Lead Data Engineer: Architect Pipelines & Data Strategy

Placements24; Mbombela (Nelspruit); On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Pension plan

Training opportunities

Leadership role

Job summary

Placements24 in Nelspruit is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design, build, and maintain robust data pipelines and data infrastructure. You will lead a team of data engineers, shaping scalable solutions and data strategy to enable advanced analytics.

The role emphasizes hands-on technical delivery, data governance, and collaboration with data scientists, analysts, and stakeholders to meet business needs. A strong background in data warehousing, ETL/ELT, and cloud platforms is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in data engineering, with at least 3 years in a lead or senior role.
• Proven experience in designing and building complex data pipelines using technologies like Spark, Hadoop, or similar big data frameworks.
• Strong expertise in SQL and experience with various database technologies (relational and NoSQL).
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or Java.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and their data services.
• Solid understanding of data warehousing concepts and dimensional modeling.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects and mentor team members.
• Experience with BI tools and data visualization platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable and reliable data pipelines and ETL/ELT processes.
• Lead the architecture and implementation of data warehousing solutions and data lakes.
• Manage and optimize data infrastructure, ensuring data availability, quality, and performance.
• Collaborate with data scientists and analysts to understand data needs and provide data solutions.
• Develop and enforce data governance policies and standards.
• Mentor and guide junior data engineers, fostering technical excellence within the team.
• Evaluate and implement new data technologies and tools to enhance data capabilities.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to data pipelines and infrastructure.
• Ensure data security and compliance with relevant regulations.
• Optimize data queries and database performance for analytical workloads.

Skills

Spark/Hadoop

SQL mastery

Python/Java

Cloud platforms

Data warehousing

ETL/ELT

Leadership

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

Hadoop ecosystem

Airflow

NoSQL databases

Job description

Placements24 in Nelspruit is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design, build, and maintain robust data pipelines and data infrastructure. You will lead a team of data engineers, shaping scalable solutions and data strategy to enable advanced analytics.

The role emphasizes hands-on technical delivery, data governance, and collaboration with data scientists, analysts, and stakeholders to meet business needs. A strong background in data warehousing, ETL/ELT, and cloud platforms is essential.