Senior Data Engineer South Africa

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to eliminate the back row in education – and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class digital education at scale. As the parent company of edX, the world’s leading online learning platform, 2U powers more than 4,000 online higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with more than 230 colleges, universities, and corporate partners, we are helping to unlock human potential.

What We’re Looking For:

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Data Engineer III to serve as a key individual contributor responsible for architecting, implementing, and maintaining robust Data Technology Systems across the entire Modern Data Stack (Data Integration, Storage, Transformation, and Governance). This role demands deep technical proficiency and architectural foresight, requiring the candidate to be hands-on, capable of diving deep into any part of the stack, and executing complex technical work efficiently.

As a senior member of the team, you will spearhead technical and infrastructure innovation, mature our code base and development processes, and provide essential technical guidance and mentorship to Junior and Intermediate Data Engineers. You will collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including Analytics Engineers and Product Managers, to ensure the delivery of optimized data pipelines and reliable, high-impact data products.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Technical
• Design and build robust, scalable, and high-performance ETL/ELT data pipelines
• Develop and implement solutions using advanced programming languages (e.g., Python, SQL, DBT)
• Optimize and performance-tune complex data workflows and queries to handle massive data volumes and ensure minimal latency
• Assist with the design and implementation of data models for Data Warehouses (Snowflake etc.)
• Implement data quality frameworks (validation, monitoring, and testing) to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and completeness
• Establish comprehensive error logging and alerting systems for pipeline health and failure remediation
• Apply DevOps practices to data infrastructure, often involving Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform)
• Management
• Effectively leverage knowledge, expertise and experience to lead and deliver projects
• Effectively support and mentor data engineers
• Business
• Stakeholder management throughout all business departments
• Collaborate with other engineers and analysts to execute projects
• Personal
• Perform research and constantly stays on top of the industry’s trends
• Engage and proactively seek opportunities for improvement through ongoing learning

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

• 4+ years experience in a Data Engineering role
• Expert in SQL to then implemen