Analytics Engineering · West Michigan

Your data.
Actually working.

Senior analytics engineering expertise — without the full-time hire. I embed in your Microsoft data environment, fix what's broken, build what's missing, and keep things running.

Let's talk → See how it works
Built on Microsoft Fabric Power BI Azure AI

The situation

Someone's wearing the "data hat" as a side job.

Most growing businesses have someone — maybe you — spending a meaningful chunk of their time on reporting and data work they were never hired to do. They're capable. But they're not specialized. And today, the gap between a generalist and someone who does this full-time has never been wider.

The right expertise paired with AI tooling does the work that used to take a small team. You're not buying hours — you're reserving expert capacity and leverage.

20%

of a generalist's time costs more than it should — and delivers less than it could.

What I do

One person. Full-stack data capability.

I work embedded in your Microsoft environment on an ongoing basis — not parachuting in for a project and disappearing.

Platform management

Ongoing stewardship of your Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and Azure environment — monitoring, governance, capacity optimization, and cost management.

Reporting & dashboards

Power BI reports and dashboards that are accurate, fast, and actually used. Built with proper data models and semantic layers — not just pretty charts on bad data.

Data engineering

Pipelines, lakehouses, and data integrations across your systems — designed to be reliable, maintainable, and understandable, not just technically impressive.

AI & automation

Practical AI features — Copilot integration, intelligent automation, natural-language reporting — applied where they genuinely help, not as a buzzword.

Why this works

No scoping. No setup fees. Just get to work.

01

Your hours go further than they look

I build reusable templates and patterns across every client I work with. A 6-hour-a-month plan often delivers work that took far longer to build — because I've likely solved a similar problem before.

02

I know what's worth building

Years of pattern-matching across real implementations means I know which features have genuine ROI and which ones are just noise. You don't pay me to learn on your environment.

03

I save you money on the platform itself

Scheduling Fabric and Azure capacity to scale down when nobody's using it. Right-sizing your licensing. Catching runaway pipelines before they run up a bill. The savings often offset the retainer.

04

The longer we work together, the better it gets

I learn your business fast — that's always been my edge. A long-term relationship compounds. I'm not just maintaining what exists, I'm understanding where you're going and building toward it.

Work with me

A retainer built to grow with you

Every engagement starts with the same foundation: platform monitoring, availability, and a direct line to someone who knows your environment. From there, the tier reflects how much active work you need each month.

Retainer tiers reserve monthly capacity, response speed, and ownership of your data environment. Capacity limits are for planning and prioritization — not stopwatch billing.

Foundation Traction Momentum Growth
Foundation
$1,200/mo
Where it starts — and where it can settle once things are steady.
My time
5%
Reserved capacity 6 hrs
Active involvement ~5% of my time
Response SLA 2 business days
Additional capacity rate $250 / hr

Best for: getting started at low risk, or settling into a stable, mature environment that just needs someone watching. Limited active builds, primarily monitoring and availability.

Traction
$4,000/mo
Real progress on a modest, consistent cadence.
My time
15%
Reserved capacity 20 hrs
Active involvement ~15% of my time
Response SLA 1 business day
Additional capacity rate $250 / hr

Best for: businesses starting to invest in real reporting and data hygiene, with steady month-over-month improvement.

Momentum
$8,000/mo
Active involvement at a steady, manageable pace.
My time
30%
Reserved capacity 40 hrs
Active involvement ~30% of my time
Response SLA Same day
Additional capacity rate $250 / hr

Best for: post-deployment stabilization or steady reporting needs with consistent improvement over time.

Growth
$14,000/mo
The right pace to move fast without burning out the engagement.
My time
50%
Reserved capacity 70 hrs
Active involvement ~50% of my time
Response SLA Same day
Additional capacity rate $250 / hr

Best for: active deployments, migrations, or building out data capability. Enough hours to make real progress every month.

Always included — every tier
Platform monitoring and health checks
Priority availability and direct access
Proactive issue identification
Institutional knowledge of your environment
Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and Azure expertise
AI-assisted workflows and automation

Tiers step up or down with 15 days notice. If priorities exceed reserved capacity, additional work is approved first and billed at $250/hr. Unused capacity does not roll over.

About

Started in a lab.
Ended up in the data.

I have a biochemistry degree and started my career at a lab bench. I found my knack for data almost by accident — in Excel, solving the problem in front of me. That led to a Continuous Improvement Specialist role, where I paired data with Lean Six Sigma to find waste and fix real processes.

Five years ago I moved into analytics engineering full-time. I started as a scrappy problem-solver and became a true analytics engineering professional, but never lost the instinct to ask what a number is actually for.

I'm based in West Michigan and work primarily with businesses in the Microsoft data ecosystem. I lean on AI heavily in my own work, which is exactly how one person covers what used to take a team.

Experience 5+ years analytics engineering Full-time, Microsoft stack
Background Lean Six Sigma Continuous improvement & process optimization
Fluent in DAX · M · SQL · PySpark Plus Fabric, Power BI, Azure, AI tooling
Based in Grand Rapids, MI Working with clients across West Michigan

FAQ

Why a retainer model instead of fixed-scope project work?
  • Scoping is an expensive illusion: In four years of consulting, I've watched project after project burn weeks on upfront, building a plan that feels precise but rarely is. The truth is, you can't know the right questions or spot the real challenges until you're actually in the data. That scoping time isn't free; the client pays for it either way. The highest-ROI move is to skip the theater and start working. A retainer lets us do that — real progress from week one, with the plan adapting as we learn instead of being locked in before we know enough to make it good.
  • Data work rarely has a clean end: Once people use a solution, requirements change. Sources, processes, and reporting needs evolve, so continuity matters.
  • You keep control: If you need less support, scale down to the lowest tier or pause. If priorities return, scale back up monthly.
What happens in the first 30 days?
I start by getting hands-on in your environment — reviewing your Fabric/Power BI/Azure setup, existing reports, and data flows to see what's actually happening, not just what's documented. In parallel, we have a conversation about what's urgent versus what's nice-to-have. By the end of the first month, you'll have a clear view of what's broken, what's solid, and where I'm focusing first. No lengthy discovery phase — you'll see real work land in week one.
Can I cancel or pause anytime?
Yes. Tiers step up or down with 15 days notice, and you can pause the engagement entirely if you don't need active support for a while. There's no long-term lock-in — if the work isn't earning its keep, you shouldn't be paying for it. If priorities come back, we pick back up on a monthly basis.
How do we communicate, and who am I actually working with?
You're working directly with me. Day-to-day, we typically use whatever channel already works for your team (email, Teams, Slack), plus scheduled check-ins depending on your tier. No account managers or middle layers translating your ask into someone else's work.
How do you handle data security and access?
You control access at all times — I work within the permissions you grant, following your existing identity and security policies rather than asking you to loosen them for my convenience. Where it makes sense, I'll recommend tighter governance as part of the engagement, not just consume access. If your organization requires an NDA or specific security review before I touch anything, that's a normal part of getting started.

Get in touch

Free 20-minute consult.

I'll tell you straight whether this makes sense for your business — and if it doesn't, I'll tell you that too.

Send me an email →
(616) 848-6362 luke@lv-analytics.com Grand Rapids, MI