and share what I learn, so the next person climbs faster than I did.

Toolkit

Skills

Azure & cloud

  • Azure Data Factory
  • Microsoft Fabric
  • Azure Databricks
  • Synapse Analytics
  • Delta Lake
  • ADLS Gen2

Data architecture

  • Dimensional modelling
  • Star & snowflake
  • Data marts
  • Semantic layer
  • Medallion lakehouse
  • KPI frameworks

ETL / ELT

  • SSIS architecture
  • Metadata-driven frameworks
  • Incremental loads
  • Reconciliation
  • Logging design

Database

  • SQL Server
  • T-SQL
  • Execution plans
  • Indexing
  • Partitioning
  • High availability

Code & BI

  • Python
  • PySpark
  • Spark SQL
  • Power BI
  • DAX
  • SSRS
  • SSAS
  • Tableau

AI & leadership

  • RAG
  • LLM agents
  • Prompt design
  • Data governance
  • Team mentoring
  • AWS RDS · S3 · Glue
Credentials

Certifications & education

Certifications

Generative AI FundamentalsDatabricks Academy Accreditation
Aug 2026
Claude 101Anthropic Education
Mar 2026
Introduction to Gen AICoursera
Feb 2026
Databricks FundamentalsDatabricks Academy Accreditation
Mar 2025

Education

Diploma in Computer Hardware and NetworkingGT Computer Hardware and Networking Engineering College, Jodhpur
2004
Higher Secondary Certificate, BiologyBoard of Secondary Education, Rajasthan
2001

Languages

EnglishMalayalamHindiTamil
Contact

Need someone to design your data platform and build it?

I'm open to Data Architect, Lead Data Engineer and AI Data Architect roles. Email is the fastest way to reach me.

Emailimvipinnair@gmail.com
Phone+91 90611 01035
LinkedInin/imvipinnair ↗
LocationTrivandrum, Kerala, India