Blue Pearl PTY LTD - Senior Data Engineer – Healthcare Data Platform

Data Engineer is needed in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Client: Blue Pearl PTY LTD

Location: Johannesburg, GT, za

Contract: Contract

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Data Engineer to lead a greenfield/future-state data platform initiative within a regulated healthcare and medical scheme administration environment.

The role involves end-to-end ownership of delivery, from discovery and current-state assessment through to implementation. The successful candidate will work autonomously across a complex legacy data estate while supporting the transition to modern cloud-based data platforms.

The primary objective is to reduce operational workload and improve business efficiency through reporting rationalisation, process automation, self-service analytics, data quality automation, reusable data assets, and improved governance.

Key Responsibilities

• Assess and baseline the current reporting and data environment.
• Analyse complex, undocumented, and legacy data estates.
• Identify manual, repetitive, and inefficient processes, and quantify operational effort.
• Prioritise initiatives based on measurable business value and effort reduction.
• Rationalise, consolidate, standardise, and retire redundant reports.
• Establish consistent data and metric definitions.
• Design and implement robust ETL and data engineering solutions.
• Automate manual processes, data validation, reconciliation, and quality controls.
• Implement appropriate audit trails and operational controls.
• Develop reusable datasets and governed Power BI data products.
• Enable appropriate self-service analytics while maintaining governance standards.
• Establish and maintain a centralised reporting and data catalogue.
• Define metadata standards and improve the discoverability of data and reporting assets.
• Explore the use of Generative AI and LLMs for natural-language data and report discovery.
• Engage with business and technical stakeholders to shape requirements, scope, and delivery decisions.
• Communicate progress, risks, outcomes, and recommendations effectively.
• Define and track KPIs relating to reduced manual effort, released capacity, and operational improvements.
• Own planning, prioritisation, and delivery across assigned workstreams.

Success Measures

Success will be measured by business outcomes, operational efficiency, reduced manual workload, improved data reliability, and released organisational capacity rather than utilisation alone.

Requirements

Technical Requirements

• Strong hands-on experience with Oracle Database.
• Advanced SQL development and optimisation skills.
• Experience with SAP BusinessObjects and SAS.
• Experience with Power BI and governed self-service analytics.
• Strong knowledge of ETL, data engineering, and process automation.
• Experience with data profiling, quality assessment, validation, and reconciliation.
• Experience with data modelling and reusable data assets.
• Experience with Snowflake and AWS cloud technologies.
• Knowledge of metadata management and data cataloguing.
• Awareness of Generative AI and LLM applications in data and analytics.

Experience and Capabilities

• Significant experience as a Senior Data Engineer or equivalent technical lead.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Proven experience owning delivery from discovery through implementation.
• Ability to quickly understand complex, legacy, and undocumented data environments.
• Strong commercial and analytical mindset, with a focus on reducing operational effort.
• Ability to identify opportunities for automation, simplification, and efficiency improvement.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with senior business and technical stakeholders.
• Experience working in regulated environments and handling POPIA-sensitive healthcare data.

Ideal Candidate Mindset

The ideal candidate is self-sufficient, proactive, and comfortable taking ownership without detailed direction. They should be able to assess a complex environment, identify the highest-value opportunities, develop a practical delivery plan, and execute against measurable outcomes.

The focus is on using data engineering, automation, governance, and modern analytics to simplify reporting, reduce manual work, and create sustainable business capacity.

Contract and Location

• Position: Senior Data Engineer
• Contract: Up to 18 months, structured in six-month phases
• Start date: 1 October 2026
• Work model: Hybrid
• Location: Waterfall, Midrand, Johannesburg