Lead Data Engineer at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• Leveraging a thorough understanding of the business data requirements & own data subject matter expertise (ahead of trend), set data architecture direction & lead the agile solution design, deployment, implementation & ongoing optimization of enterprise wide data retrieval, storage and distribution across an estate.

Job Description

Job Summary

• As a Lead Data Engineer you will serve as a cornerstone of technical leadership and strategic execution within the Absa Treasury IT department.
• This is a pivotal role that combines deep, hands-on engineering with design ownership and team mentorship. You will take "one-stop shop" accountability for Treasury's data ecosystem within your stream, from strategic design to operational excellence.
• Leveraging your subject matter expertise, you will contribute to the data architecture direction, lead agile solution design, and oversee the deployment and continuous optimization of enterprise-class data solutions.
• While your focus will be on mastering and evolving our in-house ETL platform (LUM) to drive business value, you will also be expected to stay ahead of industry trends, championing best practices in data engineering, governance, and automation.
• You are not just a senior engineer; you are a strategist, a mentor, and the go-to expert who will drive the quality, scalability, and value of your streams data assets within Treasury.

Key Accountabilities / Job Description

Strategic Data Architecture & Ecosystem Ownership:

• Design/Architectural Alignment: Align your stream to the data architecture vision for the Treasury domain. Create and champion a strategic roadmap that ensures the streams data landscape is scalable, resilient, and aligned with long-term business goals.
• Full Ecosystem Accountability: Assume ultimate ownership for the entire data lifecycle within your domain—from data sourcing and retrieval to its transformation, storage, security, and distribution—ensuring its integrity and performance.
• Technology Evangelism & Strategy: Stay at the forefront of the data industry, evaluating emerging technologies, relational/NoSQL platforms, and streaming technologies. Drive the business case for adopting new tools and methodologies that deliver a tangible competitive advantage.
• Commercial Acumen: Go beyond technical delivery to strategically monitor the performance, cost, and commercial value of data products. Ensure all initiatives deliver a clear return on investment and contribute directly to Treasury's success.

Engineering & Solution Delivery:

• Architect and Implement: Lead the end-to-end solution design process, from initial blueprinting in design thinking workshops to overseeing the final implementation of mission-critical data solutions.
• Mastery of Data Integration: Serve as an ultimate authority on data integration and ETL development. Architect and build our most complex, high-volume data pipelines on the LUM platform and other strategic toolsets, establishing best practices for the entire team.
• Performance Architecture: Set the standard for process excellence. Tackle the most challenging data transformation and analysis problems and architect solutions for optimal process performance across big datasets.
• Drive a Data-First Culture: Champion the principle that data is a critical enterprise asset. Actively advocate for data-driven decision-making across Treasury and ensure that all engineering solutions are designed to make data accessible, reliable, and central to business processes.

Analytical Acumen & Quality Stewardship:

• Establish Data Quality Frameworks: Design and own the data quality, validation, and reconciliation frameworks for the domain. Ensure these are embedded in every data pipeline to guarantee the highest level of data integrity.
• Final Point of Escalation: Act as the final point of escalation for critical data integrity and performance issues, leading deep-dive root cause analyses and implementing permanent, strategic solutions.
• Empower Data Consumers: Strategically design and provide curated, high-value data assets and tools that empower analytics and data science teams to accelerate their work and derive new insights.

Technical Leadership & Team Enablement:

• Uplift Team Capability: Lead by example in solving the most challenging technical problems. Actively mentor and coach fellow engineers, fostering their growth through constructive code reviews, knowledge sharing, and setting a high bar for engineering excellence.
• Talent Development: Help shape a highly performing team by defining the technical standards and competencies required for success, and by playing a lead role in the professional development and upskilling of data engineers within the team.

Governance, Risk & Strategic Influence:

• Drive the Risk Agenda: Proactively identify, articulate, and mitigate significant technical risks. Lead the technical response during major incidents and disaster recovery activities, demonstrating critical thinking under pressure.
• Build Strategic Partnerships: Move beyond simple stakeholder management to build strategic partnerships with senior business stakeholders and technology peers, navigating complex organizational dynamics to achieve alignment and drive results.

Required Education & Experience

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• A Master's degree is a plus.
• Experience Level: 7+ years of progressive experience in data engineering, with a proven track record of leading the design and delivery of complex, large-scale projects.
• Work Experience: Extensive experience in a complex enterprise environment is essential. Deep experience within financial services (Treasury, Capital Markets, Risk) is highly preferred.

Skills:

Core Technical Expertise

• Expert SQL & Performance Architecture (Non-negotiable): Mastery of complex SQL and the ability to architect for performance across large-scale data warehouses.
• Advanced ETL/ELT Architecture: Proven expertise in architecting and building robust, scalable, and mission-critical data pipelines for enterprise use.
• Data Modelling & Database Design: Deep, authoritative knowledge of data warehousing architecture, dimensional modelling, and experience with both relational and NoSQL databases.
• Programming/Scripting/Tools (Advantageous): High proficiency in at least one relevant language (e.g., Python, Scala, C#, DAX, SAS, R, Java). Experience with enterprise ETL/BI toolsets (e.g., Informatica, SSIS, SAS, Oracle Data Integrator, AWS Glue, IBM InfoSphere, SAP Data Services, PowerBI, and Qlikview/Qliksense).

Analytical Acumen & Quality Stewardship

• Data Profiling and Discovery: Mastery in performing deep data analysis to understand complex source systems and architect sound data solutions.
• Data Validation and Reconciliation: Authority on data validation and reconciliation techniques, with experience designing and implementing quality frameworks.
• Mastery of Root Cause Analysis: Elite troubleshooting skills, with the ability to trace data lineage across complex systems to definitively solve data integrity issues.
• Advanced Query Performance Tuning: Deep expertise in interpreting complex execution plans and re-architecting solutions for optimal performance.
• Leadership & Strategic Competencies
• Architectural Vision: The proven ability to design and own the data architecture for a complex business domain, creating a clear and actionable roadmap.
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: A passion for uplifting a team's technical capability through coaching, setting high standards, and leading by example.
• Communication & Influence: The ability to articulate complex technical strategy and influence decisions with senior business and technology leaders.
• Commercial and Strategic Acumen: A strong ability to connect technical solutions to business value, drive strategic planning, and understand the commercial implications of data.
• Ultimate Ownership & Accountability: A leader who takes ultimate ownership of outcomes, demonstrates resilience, and drives complex projects to successful completion.

End Date: July 30, 2025