Sabenza IT & Recruitment - Expert Data Engineer

Data Engineer is needed in Pretoria, South Africa.

Client: Sabenza IT & Recruitment

Location: Pretoria, GT, za

Contract: Contract

Job Description

We’re looking for an Expert Data Engineer to join a high-performing global technology environment and play a key role in building secure, scalable, and intelligent data integration solutions. You will be responsible for designing pipelines, platforms, and integrations that make critical enterprise data available, trusted, discoverable, and ready to be consumed in real time. This role requires excitement about technologies like Kafka, AWS, Python, Java, and real-time streaming, while also tackling complex data challenges.

Requirements

Essential Skills:

• Hands-on experience with Kafka and event streaming platforms for real-time data movement.
• Proven experience with API integration patterns, webhooks, and event/webhook ingestion.
• Strong proficiency in Python for data engineering, ingestion pipelines, and automation.
• Strong proficiency in Java for stream processing or connector development.
• Solid competence with enterprise databases and query languages, including performance tuning and query optimization for OLTP/operational workloads.
• Experience with NoSQL/document stores such as Amazon DynamoDB, MongoDB.
• Experience in data modeling to design schemas and standardized data representations.
• Experience with schema registries and contract-first designs (Avro, Protobuf) to manage producer/consumer compatibility.
• Strong understanding and practice of data quality techniques and tooling to ensure trusted data.
• Knowledge of metadata management and cataloging to support discoverability and lineage.
• Familiarity with ETL/ELT patterns and best practices for performant, reliable data pipelines.
• Experience with observability for streaming, including metrics, tracing, and logging on AWS (CloudWatch, OpenTelemetry, Prometheus/Grafana).

Advantageous Skills:

• Awareness of frontend frameworks (e.g., Angular) to better understand downstream consumers.
• Experience operating container platforms and orchestration (Kubernetes/EKS) for scalable stream processing on AWS.
• Familiarity with enterprise systems like SAP and working with their integration interfaces.
• Experience with big data ecosystems (e.g., EMR, S3, Hadoop) and distributed storage/processing on AWS.
• Working knowledge of AWS analytics/data platform services (Glue, Athena, Kinesis, Redshift, Lake Formation, MSK).
• Knowledge of message delivery semantics, partitioning strategies, and capacity planning for high-throughput pipelines on AWS.

Qualifications/Experience:

• Extensive hands-on experience (typically 6+ years) in data engineering, integration, or streaming roles with demonstrable production experience.
• Proven track record building and operating streaming platforms (Kafka/MSK) and API-based integrations, with strong Python and Java skills and experience with enterprise databases and query languages.
• Strong analytical thinking, curiosity about data, attention to detail, structured problem-solving, and ownership — able to drive topics to completion.
• Preferred certifications: Confluent Certified Developer for Apache Kafka, Microsoft Streaming Eventhubs, AWS Certified Data Engineer.

Benefits

• Cutting edge global IT system landscape and processes.
• Flexible working of 1960 hours in a 12-month period.
• High work-life balance.
• Remote/on-site work location flexibility.
• Highly motivating, energetic, and fast-paced working environment.
• Modern, state-of-the-art offices.
• Dynamic global team collaboration.
• Application of the Agile Working Model methodology.