BI and reporting · BI developers

Hire BI Developers from Canada, Latin America, and the US

Hire a BI developer who builds the data models, dashboards, and reporting your leadership uses to monitor performance and make decisions. We find the right person, or build your entire data team, in Canada, Latin America, or the US, on a contract, permanent, or fractional basis.

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BI developers, screened by BI developers

DevEngine is a Vancouver-based IT recruitment and staffing firm. We recruit BI developers from Canada, Latin America, and the US for contract, permanent, or fractional roles. They build the data models, dashboards, and reporting that finance, sales, and operations rely on, on platforms such as Power BI, Tableau, and Looker. A senior BI developer screens every candidate before you see one. You manage the day-to-day work. We handle contracts, HR, and admin.

The role

A BI developer builds the reporting layer the business runs on

A business intelligence (BI) developer designs and builds the dashboards, reports, and data visualizations that turn raw data into insights leaders can act on. Beyond visualization, they model data in warehouses, data lakes, and OLAP cubes, support the ETL pipelines that feed them, and write the calculations that keep reporting fast and consistent.

Typical outputs include dimensional data models and shared metric definitions, executive and operational dashboards, calculation logic in DAX or MDX, row-level security, automated refreshes, and forecasting views built on predictive models.

The role is often confused with two others, and organizations define all three differently. In general:

BI developer

What they work on: The data models, dashboards, and BI platform behind company reporting
Core question: Is reporting built on one model the whole company can trust?
Typical outputs: Data models, dashboards, row-level security, refresh schedules
Works most with: Data engineers, analysts, and business stakeholders
Often brought in when: Reporting has outgrown spreadsheets and one-off dashboards

BI report writer

What they work on: The specific reports each team needs from existing data
Core question: Does each team get the report it needs, accurate and on time?
Typical outputs: Operational, financial, and regulatory reports
Works most with: Finance, HR, sales, and operations teams
Often brought in when: Teams wait in a queue for the reports they need

Data analyst

What they work on: Analysis of business performance and what it means
Core question: What do the numbers say, and what should we do about it?
Typical outputs: Analyses, KPI reviews, recommendations
Works most with: Business leaders, operations, and finance
Often brought in when: Leaders need answers, not more dashboards

	BI developer	BI report writer	Data analyst
What they work on	The data models, dashboards, and BI platform behind company reporting	The specific reports each team needs from existing data	Analysis of business performance and what it means
Core question	Is reporting built on one model the whole company can trust?	Does each team get the report it needs, accurate and on time?	What do the numbers say, and what should we do about it?
Typical outputs	Data models, dashboards, row-level security, refresh schedules	Operational, financial, and regulatory reports	Analyses, KPI reviews, recommendations
Works most with	Data engineers, analysts, and business stakeholders	Finance, HR, sales, and operations teams	Business leaders, operations, and finance
Often brought in when	Reporting has outgrown spreadsheets and one-off dashboards	Teams wait in a queue for the reports they need	Leaders need answers, not more dashboards

If the work is building individual reports from existing models, see Hire BI Report Writers. If the need is analysis and recommendations, see Hire Data Analysts.

When to hire

When you need a BI developer

The need usually shows up as one of these situations:

Every department reports a different number.
Finance, sales, and operations build their own dashboards on their own logic, so leadership meetings start by arguing over whose revenue, margin, or pipeline figure is right.
Reporting can't keep up with the business.
Dashboards were built one request at a time, refreshes fail or run for hours, and new questions from leadership wait weeks for a developer to get to them.
BI licenses are paid for and barely used.
The company has invested in a BI platform, but adoption stays low because reports are slow, hard to find, or don't answer the questions people actually ask.
A platform change puts reporting at risk.
A move to a new warehouse, ERP, or BI tool means rebuilding the models and dashboards the business depends on, without disrupting month-end close or board reporting.

Need a different role?

If you need someone to build individual reports from models that already exist, hire a BI report writer. If you need someone to analyze the numbers and recommend what to do, hire a data analyst. We recruit for both roles.

Our screen

What our senior BI developers look for

A dashboard is easy to show in an interview. A reporting model the whole company trusted, kept fast as data grew, and governed so every team reported the same numbers is harder to fake. A senior BI developer screens every candidate and asks for specifics: the model, the users, what broke, and how they fixed it.

Models the business relied on
We ask for a data model or dashboard suite they built that leadership used to monitor performance, and how many people relied on it.
One version of each metric
We ask how they defined and governed shared metrics so finance, sales, and operations reported the same numbers.
Performance at scale
We ask about reporting they made faster as data and users grew, and what they changed in the model, the calculations, or the platform.
Fluency with your constraints
A BI developer who has worked with your BI platform, your data volume, or regulated reporting reasons differently from one who hasn't. We weight that context, not only certifications.

Candidates who can only build visuals on someone else's model, can't explain how they keep metrics consistent, or have never supported reporting in production are screened out. Your interviews focus on fit, not filtering.

Where we source

Hire from Canada, Latin America, or the US

One search can cover all three talent pools. Brief the role once, and compare candidates from each market side by side before you decide.

