Engineer, Software (SQL)

This position, based in Johannesburg, calls for a skilled Software Engineer with a strong focus on SQL to join a dynamic team within the financial services sector. The role is instrumental in designing, developing, and maintaining robust software solutions and data engineering capabilities. Successful candidates will operate within a structured environment, adhering to established programming standards and working under the guidance of senior technical professionals.

About the Role

The core responsibility of this role involves translating complex business requirements into effective technical solutions. You will be involved in the full software development lifecycle, from initial design and coding through to rigorous testing, debugging, and ongoing maintenance of programs within development environments. A key aspect of the job is ensuring that all work is engineered to a high standard, aligning with agreed-upon industry best practices and utilising appropriate tools. This is an opportunity to contribute to a leading financial services group that is committed to driving growth across Africa and delivering significant value to its diverse clientele, which ranges from individual consumers to large multinational corporations.

Your day-to-day activities will encompass a broad spectrum of software and data engineering tasks. You will be expected to:

• Design, code, test, and debug software programs.
• Maintain and improve existing software applications and data pipelines.
• Collaborate with senior technical resources to ensure adherence to programming standards.
• Apply expertise in areas such as SQL, Python, and ETL processes.
• Develop and manage enterprise-scale data engineering capabilities.
• Contribute to cloud transformation and migration initiatives, particularly involving the move of on-premises SQL Server and data warehouse workloads to cloud platforms like Microsoft Fabric and Azure.
• Implement data migration, reconciliation, and cutover planning strategies.
• Ensure production readiness and support for deployed solutions.
• Adhere to Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) principles, including Agile and DevOps methodologies.
• Utilise CI/CD pipelines, Git for version control, and manage change and release processes.
• Engage in environment management, incident and problem management, and disaster recovery planning.
• Implement automated testing across regulated environments.
• Apply knowledge of data governance, security, access management, and data quality.

What They're Looking For

To be considered for this role, candidates will need a solid educational background and extensive practical experience. A first degree in Information Studies or Information Technology is required, complemented by Azure Fundamentals Certification (AZ-900) and/or Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate (DP-700).

You should possess at least seven years of experience in roles such as Data Engineer, SQL Engineer, or Software Engineer, with a proven track record of translating business needs into technical realities and developing scalable software and data engineering solutions.

Crucially, candidates must demonstrate extensive expertise in Microsoft Fabric and Azure. This includes a deep understanding of SQL, Python, PySpark, ETL/data pipelines, Azure Data Factory, data modelling, and data warehousing/lakehouse architectures. Experience with API integrations, performance optimisation, and designing scalable enterprise data platforms is also essential.

Proven success in delivering cloud transformation and migration projects, specifically moving SQL Server, data warehouses, and ETL workloads to Azure and Microsoft Fabric, is highly valued. This includes hands-on experience with data migration, reconciliation, cutover planning, and ensuring production readiness.

A strong grasp of SDLC, Agile, and DevOps practices, such as CI/CD, Git, change and release management, disaster recovery, and automated testing within regulated environments, is expected. Experience within the Financial Services or Banking sector, including knowledge of data governance, security, access management, data quality, and monitoring, will be advantageous. Familiarity with Power Apps and Power Automate is considered a bonus.

Behavioural competencies such as adopting practical approaches, meticulous attention to detail, analytical thinking, a focus on output, and strong teamwork are also key attributes sought in candidates.

For software engineers in South Africa with this level of expertise, particularly in financial services and cloud technologies, roles can offer competitive remuneration packages. Common employers include major banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions that are heavily invested in digital transformation and data-driven strategies. Career progression often leads to more senior engineering roles, team leadership positions, or specialisations in cloud architecture or data science.

• First Degree in Information Studies or Information Technology as well as Azure Fundamentals Certification (AZ-900) and/or Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate (DP-700) required
• 7+ years' experience as a Data Engineer, SQL Engineer, or Software Engineer, translating business requirements into technical solutions and developing enterprise-scale software and data engineering capabilities
• Extensive expertise in Microsoft Fabric and Azure, including SQL, Python, PySpark, ETL/data pipelines, Data Factory, data modelling, data warehousing/lakehouse architectures, API integrations, performance optimisation, and scalable enterprise data platform design
• Proven experience delivering cloud transformation and migration initiatives, including migrating on-premises SQL Server, data warehouse, and ETL workloads to Azure and Microsoft Fabric, with responsibility for data migration, reconciliation, cutover planning, rollback strategies, and production readiness
• Strong knowledge of SDLC, Agile, DevOps, and ITSM practices, including CI/CD, Git, change and release management, environment management, incident and problem management, disaster recovery, production support, and automated testing across regulated environments
• Financial Services/Banking domain experience, with expertise in data governance, security and access management, data quality and reconciliation, monitoring and observability; experience with Power Apps and Power Automate would be advantageous

Additional information

Behavioural Competencies:

• Adopting Practical Approaches
• Checking Things
• Examining Information
• Producing Output
• Team Working

Technical Competencies:

• Agile Engineering
• API Engineering
• Automation
• Cloud Computing
• Software Engineering Methods
• Software Engineering Tools