REAL-WORLD DATA ENGINEERING PROJECT

Build a Real-World Azure Data Engineering Project

Build a production-style data pipeline using Azure Data Factory, ADLS Gen2, Azure Databricks, PySpark, Delta Lake and Medallion Architecture โ€” and finish with a project you can confidently explain in a Data Engineering interview.

Join Early Access โ†’ Join the early-access list. No spam.

Project Technology Stack

๐Ÿ“ฆ E-Commerce Data Sources
โ†“
โš™๏ธ Azure Data Factory
โ†“
โ˜๏ธ ADLS Gen2
โ†“
โšก Azure Databricks + PySpark
โ†“
๐Ÿฅ‰ Bronze โ†’ ๐Ÿฅˆ Silver โ†’ ๐Ÿฅ‡ Gold
โ†“
๐Ÿ“Š Delta Lake / Analytics

Stop Just Watching Tutorials

Following someone else's code is very different from solving a real data engineering problem yourself.

The challenge: Many aspiring Data Engineers understand SQL, Python, ADF or Databricks individually, but struggle to combine them into one realistic end-to-end project.

This project starts with a business problem and realistic requirements. You design, build, troubleshoot and explain the solution like a Data Engineer.

What You'll Build

One complete project covering the core engineering patterns used in modern Azure data platforms.

โš™๏ธ

Incremental Ingestion

Build ingestion pipelines that process new and changed data instead of reloading everything.

๐Ÿ—๏ธ

Medallion Architecture

Organize data into Bronze, Silver and Gold layers with clear responsibilities.

โšก

PySpark Transformations

Clean, transform, validate and prepare data using Azure Databricks and PySpark.

๐Ÿงน

Data Quality

Handle duplicates, missing values, invalid records and common quality problems.

๐Ÿ—„๏ธ

Delta Lake

Build reliable Delta tables and understand why lakehouse storage matters.

๐Ÿšจ

Error Handling

Think about failed records, pipeline failures, logging and production reliability.

Project Architecture

Follow the data from raw business sources through ingestion, transformation and analytics-ready tables.

E-Commerce Data Sources
โ†“
Azure Data Factory
โ†“
Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2
โ†“
Azure Databricks + PySpark
โ†“
๐Ÿฅ‰ Bronze
Raw
๐Ÿฅˆ Silver
Clean
๐Ÿฅ‡ Gold
Business
โ†“
Delta Lake โ†’ Analytics

Work With a Realistic Business Scenario

Imagine you've joined an e-commerce company as a Data Engineer. The business needs a reliable analytics platform built from multiple operational datasets.

๐Ÿ‘ค Customers
๐Ÿ“ฆ Products
๐Ÿ›’ Orders
๐Ÿงพ Order Items
๐Ÿ’ณ Payments
๐Ÿšš Shipments
โ†ฉ๏ธ Returns
๐Ÿ–ฑ๏ธ Clickstream

What You'll Receive

Everything needed to move from a business requirement to a portfolio-ready implementation.

๐Ÿ“ Realistic Dataset

Multiple connected datasets designed around an e-commerce business.

๐Ÿ“‹ Business Requirements

Requirements that make you think like an engineer instead of simply copying code.

๐Ÿ—๏ธ Architecture

Architecture diagrams explaining how each Azure component fits into the solution.

๐Ÿ’ป Starter Code

Project structure and starter resources to help you begin without giving away every answer.

โœ… Reference Solution

Compare your implementation against a complete solution after attempting the challenges.

๐ŸŽฏ Interview Questions

Practice explaining architecture, decisions, failures, performance and trade-offs.

Learn Like a Data Engineer

The project is designed around doing the work โ€” not passively watching it.

1

Receive the Requirement

Start with the business problem, datasets and engineering requirements.

2

Design the Solution

Decide how data should be ingested, stored, transformed and modeled.

3

Build It

Implement pipelines with ADF, ADLS Gen2, Databricks, PySpark and Delta Lake.

4

Compare & Improve

Review the reference solution and understand alternative engineering decisions.

5

Prepare for Interviews

Practice explaining what you built, why you built it that way and how you'd scale it.

Your Final Outcome

Finish with more than another completed tutorial.

โœ“ Complete Azure Data Engineering project
โœ“ Portfolio-ready GitHub project
โœ“ Architecture you understand
โœ“ Real PySpark transformation experience
โœ“ Medallion Architecture experience
โœ“ Project you can explain in interviews
EARLY ACCESS

Want to Build This Project?

We're preparing the first version of the Real-World Azure Data Engineering Project Kit.

Join the early-access list and tell us what you're struggling with. Your feedback will help shape the first release.

No spam. We'll only contact you about this project and early access.