Manager Data Engineering

Old Mutual South Africa; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,700,000; Full time

Job summary

Old Mutual South Africa is seeking a Data Engineering Manager to lead a high-performing team and drive the design, delivery and governance of scalable data platforms and pipelines. You will partner with analytics, data science and business stakeholders to enable data-driven decision making and AI initiatives.

The role requires strong cloud experience (Azure, AWS or GCP), Python and SQL skills, and a track record of enterprise data Platform delivery, DevOps practices, and security.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
• 8+ years of data engineering/related tech experience.
• 3+ years in data engineering leadership roles.
• Design and implement enterprise-scale data platforms and pipelines.
• Strong cloud experience (Azure, AWS or GCP).
• Strong SQL and Python skills.
• Experience with Databricks, Snowflake, Spark, Kafka, Airflow or dbt is advantageous.
• Experience in Agile, DevOps and CI/CD environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach a high-performing team of Data Engineers.
• Define and execute the data platform roadmap aligned to strategy.
• Oversee scalable data pipelines and data products.
• Promote modern data engineering practices across cloud and CI/CD.
• Ensure data platforms are reliable, secure, and cost-effective.
• Partner with analytics, data science and stakeholders to enable AI use cases.
• Govern data governance, security, metadata and lineage.
• Provide technical direction on data architecture and standards.
• Manage delivery priorities, risks and dependencies.
• Drive continuous improvement and adoption of new data technologies.

Skills

Team leadership

Data engineering

Cloud experience

Python

SQL

Stakeholder management

CI/CD

Data governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Engineering/Data Science background

Tools

Databricks

Snowflake

Microsoft Fabric

Spark

Kafka

Airflow

dbt

Job description

Let's Write Africa's Story Together!

Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

The Data Engineering Manager will lead the data engineering function, driving the design, development and delivery of scalable, secure and high-quality data platforms and products. The role combines technical leadership, people management, engineering delivery and strategic stakeholder engagement, enabling data-driven decision-making, analytics and AI across the organisation.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing team of Data Engineers.
• Define and execute the data engineering and platform roadmap aligned to business and technology strategy.
• Oversee the design and delivery of scalable data pipelines, data platforms and data products.
• Drive modern data engineering practices across cloud, automation, DevOps, CI/CD and data quality.
• Ensure data platforms are reliable, secure, scalable and cost-effective.
• Partner with Data Science, Analytics, Architecture, Technology and business stakeholders to enable analytics, AI and machine learning use cases.
• Promote strong practices around data governance, security, quality, metadata and lineage.
• Provide technical direction on data architecture, engineering standards and technology selection.
• Manage delivery priorities, risks, dependencies and stakeholder expectations.
• Drive continuous improvement, innovation and adoption of emerging data technologies.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, Data Science or related field.
• 8+ years' experience in data engineering, software engineering, data platforms or related technology disciplines.
• 3+ years' experience leading or managing data engineering teams.
• Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise-scale data platforms and pipelines.
• Strong experience with cloud data platforms, preferably Azure, AWS or GCP.
• Strong SQL and Python skills.
• Experience with technologies such as Databricks, Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, Spark, Kafka, Airflow or dbt would be advantageous.
• Experience working in Agile, DevOps and CI/CD environments.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication and problem-solving skills.

Advantageous Experience

• Financial services or insurance experience.
• Data lake/lakehouse environments.
• AI/ML and MLOps.
• Real-time/streaming data.
• Data governance and regulatory environments.
• Cloud migration and modernisation of legacy data platforms

Preferred Skills:

• Certifications in relevant data engineering, cloud, or leadership domains.
• Experience with real-time data processing and streaming technologies.
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with data security and privacy considerations.

Skills

Competencies

• Business Insight
• Courage
• Cultivates Innovation
• Ensures Accountability
• Manages Complexity
• Optimizes Work Processes
• Plans and Aligns
• Strategic Mindset

Education

Bachelor of Commerce (BCom): Computer Science And Engineering (Required)

Closing Date

20 August 2026 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

The Old Mutual Story!

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