Analytics Engineer III, Marketing & Product

The company, a leader in online higher education delivery, is seeking an experienced Analytics Engineer to join their team in Cape Town. This organisation is dedicated to its mission of making learning universally accessible, powering numerous educational offerings through partnerships with top universities and corporations worldwide. As a parent company to a prominent online learning platform, they focus on accelerating careers and transforming lives through accessible, high-quality education. This senior role is pivotal in shaping the data infrastructure that underpins critical product analytics, with a specific focus on e-commerce data and user behaviour tracking.

About the Role

This Analytics Engineer III position is designed for an individual who can architect and refine the data pipelines and models essential for Product Analytics. The core of the role involves creating robust and scalable data sources that will enable in-depth analytics. This includes tracking user journeys, purchase funnels, and key e-commerce performance indicators. The ultimate goal is to facilitate data-informed decision-making across various business functions, including product development, strategy, and operations. The successful candidate will play a crucial part in ensuring the integrity and accessibility of data, transforming raw information into actionable insights.

The responsibilities of this role are multifaceted, requiring a blend of technical expertise and analytical prowess. Key duties include:

• **Data Management and Integrity:** Ensuring the accuracy and completeness of data by cleansing, verifying, and enhancing data sources as needed.
• **Pipeline Development and Optimisation:** Building and maintaining scalable, reliable data pipelines using best coding practices and proficient transformation tools.
• **Data Analysis and Insight Generation:** Applying data mining techniques to analyse complex datasets, uncovering trends and patterns that drive business understanding.
• **Collaboration and Communication:** Working closely with other analysts, product managers, and stakeholders to execute data-driven projects, visualising insights and effectively communicating findings.
• **Technical Leadership and Mentorship:** Leveraging business knowledge to guide technical decisions, lead projects, and support and mentor junior analysts, sharing your expertise in data engineering and analytics.
• **Continuous Learning:** Staying abreast of the latest industry trends and proactively identifying opportunities for process improvement and skill development.

What They're Looking For

To thrive in this role, candidates should possess a strong foundation in data engineering and analytics, coupled with a degree in a quantitative field. Essential qualifications include:

• A minimum of five to seven years of experience in analytics engineering, data engineering, business intelligence, or a closely related technical domain.
• A Bachelor's degree, preferably with a concentration in a mathematical or analytical discipline such as Statistics, Mathematics, or Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• Advanced proficiency in SQL, including a deep understanding of efficient query writing and best coding practices. The ability to assist and upskill others in this area is highly valued.
• Advanced competency in Python, with a strong grasp of programming principles and the capacity to mentor peers.
• Significant experience with dbt (data build tool), demonstrating proficiency in building and managing data pipelines, and contributing to team knowledge sharing.
• A solid understanding of version control systems (e.g., Git), including the effective use of pull requests, collaborative development, debugging, and code documentation.
• The ability to independently develop complex data models.
• Experience using data visualisation and reporting tools, such as Tableau.

This senior Analytics Engineer role offers a significant opportunity to contribute to a growing organisation at the forefront of online education. In South Africa, a role at this level often commands a competitive salary, reflecting the specialised skills required. Employers for such positions are typically those in the technology sector, particularly companies with a strong focus on data and digital platforms, as well as educational technology providers like the company in question. Career progression often leads to further specialisation in data architecture, data science leadership, or management roles within data analytics teams.

• 5-7+ years of experience in analytics engineering, data engineering, business intelligence, or similar technical fields.
• Bachelor’s degree is required, with a concentration in a mathematical or analytical field preferred (i.e.: Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science)
• Skilled in data analysis, data engineering and business intelligence
• Advanced understanding of SQL, efficiently & effectively applies best coding practices and demonstrates ability to upskill/assist others
• Advanced understanding of Python, efficiently & effectively apply best coding principles and demonstrates ability to upskill/assist others
• Advanced understanding of DBT and demonstrates proficiency in building data pipelines while assisting in upskilling/assisting others
• Skilled understanding of version control; efficiently create pull requests, collaborate, debug/track issues, document and host code
• Independently develop complex data models
• Experience with a reporting tool, such as Tableau