Job Description

Takealot.com, South Africa’s leading online retailer, is searching for a talented DataOps Engineer to join our fast-growing team. This role is critical in managing and automating data delivery, improving data usability, and shaping the data culture within the company as we scale rapidly.

The Role

Reporting to the Data Platform Engineering Manager, you will build and maintain the infrastructure, tools, and automation to enable fast, reliable, and secure delivery of data and data models across the organisation. You will work on cloud infrastructure, data pipelines, monitoring, security, and CI/CD processes, driving operational excellence in a dynamic environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage cloud infrastructure using Terraform and Chef for virtual servers.

• Optimize and operate Cloud SQL instances on Google Cloud Platform.

• Build and deploy systems for metrics, monitoring, and logging.

• Operate and maintain Kafka, Kubernetes clusters, and related technologies.

• Develop and manage CI/CD build systems for frequent and safe deployments.

• Review and manage code; harden servers and embed security in the platform.

• Automate processes, including leveraging AI to focus on complex problems.

• Implement best practices to improve scalability, efficiency, reliability, and security.

• Respond to operational incidents and requests in a timely manner.

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Diploma in Information Systems, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering or equivalent.

• Minimum 3 years of DataOps experience in a software or technology environment (or 6 years if no formal degree).

• Deep understanding of database engines (MySQL, PostgreSQL preferred).

• Experience with Kafka, PubSub, or similar event-based systems.

• Hands-on with Google Cloud Platform or other cloud providers (architecture and operations).

• Strong Linux skills (kernel tuning, networking, security, administration).

• Experience managing Kubernetes clusters and configuration management tools (Chef, Puppet, Ansible).

• Familiarity with Build Systems like Jenkins, GitLab, or Spinnaker.

• Solid programming skills (preferably Python).

• Knowledge of networking protocols and troubleshooting (TCP/IP, routing, VLANs).

Skills & Attributes

• Passionate about technology and continuous learning.

• Strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

• Excellent communication and team collaboration skills.

• Self-motivated and confident in abilities.