Senior Data Platform Engineer

Moonpay; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 300 000 - 400 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading cryptocurrency firm based in Cape Town is looking for a Senior Data Engineer. In this hands-on technical leadership role, you will shape the evolution of our data platform. Responsibilities include designing and optimizing the core systems, mentoring team members, and collaborating across various departments. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience with Google Cloud Platform and a passion for problem-solving in a fast-paced environment. Attractive perks include hybrid working and competitive equity packages.

Benefits

Equity package

Unlimited holidays

Private Healthcare benefits

Home office setup allowance

Remote working allowance

Annual training budget

Qualifications

• Experience in building and delivering significant components of a data platform.
• Hands-on experience with real-time/event-driven systems.
• Proven ability to enhance data infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop key components of the data platform.
• Collaborate with various teams to enhance data capabilities.
• Write high-quality code for data processing.

Skills

Building data platforms

Data ingestion pipelines

Real-time event-driven systems

Data warehousing

Infrastructure as Code

Collaboration

Tools

Google Cloud Platform

Kafka

Terraform

Python

SQL

Job description

Overview

MoonPay City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

About the Opportunity

This is a hands-on technical leadership role with the opportunity to shape the future of our data platform.

You will be responsible for designing and building the core systems to unlock value from our data as we grow.

We are looking for a passionate engineer who thrives on solving complex challenges, from high-level architectural design down to implementation.

Your impact will come from tackling technical problems directly while also mentoring the team and influencing the long-term vision.

What you will do

As a Senior Data Engineer on our Data Platform team, you'll be a critical player in the evolution of our data platform.

You will be a hands-on technical expert, responsible for designing, building, and optimizing the core infrastructure and services that empower our developers and data users.

Design and develop key components of our data platform, including real-time streaming, orchestration, data warehousing, batch ingestion and governance.

We value strong experience in at least one of these core areas.

Take ownership of the estimation, planning, and execution of complex data platform projects, including new feature development and major service upgrades.

Improve and scale our existing data platform codebase, data pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC), focusing on scalability, reliability, performance, and cost-effectiveness.

Collaborate closely with engineering, analytics, and data science teams to understand their needs, gather requirements, and deliver reliable and well-adopted platform capabilities.

Write well-tested, high-quality, and performant code for data processing, platform automation, and infrastructure management.

Lead the design and delivery of complex data engineering projects, partnering effectively with stakeholders to drive them from concept to successful implementation.

Mentor other engineers on the team, helping to elevate their skills and fostering best practices in data engineering through code reviews and technical guidance.

Uphold and contribute to high standards for code quality, testing, and documentation, and proactively identify and help manage technical debt.

What you'll be working on

Within our Data Platform team you will partner and collaborate across our Platform, Security and Data teams to shape and develop MoonPay's data capabilities.

Key Technologies you'll use daily

Primarily Google Cloud Platform (GCP) – Kubernetes, Kafka, Pub / Sub, Dataflow, Airflow, Cloud Storage, Datadog.

(Experience with AWS / Azure is also great)

Languages : Python, Terraform, Bash, SQL

Types of projects and systems you'll focus on

Real-Time Event Streaming : Enhancing and managing our infrastructure for handling high-volume, low-latency event streams

Shared Data Tooling & Frameworks : Creating reusable libraries, APIs, and services that make it easier and faster for other teams to build data-driven applications

Core Data Pipelines : Building and scaling the systems that ingest, process, and make data available from various sources

Platform Automation & Observability : Improving how we deploy, monitor, and manage our data infrastructure

Data Governance & Quality Systems : Developing tools and processes to ensure our data is compliant, reliable, secure, and well-documented

Data Warehousing : Designing, building, and optimizing how we store and model data for analytics and reporting

ML Platform Enablement : Building and supporting the underlying infrastructure and data pipelines that our Machine Learning teams need

About You

You are a skilled and experienced engineer with a passion for building robust, scalable, and impactful data solutions.

You thrive in a collaborative environment and are driven to deliver high-quality systems while helping to elevate your teammates' skills.

We're looking for someone who brings :

• A strong track record of building and delivering significant components of a data platform and data ingestion pipelines and frameworks.
• You have experience developing shared services that accelerate the work of internal users like engineers, analysts, and data scientists.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing complex data systems and contributing to key technical decisions.
• Hands-on experience with real-time / event-driven systems (e.g., Kafka, Pub / Sub), data warehousing / modeling, and orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow).
• Proficiency with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) (e.g., Terraform) for managing complex, production-grade data infrastructure.
• A team-first attitude; you enjoy mentoring others and sharing knowledge because you believe that rising tides lift all boats.
• Experience building platform capabilities that enable at least one : self-service, real-time analytics, data governance, machine learning.
• A continuous drive to stay current with data engineering technologies and best practices, applying them to solve real-world problems.

Core values

• B- Be Hungry
• L- Level Up
• O- Own It
• C- Crypto Curious
• K- Kaizen

What's in it for you

Competitive salary package

• Equity package : We believe financial freedom starts with our employees, so all employees have ownership at MoonPay.
• Pay for performance equity bonus : Those who drive outsized outcomes receive outsized rewards.
• Unlimited holidays : We give you the autonomy to choose when to work (and when to switch off).
• Hybrid working schedule : Work fully remotely or your nearest Moonbase, the choice is yours.
• Private Healthcare benefits : To protect you and your loved ones.
• Enhanced parental leave : So you can spend more time with your loved ones without a second thought.
• Annual training budget : We support your training journey every step of the way.
• Home office setup allowance : Create the home office of your dreams.
• Remote working allowance : Those working fully remotely get a little extra for utilities.
• Monthly budget to spend on our products and zero fee crypto transactions : Cultivate your inner DEGEN.
• Employee referral programme : Great people know great people, refer them to receive 10K in USDC.
• Regular remote company offsites : Meet your colleagues regularly for high impact in person sessions and hackathons.
• Working in a disruptive and fast-growing company where excellence is rewarded.

What it’s like to work at MoonPay?

At MoonPay, you'll work alongside driven, resourceful people who are passionate about excellence in everything they do.

Kaizen is more than just a saying here, it's a mindset.

We encourage you to think big, take risks, and push the boundaries of what's possible, knowing you have the support of a team that wants to see you grow.

We're listed in the Sunday Times best places to work guide and consistently strive to provide an environment where everyone feels they can do their best work.

Commitment To Diversity

Research has shown that women are less likely than men to apply for this role if they do not have experience in % of these areas.

Please know that this list is indicative, and that we would still love to hear from you even if you feel that you are only a 75% match.

Skills can be learnt, diversity cannot.

Please let us know if you require any accommodations for the interview process, and we'll do our best to provide assistance.

At MoonPay we believe that every voice matters.

We strive to create a mindful and respectful environment where everyone can bring their authentic self to work, and experience a culture that is free of harassment, racism, and discrimination.

That's why we are committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and are a proud equal opportunity employer.

We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including, but not limited to, hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, and leave of absence.

MoonPay is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our job application procedures for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Please inform our Talent Team if you need any assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

Please be aware that MoonPay does not request an AI-led interview without seeing a recruiter or team member from MoonPay on video call.

We won't ask for your personal identification documents or any money from you during your interview process with us.

Be fraud smart!

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