Junior Data Engineer (Remote First) – JUMO (South Africa)

Company: JUMO

Industry: Financial Technology (Fintech) & Intelligent Banking

Division: Technology – Data Engineering Team

Location: Remote First (South Africa / Timezones UTC 0 to UTC +3)

Position Type: Permanent

Job Category: Data Engineering, Software Engineering & Big Data

Posted Date: 22 September 2026

Closing Date: Open / Immediate Intake

About JUMO & The Junior Data Engineering Role

JUMO is an innovative fintech firm that has engineered a smart, cloud-based financial services platform to deliver accessible banking and lending solutions to millions of users across emerging markets.

An opportunity has opened for a Junior Data Engineer to join JUMO’s global Data Engineering team on a permanent, remote-first basis in South Africa. In this role, you will help design, build, and maintain scalable batch and streaming data architectures that ingest, process, and store complex, high-volume data sets (such as mobile GSM data) to power event-driven analytics, machine learning pipelines, and real-time decision science.

Key Responsibilities & Data Engineering Workstreams

As a Junior Data Engineer at JUMO, your day-to-day deliverables will span four primary domains:

1. Data Pipeline Design & Ingestion

  • Pipeline Architecture: Design, implement, and maintain robust, mission-critical batch and real-time streaming data pipelines constituting JUMO’s core data platform.
  • Big Data Processing: Ingest and process large, complex datasets from globally distributed sources (e.g., GSM networks, transactional logs).

2. Cloud & System Maintenance

  • System Health: Monitor data platform performance, perform root-cause analysis on system failures, and deploy automated solutions to ensure high availability.
  • Containerization & Orchestration: Deploy, scale, and manage containerized data processing applications using Docker, Kubernetes, and orchestration tools.

3. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Decision Science

  • Partnering with Tech Leads: Work closely with Portfolio Managers, Decision Scientists, and Machine Learning Engineers to understand real-world financial inclusion challenges and deliver clean, curated data products.

4. Code Quality & Code Reviews

  • Peer Review: Provide constructive feedback on team members’ code output, enforce CI/CD standards, and contribute to continuous skill development within the team.

Candidate Profile & Technical Requirements

To qualify for consideration, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Educational Qualifications:
    • BSc Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or an equivalent tertiary qualification (Essential).
  • Core Technical Competencies:
    • Big Data & Streaming: Hands-on experience with streaming and processing technologies, specifically Apache Spark and Apache Kafka.
    • Programming Languages: Solid application development experience in Python (Preferred) or Kotlin.
    • Database & RDBMS Experience: Strong SQL proficiency and hands-on experience with relational databases and data warehouses (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, AWS Redshift, SQL Server).
    • Cloud Architecture: Experience with cloud technologies (AWS preferred, including Redshift, DynamoDB, Kinesis).
    • Linux & DevOps: Comfortable working within a Linux command-line environment with an understanding of CI/CD practices and container deployment (Docker/Kubernetes).
    • Data Lifecycle: Practical knowledge of the Data Product Lifecycle, productionizing pipelines, and system monitoring.
  • Bonus / Advantageous Skills:
    • Experience with data pipeline orchestrators (Airflow, NiFi, Dagster).
    • Experience with messaging systems (RabbitMQ, Redis, SNS).
    • Exposure to production BI systems and dashboards (Tableau, Superset, Looker).
  • Location & Setup:
    • Based in South Africa (or within timezones UTC 0 to UTC +3) with a reliable high-speed internet connection for remote online collaboration.

What JUMO Offers

  • Remote-First Culture: Complete flexibility to work remotely within UTC 0 to UTC +3 timezones.
  • Leading-Edge Tech Stack: Hands-on experience with Spark, Kafka, Airflow, Redshift, Kubernetes, and Python.
  • High-Impact Fintech Exposure: Build financial technology solutions that bring banking access to underbanked populations across global markets.

Career Advice for Data Engineering Applicants

  1. Highlight Streaming & Big Data Skills: Detail specific project experience involving Spark, Kafka, SQL, or AWS data pipelines at the top of your CV.
  2. Feature GitHub / Code Repositories: Include links to public GitHub repos or personal projects showcasing clean Python code, ETL pipelines, or containerized applications.
  3. Emphasize Technical Problem-Solving: Outline real-world scenarios where you executed root-cause analysis, optimized SQL queries, or debugged broken data workflows.

❓ Sample Junior Data Engineer Interview Questions

Big Data Architecture & Streaming

  • Question (Kafka & Spark): “How do you handle schema evolution and message ordering when ingesting streaming events from Apache Kafka into Apache Spark?”
  • Question (SQL & Data Warehousing): “How do you optimize a slow-running SQL query or JOIN operation when dealing with large, multi-million record tables in AWS Redshift?”

How to Apply

Submit your application directly through JUMO’s official global careers portal:

  • Company: JUMO
  • Position: Junior Data Engineer
  • Division: Technology (Data Engineering)
  • Location: Remote First (South Africa)

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