Canada

Where candidates are based: Across Canada
Working hours: Canadian time zones, Pacific to Atlantic
Cost: Canadian market rates. See the Canada salary guide below.
Fits when: The role needs knowledge of the North American market, regular in-person time in Canada, or a Canadian base

Latin America

Where candidates are based: Across Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Costa Rica
Working hours: Within 2 hours of US Eastern time, year-round. Up to 4 hours ahead of Pacific time.
Cost: Typically 35–40% below comparable North American cost. See the Latin America salary guide below.
Fits when: You want a wider candidate pool or more seniority for the budget, or the BI developer will work with a nearshore team

United States

Where candidates are based: Across the United States
Working hours: US time zones, Pacific to Eastern
Cost: US market rates.
Fits when: The role needs knowledge of the US market, regular in-person time at a US site, or a US base

	Canada	Latin America	United States
Where candidates are based	Across Canada	Across Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Costa Rica	Across the United States
Working hours	Canadian time zones, Pacific to Atlantic	Within 2 hours of US Eastern time, year-round. Up to 4 hours ahead of Pacific time.	US time zones, Pacific to Eastern
Cost	Canadian market rates. See the Canada salary guide below.	Typically 35–40% below comparable North American cost. See the Latin America salary guide below.	US market rates.
Fits when	The role needs knowledge of the North American market, regular in-person time in Canada, or a Canadian base	You want a wider candidate pool or more seniority for the budget, or the BI developer will work with a nearshore team	The role needs knowledge of the US market, regular in-person time at a US site, or a US base

Not sure which market fits? Tell us about the role, and we'll scope it in each market and show you candidates and cost side by side.

Technology salaries in Canada and Latin America

Benchmark salaries by role and seniority before you set a budget.

Download the Canada Salary Guide Download the Latin America Salary Guide

Engagement models

Contract, permanent, or fractional

Contract

Who employs the BI developer: DevEngine
Time commitment: Full-time, for a defined period
Fits when: A BI platform migration, a reporting rebuild, or a dashboard suite with a defined end
Placement protection: Two-week guarantee

Permanent

Who employs the BI developer: You
Time commitment: Full-time, ongoing
Fits when: Reporting and the BI platform need a standing owner
Placement protection: 180-day prorated guarantee from the start date: full refund in the first 30 days, then partial refunds on a sliding scale

Fractional

Who employs the BI developer: DevEngine
Time commitment: Part-time, hourly or monthly
Fits when: A BI health check, a model cleanup, or a few hours a week of development, without a full-time seat
Placement protection: Tailored to the scope of work

	Contract	Permanent	Fractional
Who employs the BI developer	DevEngine	You	DevEngine
Time commitment	Full-time, for a defined period	Full-time, ongoing	Part-time, hourly or monthly
Fits when	A BI platform migration, a reporting rebuild, or a dashboard suite with a defined end	Reporting and the BI platform need a standing owner	A BI health check, a model cleanup, or a few hours a week of development, without a full-time seat
Placement protection	Two-week guarantee	180-day prorated guarantee from the start date: full refund in the first 30 days, then partial refunds on a sliding scale	Tailored to the scope of work

Each model works a little differently depending on whether you hire in Canada, Latin America, or the US. Compare the options by market to find the engagement that fits your team.

Explore services by market

How it works

How a BI developer search runs

You brief us on the scope and goals of the project, your current data and BI stack, and the teams that rely on the reporting.
We source for your role in Canada, Latin America, or the US, not from a bench.
A senior BI developer screens each candidate. Someone who does the same work, not a recruiter matching keywords.
You choose who to interview and who to hire.
You direct the work. On contract and fractional engagements, DevEngine holds the contract and handles payroll and compliance. On a permanent hire, the BI developer joins your payroll.
If the placement isn't working, we replace the candidate: within two weeks on contract, or under the 180-day prorated guarantee on a permanent hire.

FAQ

BI developer hiring questions

How much does it cost to hire a BI developer?

Cost depends on four things: seniority, BI platform and specialization (for example, data modeling, embedded analytics, or platform migration), the market you hire from, and the engagement model. Hiring in Latin America typically costs 35–40% less than comparable North American hires. For salary benchmarks across technology roles, download the Canada Salary Guide or the Latin America Salary Guide. DevEngine quotes against your actual brief on the first call.

Which skills and certifications do BI developers bring?

Most work in SQL and in BI platforms such as Power BI, Tableau, Looker, Qlik, or SAS BI, with calculation languages such as DAX and MDX. Many use ETL tools such as SSIS or Informatica and cloud warehouses such as Azure Synapse, Google BigQuery, or Amazon Redshift. Common certifications include the Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate, the Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate, and the Tableau Certified Data Analyst. Skills and certifications show familiarity, but not whether someone can build reporting a whole company trusts. That's what the senior BI developer screen tests.

Can a BI developer add forecasting and predictive analytics to our reporting?

Yes, within limits. Many BI developers build forecasts, trend models, and near real-time views inside the BI platform. When the work needs custom machine learning models, a data scientist is usually the better fit, and DevEngine can scope both roles together.

Can I hire a fractional BI developer?

Yes. A fractional BI developer works part-time, on an hourly or monthly cadence, inside your team and tools. Companies often use one for a BI health check, a model or dashboard cleanup, or support during a platform migration. DevEngine places fractional BI developers from Canada, Latin America, and the US.

Should we hire a Power BI developer or a Tableau developer?

Platform experience shortens ramp-up, so companies usually search for the BI platform they already run. The core skills carry over: SQL, data modeling, and metric design. The calculation language and administration differ: DAX in Power BI, calculated fields and LOD expressions in Tableau. If you're still choosing a platform, a fractional BI developer can assess both against your data and licensing before you commit.

Can a BI developer work with a DevEngine Engineering POD?

Yes. A BI developer can sit inside an Engineering POD or work alongside one. You choose the POD's composition and direct the work. The BI developer builds the models and dashboards, and the engineers build the data and features behind them on your sprint cadence, in your tools.

What's your interest?

Choose the path that aligns with how you want to build and scale your team.

Tell us what your reporting has to deliver.

We'll tell you which market and model fit, and how long the search should take.

Not ready to talk yet? Compare technology salaries in the Canada Salary Guide or the Latin America Salary Guide.