Senior Specialist, Data Engineer

About the Role

Liberty, a prominent financial services organisation in South Africa, is seeking a seasoned Data Engineer to join their team in Johannesburg. This role is pivotal in the design, development, and maintenance of sophisticated data systems, contributing to the organisation's continuous delivery pipeline. You will be instrumental in translating complex business needs into robust technical solutions, ensuring high standards of software quality and system integrity.

As a Senior Specialist in Data Engineering, your responsibilities will span the entire software development lifecycle. This includes:

• Designing, coding, and rigorously testing software programmes to meet specific technical requirements.
• Debugging and rectifying issues within the established software engineering environments and continuous delivery frameworks.
• Providing essential support and ongoing maintenance for existing data systems and infrastructure.
• Developing comprehensive software specifications that align with technical needs and adhere to stringent quality assurance standards.
• Leveraging advanced proficiency in SQL, with practical experience working with relational databases such as Oracle and cloud-based data warehouses like Amazon Redshift.
• Applying your expertise in big data technologies and cloud platforms, specifically within the AWS ecosystem. This includes hands-on experience with services such as Amazon Athena, AWS Lambda, AWS CloudFormation, Amazon EMR, and the Apache Spark framework.

You will be expected to operate within an Agile methodology, contributing to the efficient development and deployment of data solutions. A key aspect of the role involves ensuring seamless integration of systems and maintaining observability for performance monitoring and issue resolution.

What They're Looking For

Liberty is looking for a candidate with a strong foundation in software engineering principles and a proven track record in developing data-driven solutions. A relevant first-degree qualification in Information Technology or a related field is essential.

You should possess:

• A minimum of 5 to 7 years of broad experience in software engineering technology.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business and functional requirements into detailed technical specifications.
• Solid experience in developing programming code to create effective solutions.
• Deep understanding and practical application of Agile methodologies, API development, and data engineering best practices.
• Hands-on experience with cloud computing environments, particularly AWS, and concepts like Continuous Delivery (CD), Continuous Deployment, and Continuous Integration (CI).
• Familiarity with incident response protocols, infrastructure as code (IaC), and microservices architecture.
• Experience with large-scale system design and observability tools for application and web analytics.
• Proficiency in platform engineering, security engineering, and software engineering methods and tools.
• A strong grasp of software foundations and system integration principles.
• Commitment to Test-Driven Design (TDD) principles.

Behaviourally, the ideal candidate will be adept at adopting practical approaches, clearly articulating information, and continuously developing their expertise. They should be diligent in documenting facts, thorough in examining information, and skilled at interpreting data to derive meaningful insights.

The successful candidate will play a key role in enhancing Liberty's data capabilities, ensuring the efficiency and reliability of their data infrastructure. This position offers an opportunity to contribute to a leading financial services group committed to innovation and growth in Africa.

In South Africa, a senior data engineering role of this nature often commands a competitive salary, reflecting the specialised skills and experience required. Employers typically include major financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and large retail groups. Career progression can lead to specialised architecture roles, team leadership positions, or broader data science management opportunities.

Type of Qualification: First Degree
Field of Study: Information Technology

Experience Required
Software Engineering
Technology
5-7 years
Broad experience in translating business and functional requirements into technical specifications and developing the programming code to create the solutions.

Behavioural Competencies:

• Adopting Practical Approaches and Articulating Information
• Developing Expertise
• Documenting Facts
• Examining Information and Interpreting Data

Technical Competencies:

• Agile, API and Data Engineering
• Automation
• Cloud Computing
• Continuous Delivery (CD)
• Continuous Deployment
• Continuous Integration (CI)
• Core Systems
• Incident Response
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
• Microservices
• Non-abstract Large System Design (NALSD)
• Observability (Application and Web Analytics)
• Platform Engineering
• Security Engineering
• Software Engineering Methods & Tools
• Software Foundations
• System Integration
• Test-driven Design (TDD)