Senior/Lead Data Engineer

Sabenza IT & Recruitment; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,700,000; Full time

Job summary

Sabenza IT & Recruitment in Cape Town is seeking an experienced Senior / Lead Data Engineer to design and deliver scalable cloud-based data solutions. You will lead technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and drive best practices across enterprise data platforms.

The role requires 8+ years in data or software engineering, strong SQL, Python/PySpark, and extensive AWS experience. Apply to join a growing data team in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or Diploma in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Information Systems or similar.
• 8+ years' experience in Data Engineering or Software Engineering.
• Strong experience with Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing.
• Advanced SQL skills.
• Expert knowledge of Python and PySpark.
• Experience with Hadoop and Apache Spark.
• Strong AWS experience, including EMR, S3, Athena, RDS, Lambda and API Gateway.
• Good understanding of SDLC, Solution Architecture and DevSecOps.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and optimise enterprise data pipelines and data platforms.
• Develop scalable cloud-native data engineering solutions.
• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to deliver data-driven solutions.
• Define and maintain data architecture and engineering standards.
• Drive DevSecOps and CI/CD best practices.
• Mentor and coach Data Engineers.
• Ensure data quality, governance and platform reliability.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies and technical planning.
• Drive continuous improvement and innovation across the data environment.

Skills

Advanced SQL

Python

PySpark

Mentoring engineers

DevSecOps

BI & Data Warehousing

Agile collaboration

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Diploma in CS/Engineering/Math/IS

Tools

Hadoop

Apache Spark

AWS (EMR, S3, Athena, RDS, Lambda, API Gateway)

Azure

Google Cloud Platform

Snowflake

CI/CD

Job description

Cape Town, South Africa | Posted on 03/08/2026

Our client is looking for an experienced Senior / Lead Data Engineer to join their growing Data Engineering team. This role is responsible for designing and delivering scalable cloud-based data solutions, leading technical initiatives, and mentoring engineers while driving best practices across enterprise data platforms.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build and optimise enterprise data pipelines and data platforms.
• Develop scalable cloud-native data engineering solutions.
• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders to deliver data-driven solutions.
• Define and maintain data architecture and engineering standards.
• Drive DevSecOps and CI/CD best practices.
• Mentor and coach Data Engineers.
• Ensure data quality, governance and platform reliability.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies and technical planning.
• Drive continuous improvement and innovation across the data environment.
  

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree or Diploma in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Information Systems or similar.
• 8+ years' experience in Data Engineering or Software Engineering.
• Strong experience with Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing.
• Advanced SQL skills.
• Expert knowledge of Python and PySpark.
• Experience with Hadoop and Apache Spark.
• Strong AWS experience, including EMR, S3, Athena, RDS, Lambda and API Gateway.
• Good understanding of SDLC, Solution Architecture and DevSecOps.
• Experience with Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Snowflake is advantageous.
• Previous experience leading or mentoring engineering teams.
• Retail or FMCG industry experience is essential.