Lead Data Engineer

1001 Absa Bank; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Absa Bank is seeking a seasoned Data Architect/Data Engineer to lead data retrieval, storage and distribution across the business area. You will own data ecosystem design, collaborate with data science and broader stakeholders, and help shape enterprise data solutions.

Responsibilities include building scalable data pipelines, implementing CI/CD practices, and aligning with group architecture standards to deliver robust, self-service data capabilities across Africa.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of data architecture across enterprise systems.
• Experience leading end-to-end data solutions (architecture, pipelines, storage, distribution).
• Ability to design scalable data ecosystems and collaborate with data science teams and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and implementation of data retrieval, storage and distribution solutions.
• Oversee CI/CD pipelines and modern data tooling in production environments.
• Collaborate with QA, CSO and other teams to ensure data quality and compliance.
• Drive adoption of group architecture standards for data engineering.

Skills

Data Architecture

Data Engineering

Agile Methodologies

No-SQL Databases

Relational Databases

CI/CD

Jenkins

Automation

Ansible

Chef

Tools

Jenkins

Ansible

Chef

Job description

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time. With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group. Belonging at Absa Absa is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from suitably qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds. In support of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) commitments and Employment Equity objectives, preference may be given to candidates from underrepresented designated groups, including persons with disabilities. We encourage applicants who may require reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process to let us know so that appropriate support can be provided.

Job Summary

Leveraging a thorough understanding of the business data requirements & own data subject matter expertise (ahead of trend), set data architecture direction & lead the agile solution design, deployment, implementation & ongoing optimization of enterprise wide data retrieval, storage and distribution across an estate.

Job Description

Data Architecture & Data Engineering: Take ‘one stop shop’ accountability for the retrieval, storage, processing & distribution of data across a business area (data eco-system) Collaborate with data science teams & broader business & technical stakeholders to analyse customer data requirements & leverage analysis to identify & accurately spec / frame & set the appropriate data architecture for the business area Take accountability for deeply understanding the technical landscape and bank wide architecture that is connected to or dependent on the business area supported in order to effectively design & deliver data solutions (architecture, pipeline etc.) Leverage expertise in analytical & creative problem solving to synthesise data solution designs (build a solution from its components) beyond the analysis of the problem Lead design thinking processes to successfully deliver data solution blueprints & associated roadmaps Leverage state of the art relational and No-SQL databases as well integration and streaming platforms do deliver sustainable business specific data solutions. Lead the end to end solution design & implementation process for all data retrieval, storage & distribution solutions including contributing to and in some cases lead all phases of the development lifecycle including e.g. design process Develop high quality data retrieval, storage & distribution design and architecture in a test driven & domain driven / cross domain environment Build analytics tools that utilize the data pipeline by quickly producing well-organised, optimized, and documented source code & algorithms to deliver technical data solutions Create & Maintain Sophisticated CI / CD Pipelines (authoring & supporting CI/CD pipelines in Jenkins or similar tools and deploy to multisite environments – supporting and managing your applications all the way to production) Automate tasks through appropriate tools and scripting technologies e.g. Ansible, Chef Debug existing source code and polish feature sets. Assemble large, complex data sets that meet business requirements & manage the data pipeline Build infrastructure to automate extremely high volumes of data delivery and Creatively solve data volume and scaling challenges. Create data tools for analytics and data science teams that assist them in building and optimizing data sets for the benefit of the business Ensure designs & solutions support the technical organisation principles of self-service, repeatability, testability, scalability & resilience Apply general design patterns and paradigms to deliver technical solutions Inform & support the infrastructure build required for optimal extraction, transformation, and loading of data from a wide variety of data sources. Continuously optimise, improve & automate data retrieval, storage & distribution processes Work across the value chain and in particular with QA & CSO to define and implement quality assurance routines & processes Work across the value chain and in particular with QA & CSO to ensure the undisputable separation, security & quality of the organisation’s data Meaningfully contribute & ensure solutions align to the design & direction of the Group Architecture & in particular data standards, principles, preferences & practices. Short term deployment must align to strategic long-term delivery. Meaningfully contribute & ensure solutions align to the design and direction of the Group Infrastructure standards and practices e.g. OLA’s, IAAS, PAAS, SAAS, Containerisation etc. Strategically & operationally monitor the performance of data products and services ensuring ongoing optimization & cost to value for our businesses (think bank wide) Stay ahead of the curve on data retrieval, storage & distribution technologies & processes (global best practices & trends) to ensure best practice.

People Management:

Coach & mentor other engineers Conduct peer reviews, testing, problem solving within and across the broader team Provide technical subject matter expertise and support in the attraction and recruitment of Product Engineers for the organization Participate as a subject matter expert in the development & development planning of the broader data engineering team Support the people change teams in the design of adoption processes (Customer, Employee & 3rd Party Adoption)

Risk & Governance:

Identify technical risks and mitigate these (pre, during & post deployment) Update / Design all application documentation aligned to the organization technical standards and risk / governance frameworks Create business cases & solution specifications for various governance processes (e.g. CTO approvals) Participate in incident management & DR activity – applying critical thinking, problem solving & technical expertise to get to the bottom of major incidents Deliver on time & on budget (always) Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise Wide Risk Management Framework and Absa Policies and Policy Standards. Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the role.

Education

At Absa, our story is not a single narrative. It’s thousands of individual journeys unfolding across Africa and beyond. From colleagues serving customers in local communities to teams shaping financial solutions across borders, Absa is built on people who bring their lived experiences, ambitions and perspectives into the workplace every day. Whether you’re starting your career, a seasoned leader or somewhere in between, your contribution is seen, valued and connected to something bigger. Our presence across Africa – which spans personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and insurance – exists because of the people who show up in their roles with purpose. Across Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, our colleagues are shaping what Absa becomes in each market. Beyond the continent, teams in global offices and a technology hub support and extend the stories that prove that African talent can lead, influence and innovate on the global stage. At Absa, your story matters because progress is driven by human experience, not hierarchy. When people are enabled to bring their whole selves to work, they don’t just build careers. They help shape the future of Africa’s financial services landscape.