Senior Data Engineer

Woolworths Financial Services; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 900 000; Full time

Job summary

A financial services company based in Cape Town is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to design, implement, and maintain robust data pipelines and infrastructure. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience with AWS technologies and DevOps practices, along with solid problem-solving skills. Mentorship of junior engineers is a key aspect of this role, as well as ensuring data integrity and compliance with regulations. This position offers a competitive salary aligned with industry standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience as a data engineer, with at least 2 years in a senior role.
• Minimum of 5+ years of experience in AWS technologies/services (AWS Redshift).
• Proficiency in SQL and NoSQL databases.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize scalable data pipelines using AWS tools.
• Ensure data quality and integrity through robust validation techniques.
• Mentor junior data engineers and provide technical guidance.

Skills

Data architecture

AWS technologies/services

DevOps practices

CI / CD pipelines

SQL

NoSQL databases

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, Data Science, Engineering or a related field

Master's degree preferred

Majors in Mathematics and Statistics

Tools

AWS Redshift

Terraform

CloudFormation

Airflow

Job description

Main Purpose

The Senior Data Engineer will be responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining robust data pipelines and infrastructure.

This role requires a deep understanding of data architecture, cloud platforms, and DevOps practices to ensure scalable and efficient data systems.

The ideal candidate will collaborate closely with data scientists, machine learning engineers, analysts, and DevOps teams to enable data‑led decision making across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize scalable data pipelines using tools and technologies like Airflow, AWS Glue, AWS Redshift, AWS DataZone, etc.
• Build and maintain ETL processes for data ingestion, transformation, and integration from various sources.
• Design and implement data warehousing solutions (e.g. Redshift) for high‑performance analytics.
• Ensure data quality and integrity through robust data validation, cleaning, and transformation techniques.
• Architect and manage cloud‑based data platforms using AWS.
• Develop infrastructure‑as‑code (IaC) using tools like Terraform, CloudFormation, and our Cloud Native Data Platform.
• Implement CI / CD pipelines for automated deployment of data pipelines and infrastructure updates.
• Monitor and optimize cloud resources for performance, cost efficiency, and scalability.

Collaboration & Mentorship

• Work closely with data scientists, analysts, and enterprise architects to align data architecture with business needs.
• Mentor junior data engineers and provide technical guidance on best practices and emerging technologies.
• Collaborate with DevOps and IT teams to ensure secure, scalable, and high‑availability data systems.

Data Governance & Security

• Implement data governance practices, including data lineage, cataloging, and role‑based access control.
• Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations (e.g. POPIA) and internal security policies.
• Perform regular audits and optimize data storage and processing for cost and efficiency.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Data Science, Engineering or a related field.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Majors in Mathematics and Statistics (an advantage).

Experience

• 5+ years of experience as a data engineer, with at least 2 years in a senior role.
• Minimum of 5+ years of experience in AWS technologies/services (AWS Redshift).
• Proven experience in DevOps practices including CI / CD pipelines, IaC, and cloud automation.
• Appropriate exposure and experience in Data Mesh (theoretical and practical).
• Proficiency in SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Excellent problem‑solving, analytical, and communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience in the Financial, Banking, FinTech or Retail industry in a senior data engineering role.
• Experience in Agile work practices.
• Certified AWS professional.
• Knowledge of stream processing frameworks.