Senior Data Engineer

About Turaco

It is urgent to find a way to insure the uninsured. Turaco’s mission is to relieve people from the fear of financial shocks. Our vision is to insure one billion people, effectively doubling the global number of insured individuals.

Turaco is a rapidly growing financial services start-up in Africa, introducing a new insurance model aimed at emerging customers. We provide subscription-based insurance for the mass market, bundled with everyday transactions that people already engage in. We partner with companies serving emerging consumers to deliver affordable insurance products that genuinely enhance people’s lives. At Turaco, we prioritize simplicity, communication, and transparency while striving to transform how insurance operates. We are in the claims-paying business. 

Turaco values diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We’re building a team where our differences enhance and strengthen us. We strictly prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic.

Since our launch in February 2019, Turaco has attracted a cumulative total of 5 million end users. We are experiencing rapid growth and are looking for team members who can evolve alongside us. To learn more, visit www.turaco.insure.

Technology at Turaco

Turaco's in-house tech platform powers all insurance operations, including claims processing, insurance pricing, customer onboarding, and communications. This core platform and several complementary tech products are maintained by our tech team, which comprises software engineers, data scientists/engineers, QA analysts, and product managers.

Our core tech stack uses Java with Spring Boot for the back-end, React for the front-end, and Postgres as the primary database engine. We run our services on AWS in a microservices architecture using Kubernetes.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

We are seeking an experienced Senior Data Engineer to architect, build, and optimize our data infrastructure. In this role, you will move beyond simple execution to provide technical leadership—designing scalable systems that handle sensitive financial data with speed and accuracy. You will proactively implement methods to improve data reliability while ensuring our architecture meets the rigorous security standards of the FinTech industry.

Key Responsibilities

1. Architecture & Pipeline Development

• Design and Architect: Lead the design of optimal data pipeline architecture for both batch and real-time streaming (using tools like Kafka or Spark) to support immediate financial transaction processing.
• Scale Infrastructure: Identify and implement internal process improvements, focusing on re-designing infrastructure for greater scalability and automating manual processes.
• Advanced ETL/ELT: Build, test, and maintain robust database pipeline architecture for optimal extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) from a wide variety of data sources, including core banking systems and third-party APIs.

2. Data Quality & Governance (FinTech Focus)

• Security Compliance: Ensure strict compliance with data governance, security policies, and financial regulations (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS).
• Reliability: proactively implement methods to improve data reliability and quality, ensuring financial reporting and customer balances are 100% accurate.
• Root Cause Analysis: Perform deep root cause analysis on internal and external data processes to answer specific business questions and resolve data anomalies immediately.

3. Leadership & Collaboration

• Mentorship: Act as a technical mentor to junior data engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and "low ego" collaboration.
• Stakeholder Management: Work with cross-functional teams (Product, Risk, Finance) to translate complex financial requirements into technical data solutions.
• Strategic Insight: Build analytics tools that provide actionable insights into customer acquisition, operational efficiency, and key business performance metrics

Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes

• Live Turaco’s values – care and protect, do the right thing, have fun, and low ego
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in Data Engineering, ideally within Financial Services or FinTech.
• Education: Degree in Computer Science, Statistics, IT, or similar field.
• Programming: Advanced proficiency in Python, Java, or Scala.
• Database Mastery: Expert-level SQL skills and hands-on experience with database design and data modeling. Experience with modern data warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift).
• Big Data Tech: Working knowledge of message queuing (Kafka, RabbitMQ) and stream processing.
• Orchestration: Experience with workflow management tools (Airflow, DBT, Luigi).

• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation).
• Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience visualizing data using Tableau, PowerBI, or open-source libraries (D3, matplotlib).

Our Company Culture

At Turaco, our culture is defined by our values: care and protect, do the right thing, have fun, and low ego. If these values resonate with you, we encourage you to apply!

Total Compensation & Benefits

Turaco offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive benefits package, including stock options and healthcare, all within a supportive company culture that fosters growth and strong professional relationships.