Specialist Data Engineer at Absa, Johannesburg
Absa · Johannesburg, Gauteng
Overview
Absa is looking for a Specialist Data Engineer to join their Johannesburg team. You will work in agile squads building and optimising data pipelines, algorithms and solutions that power banking decisions. If you have a BSc in IT and skills in Spark, Kafka, Hadoop or cloud platforms, this is a strong career move with one of Africa's largest banks.
About the role
As a Specialist Data Engineer at Absa, you will be embedded in one or more agile squads where you will design, build, test and maintain the data pipelines and algorithms that keep the bank running smoothly. Your work will directly support how data is retrieved, processed, stored and distributed across the business.
You can expect to:
- Translate business requirements and data architecture direction into practical data solution designs
- Work with relational and NoSQL databases as well as integration and streaming platforms
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines in tools like Jenkins and automate tasks using Ansible or Chef
- Assemble large, complex data sets that meet business needs
- Create analytics tools that help data science teams optimise their work
- Coach and mentor other engineers and conduct peer reviews
- Identify and mitigate technical risks and contribute to incident management
To apply, visit Absa's official careers portal. You will complete your application on the bank's own system.
Requirements
- Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology or a related field
- Experience with data architecture and data engineering principles
- Hands on experience with relational and NoSQL databases
- Experience with integration and streaming platforms
- Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins
- Automation skills using tools like Ansible or Chef
- Added advantage: experience with Drano, Spark or PySpark, Kafka, Hadoop, cloud platforms, APIs and CI/CD
- Strong problem solving and analytical thinking skills
- Ability to work in a team and mentor junior engineers
Responsibilities
- Design, build and maintain data pipelines and data solutions for a business area
- Work within agile squads to deliver data retrieval, processing, storage and distribution solutions
- Participate in design thinking sessions to deliver data solution blueprints
- Develop high quality source code and algorithms for data processing
- Create and maintain CI/CD pipelines and automate tasks using scripting tools
- Build analytics tools and large data sets that support business and data science teams
- Ensure data solutions meet security, quality and governance standards
- Perform quality assurance and testing of data solutions
- Coach and mentor other engineers and conduct peer reviews
- Identify technical risks and support incident management and disaster recovery activities
Job details
- Organisation
- Absa
- Location
- Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Job type
- Full time
- Experience level
- Mid
- Education
- Bachelor
- Category
- IT & Software Development
- Posted
- 27 October 2026 (1 week ago)
- Application Method
- Apply online
Success Guide
When applying for this Specialist Data Engineer role at Absa, make sure your CV clearly shows hands on experience with data pipelines and the tools listed, especially Spark, Kafka or Hadoop if you have them. Absa is a big bank with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion, so you can mention any relevant projects where you worked in agile teams or mentored others. The application goes through Absa's Workday portal, so set aside time to create a profile and upload your documents. In interviews, expect questions about how you have solved data problems in the past, how you design scalable solutions and how you handle data security. Brush up on CI/CD concepts and be ready to talk through a project from start to finish. Good luck!
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