Who we are

Yoco was founded in 2015, and we’ve been breaking down barriers, unlocking economic opportunities and opening commerce for people to thrive ever since.

We’re the payments provider for over 200,000 self-employed, and process over US$3 billion annually.

We have ±350 team members globally, all with a bias for boldness and a passion for simple, progressive solutions. We believe in uniting different people to solve hard problems, together.

Our mission of making society more equal requires a variety of people, with different backgrounds and points of view, to keep building solutions that make life easier for emerging businesses.

We’re growing fast. With growth comes compelling challenges. If you’re an ambitious problem-solver, with big ideas, a passion for doing good, bright, grounded and courageous; you’re likely to thrive at Yoco.

We don’t stop pushing. We break things to rebuild. We challenge ourselves and each other. We’re constantly evolving - and we’re doing it fast.

Grow With Us.

About the Data Engineering team

The primary function of our Data Engineering team is to develop, operate, and enhance scalable, cloud-based frameworks, platforms and infrastructure.

About the role

As a core member of the broader Engineering team, the Data Engineer will work closely with our Engineering and dedicated Data team to build the backbone of our data ecosystem. In this role, you won't just be building isolated pipelines; you will be helping us evolve a unified, massive-scale solution. You’ll be responsible for the full data lifecycle—ingress, egress, and complex transformations—using batch, real-time, and hybrid processing models to deliver high-value data products.

What you will be doing

• Build & Scale: Develop high-quality, maintainable, and performant source code and configurations for our cloud-based data processing frameworks.

• Architectural Implementation: Work within defined architectural patterns to build scalable data platforms with a focus on sophisticated orchestration and real-time event processing.

• Collaborate: Work cross-functionally with stakeholders to ensure timely, relevant deliverables and seamless integration with other engineering arms.

• Technical Delivery: Own the lifecycle of your deliverables. You don’t just build; you plan, execute, and troubleshoot. You’ll be responsible for navigating project hurdles by highlighting risks or dependencies proactively.

• Innovate: Engage in a culture of experimentation and collaborative problem-solving to overcome complex data challenges and improve operational efficiency.
  

About you

• Experience: 2–4 years of dedicated Data Engineering experience in a professional environment.

• Cloud Proficiency: Hands-on experience with cloud computing platforms, specifically GCP and/or AWS.

• Technical Stack: Strong proficiency in Python and SQL for data processing. You should feel comfortable writing clean, testable code.

• Modern Data Stack: Demonstrated experience implementing components of the modern data stack (e.g., dbt, Airflow, BigQuery, or Kafka).

• Software Mindset: A good understanding of modern software engineering practices, including version control (Git), CI/CD, and unit testing.

• Adaptability: The ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity to deliver high-quality data products in a fast-paced environment, acting proactively to identify architectural and operational improvements.

• Good communication skills: The ability to communicate effectively with teammates and across functional areas within the business, bridging the gap between business requirements and technical execution. This includes documentation and managing hybrid working arrangements.

• Operate & Monitor: Contribute to the reliability and observability of key data pipelines, including monitoring, alerting, and participating in incident response to ensure data availability and quality.

Bonus Skills

While experience using modern data stacks is required, hands-on production experience with any of the following will set you apart:

• Containerization & Orchestration: Hands-on experience with IaC(Terraform), Docker and Kubernetes for deploying and managing infrastructure and portable data microservices.

• Workflow Management: Proficiency with Apache Airflow for designing, scheduling, and monitoring complex programmatic workflows.

• Real-time Streaming: Familiarity with Confluent Kafka for building event-driven architectures and managing high-throughput data streams.

• Modern Transformation: Experience using dbt (data build tool) to manage the "T" in ELT, applying software engineering best practices (like version control and testing) to SQL.

• Other Data Engineering tools: Experience using other industry standard tools like Debezium and dltHub

• AI-Assisted Development: Experience leveraging AI-powered code generation and productivity tools to streamline development workflows and accelerate delivery.

• Be lekker

The people we’re looking for

We’re looking for people who want to grow and have a thirst for learning. And as Yoco grows, we hope they stay with us for the long-term.

Building solutions for a more equal society is a daunting task - and it’s not for everyone. We never stop pushing, we break things to rebuild, and we challenge ourselves and our teammates. We start over, we constantly evolve - and we do it fast. We know that it’s just the right kind of meaningful madness for our kind of visionary human.

So, who are you? You’re someone who resonates with our mission and our values, and you’re relentlessly effective in your execution.

You’re a curious problem-solver with a passion for doing good. You’re bright, grounded, experimental and bold. You play open cards and get stuck in. You’re not afraid of change. You close the loop.

At Yoco, we laugh, embrace each other’s quirks, and support one another’s growth, all while staying authentic.

If this sounds like your kind of challenge, apply below and come grow with us.

We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply and ask that you please send your application in English and help us reduce unconscious bias by leaving out your picture, age, address, and other unnecessary information in your CV.