Senior Data Engineer

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in South Africa.

📋 Description

• Assume responsibility for VALR's data platform and outline the roadmap for its evolution — encompassing the warehouse layer, ingestion pipelines, orchestration, and data transformation strategy.

• Design, maintain, and enhance scalable ELT pipelines to convert raw data into clean, well-documented, analytics-ready datasets.

• Establish data contracts, modeling conventions, and documentation standards that facilitate consistent, reliable, self-service access to data across teams.

• Create robust data quality checks, pipeline monitoring, and observability tools — making data reliability visible and quantifiable.

• Collaborate closely with engineering teams to comprehend data sources, schemas, and event flows across all systems, ensuring high-quality data is captured and accurately structured at the source.

• Assess and integrate streaming or near-real-time data capabilities where they provide significant value to the business.

• Review tools and technologies within the data stack and recommend enhancements with a clear rationale and perspective on long-term suitability.

⛳️ Requirements

• 4–7+ years of experience in Data Engineering or comparable roles, demonstrating ownership of production data platforms.

• Proven track record in taking charge of and advancing existing data infrastructure, rather than exclusively building greenfield systems.

• Extensive expertise in SQL and data modeling for analytics, including dimensional modeling and dbt.

• Strong skills in Python for pipeline development, automation, and tooling.

• Practical experience with cloud-based data platforms at scale (GCP/BigQuery is strongly preferred).

• Experience in designing and managing end-to-end data pipeline architectures, including orchestration (e.g., Airflow) and ELT frameworks.

• Solid understanding of data observability and data quality frameworks, and methods to build data trust within an organization.

• Familiarity with streaming or event-driven data architectures is a significant advantage.

• Strong software engineering fundamentals: version control (Git), CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and code review practices.

• Familiarity with or genuine interest in ML pipelines, feature engineering, and AI-assisted workflows — you do not need to be an ML engineer, but should be comfortable operating at that boundary.

• Knowledge of data governance, privacy regulations, and secure data handling practices, especially in a financial services context.

• Familiarity with crypto or fintech data structures and business models is a plus.

• A tertiary qualification in a technical, analytical, or quantitative field (e.g., Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Statistics) is preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Innovative Work Environment

• Engage with the latest blockchain technologies and tools in a rapidly evolving industry.

• Work from anywhere with secure, stable internet connectivity, allowing you to create your ideal workspace.

• Career Development

• Benefit from an annual professional development allowance alongside scheduled company training sessions to keep you at the forefront of the crypto industry.

• Competitive Compensation

• Competitive salaries that align with industry standards.

• When you contribute to our success, you’ll be rewarded with discretionary bonuses, recognising your impact on VALR’s growth.

• Receive preferential Tier 5 trading fees on VALR, with no monthly trading volume required.

• Diversity and Inclusion

• A commitment to fostering a diverse workforce with initiatives that promote equity and belonging.

• Wellness

• Employees are encouraged to strive for coherent and wholesome lives, fulfilling their work, personal, social, physical and spiritual goals to the best of their abilities.

• Compliance with statutory leave required by individual countries, in addition to flexible leave options.

• Enjoy lunch on us when working from our Johannesburg Head Office, one of the ways we support wellbeing and connection in the workplace.

• Impact and Contribution

• At VALR, we believe in a financial system that recognises the oneness of humanity. Our mission is to break down financial barriers and promote universal values of courage, ethical integrity, and the intrinsic worth of every individual.

• Engage in initiatives that promote education and awareness about cryptocurrencies, ensuring that everyone has the tools and knowledge to participate in the evolving financial landscape.

• Dynamic Team Culture

• Open communication and teamwork across departments, fostering innovation and creativity.

• Enjoy social gatherings outside of work to strengthen team bonds and boost morale.

• Global Exposure

• Work with colleagues from around the world.

• Exposure to diverse perspectives and practices in the crypto space.

• Recognition and Rewards

• Regular acknowledgement of employee accomplishments, fostering a culture of appreciation and motivation.

• Join us for retreats that blend professional development with team bonding in inspiring locations.

• Tools for Success

• Receive a Mac laptop and a discretionary allowance to purchase all the extras needed for a productive home office—yours to keep after three years (terms and conditions apply).