Engineering (ENG)

Senior Java Engineer with Data Engineering Experience

Cape Town, Western Cape
Work Type: Full Time

About SPAN Digital

We're a premium software consulting company with offices in San Francisco, Cape Town, and Guadalajara. We partner with startups to global brands in tech, fintech, and digital media, building category-defining products and helping engineering teams deliver exceptional digital solutions.


At SPAN, we balance structure with flexibility, autonomy with accountability, and learning with doing. It's not about grinding, it's about thriving.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Java Engineer with Data Engineering expertise to join our expert team focused on executing critical enterprise data retention, migration, and privacy enhancement projects. This role combines robust software engineering capabilities with technical leadership skills to deliver production-quality solutions at petabyte scale.


As a Senior Engineer, you will design and deliver robust software solutions while providing technical leadership to engineering teams. You'll combine strong technical capabilities with emerging leadership skills to build production-quality systems that meet our clients' business requirements.


Experience Level: 8+ years in data engineering/software engineering with 4-7 years technical leadership

Key Responsibilities

Data Engineering & Migration Leadership

  • Design and implement large-scale data migration strategies for identity transformation across multi-petabyte datasets

  • Build comprehensive data lineage mapping and validation systems to ensure migration accuracy and data integrity

  • Develop scalable data transformation solutions supporting both batch and streaming processing with parallel pipeline orchestration

  • Implement advanced monitoring and observability solutions for data pipeline performance and system health tracking

  • Create testing and validation frameworks to ensure data accuracy and consistency during complex migrations

Technical Leadership & Engineering Excellence

  • Provide technical leadership for data migration initiatives, taking responsibility for critical system components and project phases

  • Mentor engineers through pair programming, code reviews, and collaborative data pipeline development

  • Lead technical design discussions for complex data migrations and create solutions meeting enterprise requirements

  • Demonstrate deep expertise in data engineering lifecycle management, from migration planning through deployment and operational support

  • Drive technical work forward by identifying and removing blockers, enabling continuous delivery of value

  • Collaborate effectively with stakeholders across disciplines, ensuring alignment and successful project outcomes

Required Qualifications

Education & Experience

  • Minimum 8 years of experience in data engineering or related engineering role

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree or equivalent experience  in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Technical Expertise

  • Proven expertise in large-scale data migration and ETL pipeline development

  • Advanced proficiency in Java programming language with modern build systems (Gradle or Maven)

  • Expertise in distributed file systems (HDFS) or cloud object storage (S3, GCS)

  • Experience with cloud data platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure, or Databricks)

  • Hands-on experience with AWS EKS (Kubernetes) for containerized data processing environments

  • Understanding of data privacy, security, and compliance requirements (GDPR experience preferred)

  • Strong knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems design principles

Preferred Skills

  • Experience with Scala or Python for data processing applications

  • Experience with Apache Spark or PySpark for large-scale data processing and analytics

  • Experience with Hadoop ecosystem including HDFS, MapReduce, and related tools

  • Experience working in enterprise engineering environments with large-scale tools and development processes

  • Experience with data lineage analysis, dependency mapping, and data validation frameworks

  • Identity management experience in large-scale distributed systems

  • Experience with modern data formats like Apache Iceberg, Parquet, ORC, or Avro

  • Proficiency in streaming platforms like Apache Kafka or AWS Kinesis

  • Hands-on experience with observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Spark UI)

What We Offer

  • Opportunity to work on cutting-edge data engineering projects at petabyte scale

  • Technical leadership opportunities with mentorship responsibilities

  • Collaborative work environment focused on continuous learning and growth

  • Exposure to enterprise clients in entertainment, technology, and medical industries

  • Professional development opportunities with clear career progression paths

  • Flexible hybrid work arrangements across our global offices, with 2 days in-office per week

  • Competitive compensation and benefits package

  • Access to latest technologies and tools in data engineering and cloud platforms

Ready to Join Our Team?

If you're passionate about large-scale data engineering, technical leadership, and delivering world-class solutions, we'd love to hear from you. Join SPAN Digital and help shape the future of data processing at enterprise scale.



SPAN Digital is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.

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