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Data Principal Engineer

Takealot GroupCape TownTakealot Engineering
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Salary
Not listed
Job type
Full-time
Posted
14 Jul 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

Role Overview

The Takealot Group is seeking a Data Principal Engineer to join Takealot Engineering in Cape Town. This senior individual contributor role suits an experienced expert looking to drive platform transformation without moving into people management.

Key Responsibilities

Produce a definitive master blueprint of the data architecture to drive a structured simplification programme, cutting technical debt and standardising technology choices across teams.
Design and build an event-driven, live data layer that decouples logistics, supply chain, and distribution centre operations from the historical reporting warehouse.
Establish and own the technical standards underpinning the data governance programme, including data quality standards, lineage documentation, and sprint workflow practices.
Define technical guardrails for AI enablement, ensuring BigQuery, Dataform, and Looker expose data that AI tools and copilots can use reliably and safely.
Design automation tools such as maturity telemetry, self-service onboarding tooling, and AI-assisted copilots to manage platform operations at scale.
Replace fragmented onboarding with a structured learning path, reference architecture guides, and specialist technical training modules.
Act as the highest individual contributor technical authority in the data division, coaching senior engineers and advising the Engineering Director on strategy.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in data engineering, including at least 3 years at a principal or architect level in a complex, high-scale environment.
Preferred Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
Track record in designing and delivering large-scale data platforms, lakehouses/warehouses, real-time event streaming, and data ingestion frameworks.
Experience leading platform simplification or technical debt reduction and contributing standards to a formal data governance programme.
Hands-on experience with AI or ML data infrastructure, model serving pipelines, data contracts, drift monitoring, and integrating LLM tooling.
Strong expertise in GCP, BigQuery, Dataform, stream processing frameworks like Kafka or Pub/Sub, dimensional modelling, and Looker/LookML.
Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code such as Terraform, CI/CD for data pipelines, Python, SQL, and dbt-style transformation frameworks.
Understanding of POPIA obligations as they apply to data processing and governance.

Skills and Tools

Python
SQL
GCP
Kubernetes
Scala
LLM
RAG
Kafka
dbt
Terraform

Salary and Benefits

Market-related, Total Remuneration Package offering full flexibility
Hybrid working model combining remote work and office presence
Access to mentorship programmes, Naspers Tech Community, and free online learning platforms like MyAcademy, Udacity, and Coursera
Staff discount across millions of products in 28 departments
Birthday leave and regular social events and out-of-office activities
Confidential counselling, legal support, and financial guidance
Free parking at the office location

About the Company

Takealot.com is South Africa’s leading online retailer, operating alongside Mr D and TFS within the fast-growing Takealot Group. The company values smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity who thrive in dynamic, hyper-growth environments. Takealot is an Equal Opportunity Employer, giving preference to applicants from previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities.

How to Apply

Apply directly on the official Takealot Group careers page.

Skills and tech stack

PythonSQLGCPKubernetesScalaLLMRAGKafkadbtTerraform

Questions candidates ask

What is the primary purpose of the Data Principal Engineer role?

The role serves as the highest individual-contributor technical authority in the data division, responsible for simplifying the ecosystem, building a real-time data layer, setting technical standards for data governance, and designing platform automation.

Where is the position located?

The position is based in Cape Town with a hybrid working model available.

What level of experience is required?

Candidates must have 8+ years of experience in data engineering, including at least 3 years at a principal or architect level in a complex, high-scale environment.

What technical skills are required for the job?

Required technical skills include Python, SQL, GCP, Kubernetes, Scala, LLM, RAG, Kafka, dbt, and Terraform, alongside strong experience with BigQuery, Dataform, and stream processing frameworks.

Is this a people management position?

No, this is a senior individual contributor role on the technical career ladder, focused on technical authority, architecture, and mentorship without requiring direct people management.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Takealot Group careers page.

Apply on company site