Junior Data Engineer

VANGUARD SOFTWARE PTE. LTD.; Shenton Way; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

VANGUARD SOFTWARE PTE. LTD. is seeking a Data Engineer with strong software engineering fundamentals to design and scale data infrastructure.

You will build high-performance systems, optimize query engines, and architect robust data pipelines handling terabytes daily. Fresh graduates or 1–2 years of experience are welcome to grow in a distributed, production-grade environment. You'll work with Spark/Flink, Kafka, Airflow and cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure) while collaborating with analysts, data

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, data engineering, software engineering or related field (or graduating soon)
• Proficient in at least one programming language (Java, Python, C++, Golang)
• Good knowledge of SQL and data concepts
• Strong CS fundamentals (systems, networks)
• Exposure to big data concepts via coursework, internships or projects
• Willingness to learn new tools and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• 1–2 years of data engineering/backend development is a plus

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain data infrastructures to support massive data and high concurrency requests
• Clean, transform and optimize raw data for storage and analysis
• Work with structured and unstructured data from databases, APIs, files, etc.
• Plan data warehouse structure to ensure quality, accuracy and availability
• Optimize performance of data pipelines and downstream services
• Collaborate with analysts, data scientists and backend teams to provide tools
• Document data models, processes and technical decisions

Skills

Programming languages: Java, Python, C

CS fundamentals

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Software/Data Eng

Tools

Apache Spark

Flink

Iceberg

Hadoop

Hive

Airflow

Kafka

Kubernetes

Docker

Looker

Tableau

Job description

We're looking for a Data Engineer with strong software engineering fundamentals to build and scale our data infrastructure. You'll design high-performance systems that handle massive data volumes and high-concurrency workloads, optimize query engines for speed and reliability, and architect robust data pipelines. This role is for engineers who love solving distributed systems challenges and building production-grade infrastructure that processes terabytes of data daily. This role is open to fresh graduates and early-career professionals (1-2 years of experience) who are eager to grow their skills in building scalable data systems. Whether you're just starting out or already have some experience, this is a great opportunity to develop your data engineering skills and contribute to impactful, data-driven decision-making.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, develop and maintain data infrastructures, such as computation, query engine and services which can support massive data and high concurrency requests
• Clean, transform, and optimize raw data for storage and analysis
• Work with structured and unstructured data from various sources (databases, APIs, files, etc.)
• Plan data warehouse structure to ensure data quality, accuracy, consistency, and availability
• Optimise for the performance of the data pipeline and service to downstream
• Collaborate with business analysts, data scientists, and backend teams to provide appropriate tools
• Document data models, processes, and technical decisions

What You'll Learn

• Real-world data engineering with modern tools like Apache Spark/Flink, Kafka, Airflow
• Working with SQL/NoSQL databases, data lakes, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Building batch and streaming data pipelines
• Data modeling, warehousing
• Orchestration and monitoring of data workflows
• Developing high availability services
• Best practices in data governance, privacy, and security
• Collaboration in agile, cross-functional teams with product, engineering, and analytics

JOB REQUIREMENTS

For Fresh Graduates

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field (or graduating soon)
• Good understanding of at least one programming language (Java, Python, C++, Golang)
• Good knowledge and able to work with SQL
• Solid understanding of computer science fundamental knowledge (system, network)
• Exposure to big data concepts through coursework, internships, or projects
• Eagerness to work with large datasets and cloud-based data platforms
• Willingness to learn new tools and follow team best practices

For 1-2 Years Experience

• 1-2 years of experience in data engineering and backend development
• Proficient in Java or Python development with demonstrated project experience
• Familiar with SQL, understand the performance and optimization
• Familiar with big data related tech stacks (eg. Spark, Flink, Iceberg, Hadoop, Hive) and data pipeline design
• Experience with cloud services (eg. S3, Cloud Functions, Kubernetes)
• Able to troubleshoot data issues and build scalable data solutions

Nice to Have (For All Levels)

• Experience with data orchestration tools (Airflow, Prefect, Dagster, etc.)
• Familiarity with big data tools (Spark, Kafka, Hadoop)
• Exposure to data visualization tools (e.g., Looker, Tableau)
• Understanding of CI/CD, containerization (Docker), and infrastructure-as-code
• Contributions to personal or open-source data projects
• Knowledge of data privacy and compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.)

Soft Skills

• Passionate on techniques and real-world problem solving
• Team player with good communication skills
• Open to feedback and continuous improvement
• Responsible and proactive in solving data challenges
• Eagerness to explore new tools and share knowledge

What We Offer

• Structured onboarding and mentorship to grow your data skills
• Opportunities to work on real-world data systems with production impact
• A collaborative, knowledge-sharing team culture
• Clear growth paths toward analytics engineering, senior data engineering, or data platform roles