Senior Data Engineer

Build core data capabilities that power the Golden Employee Record analytics BI and future advisory products.

Strategic Context
LabourNet is transitioning from fragmented service-line-specific systems to a unified governed data platform supporting:

• Multi-tenant analytics
• Cross-domain insights
• Predictive and advisory use cases
• Regulatory and audit requirements

The Senior Data Engineer plays a critical role in turning architectural vision into operational reality.

Key Responsibilities: 

Data Platform & Pipeline Engineering:

• Design and implement robust ingestion pipelines from operational source systems into the lakehouse
• Build and maintain Bronze Silver Gold (Medallion) data flows
• Implement incremental loading CDC patterns and fault-tolerant processing
• Optimise pipelines for performance cost and reliability

Data Modelling & Transformation: 

• Design and implement conformed analytics-ready models in silver and gold layers
• Partner with analysts and BI developers to ensure models support business questions
• Ensure consistent application of business definitions and keys
• Support the creation of the Golden Employee Record

Data Quality Reliability & Observability: 

• Implement data quality checks validation rules and reconciliation logic
• Build monitoring and alerting for pipeline health and data freshness
• Identify and resolve data anomalies proactively
• Reduce downstream rework by ensuring trust in upstream data

Architecture & Standards

• Translate data architecture principles into practical engineering patterns

• Establish and document engineering standards for:

             o Naming conventions

             o Partitioning strategies

             o Error handling

            o Logging and monitoring

Collaboration in a Squad-Based Model

• Work closely with:

           o Product Owners to understand data needs

           o Delivery Leads to align sequencing

           o Analysts and BI developers to enable insight delivery

• Embed data engineering work naturally into squad delivery cycles
• Balance platform work with incremental business value delivery

Capability Building & Mentorship

• Act as a technical leader and mentor to junior engineers
• Promote best practices in data engineering across the organisation
• Support knowledge sharing and documentation
• Help establish a strong engineering culture focused on quality and sustainability

Qualifications :

Required Skills & Experience: 

• Strong experience building data pipelines in modern cloud data platforms
•  Solid understanding of lakehouse and medallion architectures
•  Advanced SQL and data transformation skills

• Experience with:

          o Incremental data processing

          o Schema evolution

         o Large-scale data sets (Microsoft Fabric experience is advantageous but not required strong conceptual understanding is essential.)

Engineering & Architecture: 

• Proven experience designing scalable maintainable data solutions
• Strong understanding of data modelling for analytics
• Experience implementing data quality and observability patterns
• Ability to reason about trade-offs (speed vs. quality flexibility vs. governance)

Collaboration & Communication: 

• Ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Comfortable working in cross-functional squad-based teams
• Pragmatic mindset balances ideal architecture with delivery realities
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Desirable (But Not Essential) Experience: 

• Experience with Microsoft Fabric Databricks or Snowflake
• Exposure to data governance tools and practices (e.g. data catalogues lineage tracking metadata management)
• Familiarity with machine learning workflows and supporting data pipelines for ML use cases
• Experience in workforce analytics payroll HR systems or labour market data
• Knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements relevant to employee data (e.g. GDPR employment law)
• Background in enterprise data integration projects involving multiple source systems and stakeholders

Additional Information :

Why Join Labournet

At Labournet youre joining more than a company - youre becoming part of a platform built to empower people and drive purpose. With over 28 years of innovation in compliance and people solutions we invest in our employees so they can grow make a national impact and help shape the future of work across South Africa.

What We Offer:

• Youll obtain a wealth of experience and knowledge at a much faster pace than you would in an internal compliance-focused role due to our national footprint across different industries.
• Youll have access to structured career paths accredited training performance coaching and mentorship to support your professional growth.
• Youll be part of a team that drives compliance and transformation across South Africa giving your work real purpose and impact.
• Youll benefit from hybrid work options and a culture that supports work-life integration because we believe wellbeing fuels performance.
• Youll enjoy competitive salaries holistic benefits and a lucrative sales commission policy.
• Youll thrive in a collaborative tech-enabled environment where we value output over hours and encourage innovation at every level.

How We Work

Gone are the days of rigid office hours and long commutes. Our hybrid working model allows teams to co-create flexible arrangements that support productivity and personal wellbeing.

Who We Are:

Labournet is a proudly South African company offering integrated solutions in Payroll Labour Law Health & Safety Transformation Training Technology and Commercial Compliance. We serve over 6500 businesses nationwide helping them stay compliant and competitive.

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time