Specialist Support Engineer: DataOps

Empowering Africa's tomorrow, together…one story at a time. With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group. Job Summary Work as part of an integrated (run & build) tribe in lower complexity environments to provide enterprise wide application support across multiple stakeholder groups by maintaining & optimizing enterprise-grade applications (tech products & services). Job Description Team Context Data Engineering is responsible for the central data platform that receives and distributes data across the bank. This is a multi-platform environment and leverages a blend of custom, commercial and open-source tools to manage and support thousands of critical data-related jobs. These jobs are supported and updated in line with changes across the landscape to avoid disruption to downstream data consumers. Responsibilities Manage an assigned team through day-to-day support tasks Oversee development plans for the team and provide mentorship to the team Provide guidance and peer review Support pipelines end to end Build and deploy enhancements and new developments or new data pipelines Identify and drive optimisation opportunities across the environment Manage the handover of new applications ensuring that required standards and practices are met Improvement on recovery time in case of prod failures Test prototypes and oversee handover to the Data Operations teams Attend and contribute to regular team and User meetings Responsible for the actual coding or programming of Hadoop applications High-speed querying Job Experience & Skills Required: 3+ years' experience working in Big data environment, optimising and building big data pipelines, architectures and data sets with e.g. Java, Scala, Python, Hadoop, Apache Spark and Kafka Minimum one year experience with Scala programming language Minimum one year experience managing a team Cross domain knowledge Familiarity with Hadoop ecosystem and its components Good knowledge of the concepts of Hadoop Solid experience in a working environment in Big Data development utilising SQL or Python Experience in Big Data development using Spark Experience in Hadoop, HDFS and MapReduce Experience in database design, development and data modelling The following additional knowledge, skills and attributes are preferred: Good knowledge in back-end programming, specifically java Experience with development in a Linux environment and its basic commands Understanding of Cloud technologies and migration techniques Understanding of data streaming and the intersection of batch and real time data Ability to write reliable, manageable, and high-performance code Should have basic knowledge of SQL, database structures, principles, and theories Knowledge of workflow/schedulers Strong collaboration and communication skills Strong analytical and problem-solving skills Experience in Quality Assurance Experience in Stakeholder Management Experience in Testing Education Bachelor's Degree: Information Technology Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank. Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised At Absa, our story is not a single narrative. It's thousands of individual journeys unfolding across Africa and beyond. From colleagues serving customers in local communities to teams shaping financial solutions across borders, Absa is built on people who bring their lived experiences, ambitions and perspectives into the workplace every day. Whether you're starting your career, a seasoned leader or somewhere in between, your contribution is seen, valued and connected to something bigger. Our presence across Africa – which spans personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and insurance – exists because of the people who show up in their roles with purpose. Across Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, our colleagues are shaping what Absa becomes in each market. Beyond the continent, teams in global offices and a technology hub support and extend the stories that prove that African talent can lead, influence and innovate on the global stage. At Absa, your story matters because progress is driven by human experience, not hierarchy. When people are enabled to bring their whole selves to work, they don't just build careers. They help shape the future of Africa's financial services landscape.