Senior Data Engineer - Python & Sql Pipelines

Our client is seeking a highly experienced Senior AI Data Engineer to join their expanding data science team in Sandton . You will play a critical role in designing, building, and maintaining the data infrastructure required for advanced AI and machine learning applications. This position involves working with large, complex datasets, ensuring data quality, and optimizing data pipelines to support data scientists and ML engineers. Become a key contributor to data-driven innovation within a leading organization in Gauteng .

About the Role

Our client is seeking a highly experienced Senior AI Data Engineer to join their expanding data science team in Sandton . You will play a critical role in designing, building, and maintaining the data infrastructure required for advanced AI and machine learning applications. This position involves working with large, complex datasets, ensuring data quality, and optimizing data pipelines to support data scientists and ML engineers. Become a key contributor to data-driven innovation within a leading organization in Gauteng .

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize scalable data pipelines for AI and machine learning projects.
• Implement and manage data wareing solutions and data lakes, ensuring data integrity and accessibility.
• Collaborate with data scientists and ML engineers to understand data requirements and deliver robust data solutions.
• Develop and maintain data governance policies and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.
• Monitor data infrastructure performance, troubleshoot issues, and implement improvements for efficiency and reliability.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related quantitative field.
• 5+ years of experience in data engineering, with a focus on supporting AI/ML workloads.
• Strong proficiency in SQL, Python , and data processing frameworks (e.g., Spark, Hadoop).
• Experience with cloud data services (AWS Redshift, Azure Data Lake, Google BigQuery).
• Solid understanding of ETL/ELT processes and data modeling techniques.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
• Opportunity to work on impactful AI and data initiatives.
• Professional development and continuous learning opportunities.
• Hybrid work model providing flexibility and work-life balance.
• Dynamic team environment in the heart of Sandton .

This role is ideal for someone who sits between Data Engineering and Analytics someone with a solid understanding of data engineering principles, but who is equally comfortable exploring datasets, investigating data quality, performing analysis and translating business questions into meaningful data outputs.

What You'll Be Doing

• Perform exploratory data analysis (EDA) and validate datasets.
• Use Python extensively for data analysis, investigation and problem-solving.
• Work with real-world and imperfect datasets to identify patterns, issues and insights.
• Support analytics, reporting and insight-driven initiatives .
• Translate client and business questions into clear data outputs and findings.
• Apply data engineering best practices to ensure data is reliable and fit for analytical use.
• Investigate data and communicate findings clearly to both technical and business stakeholders.
• Engage with stakeholders to understand analytical requirements and provide data-driven solutions.

What We're Looking For

• 2+ years' experience in a Data Engineering, Analytics Engineering or similar data-focused role.
• A solid foundation in data engineering concepts .
• Strong hands‑on experience working with data for analysis and insight generation .
• Strong Python skills, particularly pandas and NumPy .
• Experience performing data exploration, investigation and validation .
• Comfortable working with complex, imperfect or inconsistent datasets.
• Strong problem-solving abilities and an analytical mindset.
• The ability to interpret data within a business and client context .
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain data findings clearly.