Senior Data Architect & Engineer - AI Platforms

Communicate Recruitment; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Communicate Recruitment is seeking a senior data platform engineer to own large-scale data and ML platform architecture in Cape Town. You will shape standards and technical strategy to deliver AI-ready solutions powering business success.

We expect 7–10 years in data engineering or similar, strong SQL and Python, and proven leadership of enterprise-scale data initiatives. Cloud-based data platforms and robust data governance are essential.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years in data engineering or senior roles with data platforms.
• Strong SQL and Python with ETL/ELT and data modelling experience.
• Experience owning platform architecture and driving standards.

Responsibilities

• Own platform architecture and technical standards for data and ML platforms.
• Lead enterprise-scale data initiatives across the business.
• Mentor engineering teams and influence stakeholders.
• Design scalable, secure, and governance-driven data ecosystems.

Skills

Data Engineering

Python

SQL

ETL/ELT

Machine Learning

Data Governance

Cloud Platforms

Leadership

Education

Degree in Computer Science or related

Experience leading enterprise-scale data architecture

ML at scale experience

Tools

Airflow

Prefect

Azure Data Factory

Job description

Communicate Recruitment is seeking a senior data platform engineer to own large-scale data and ML platform architecture in Cape Town. You will shape standards and technical strategy to deliver AI-ready solutions powering business success.

We expect 7–10 years in data engineering or similar, strong SQL and Python, and proven leadership of enterprise-scale data initiatives. Cloud-based data platforms and robust data governance are essential.