Senior Data Engineer

Turaco

Nairobifull time2w ago

Quick Take

The Role

Design and maintain scalable data pipelines and infrastructure that power financial reporting, real-time transaction processing, and business intelligence across Turaco's African operations.

You Need

5+ years of data engineering experience (preferably in FinTech), expert SQL and Python/Java/Scala skills, and hands-on experience with tools like Kafka, Spark, Airflow, dbt, and cloud data warehouses.

You Get

A high-impact technical leadership role at a mission-driven African insurtech, with the opportunity to architect data systems from the ground up and mentor a growing engineering team.

Job Description

•About Turaco

Turaco is a fast-growing FinTech and insurtech company operating across Africa, on a mission to provide affordable health and life insurance to emerging markets. Turaco partners with businesses to offer simple, accessible financial protection products to low-income earners. The team is driven by strong values: pushing boundaries, working with excellence, and a profound respect for individuals.

•About the Role

Turaco is looking for an experienced Senior Data Engineer to architect, build, and optimise its data infrastructure. This is a technical leadership role that goes beyond execution — you will design scalable systems capable of handling sensitive financial data with speed and accuracy, while ensuring the architecture meets the rigorous security and compliance standards of the FinTech industry. You will play a central role in shaping how data flows across the organisation and enabling data-driven decision-making at scale.

📋What You'll Do

Architect and own scalable batch and real-time data pipelines supporting high-volume financial transactions
Design resilient data infrastructure using modern streaming and processing technologies such as Kafka and Spark
Build, optimise, and maintain robust ETL/ELT pipelines integrating core banking systems, internal platforms, and third-party APIs
Automate manual workflows and re-engineer data processes to continuously improve platform scalability
Ensure strong data quality, reliability, and accuracy, safeguarding critical financial reporting and customer balance integrity
Embed security, governance, and compliance by design into all data systems handling sensitive financial data and PII
Conduct deep root-cause analysis to resolve data anomalies and prevent systemic issues
Define monitoring, validation, and observability practices to proactively detect pipeline failures and data drift
Mentor and guide junior data engineers, raising technical standards across the team
Collaborate with Product, Risk, Finance, and Engineering teams to translate complex business requirements into scalable data solutions
Build analytics-ready data models and tooling that drive actionable business insights and decision-making

🎯What You Need

5+ years of experience in Data Engineering, ideally within Financial Services or FinTech
Degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Information Technology, or a related field
Advanced proficiency in Python, Java, or Scala
Expert-level SQL skills with hands-on experience in database design and data modelling
Experience with modern cloud data warehouses such as Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift
Working knowledge of message queuing tools (Kafka, RabbitMQ) and stream processing frameworks
Experience with workflow orchestration and transformation tools such as Airflow, dbt, or Luigi
Strong understanding of data governance, security best practices, and compliance requirements in regulated industries
Proven ability to mentor junior engineers and lead technical discussions
Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders

Requirements Breakdown

Must Have

5+ years of Data Engineering experience, ideally in Financial Services or FinTech
Advanced proficiency in Python, Java, or Scala with expert-level SQL skills
Experience with cloud data warehouses such as Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift
Hands-on experience with Kafka or RabbitMQ and stream processing frameworks like Spark
Strong understanding of data governance, security, and compliance in regulated industries

Nice to Have

Experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Airflow, dbt, or Luigi
Prior experience mentoring junior engineers or leading technical discussions
Exposure to core banking system integrations or third-party financial APIs
Background in building analytics-ready data models for business intelligence use cases

Don't meet every requirement? Tailor your CV to close the gap →

Salary Context

Unspecified salary — likely competitive given seniority and FinTech context in Nairobi

Senior Data Engineers in Nairobi with 5+ years of experience typically earn between KES 250,000 and KES 500,000 per month, with FinTech and insurtech companies often paying at the higher end of that range due to the specialised skills required. The absence of a stated salary is a gap, but Turaco's international backing and growth stage suggest compensation is likely competitive relative to the local market.

About Turaco

Turaco is an African insurtech and FinTech company on a mission to make health and life insurance accessible and affordable to low-income earners across emerging markets. Operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana, Turaco partners with businesses — from mobile money operators to microfinance institutions — to embed simple insurance products directly into their customer offerings. Backed by notable investors and scaling rapidly, Turaco offers engineers the rare opportunity to build meaningful financial infrastructure that directly impacts the financial security of millions of underserved Africans.

Likely Interview Questions

1
Walk us through a complex data pipeline you architected end-to-end — what design decisions did you make and what trade-offs did you navigate?
2
How have you ensured data quality and accuracy in a financial services environment where errors in customer balances or reporting can have serious consequences?
3
Describe your experience integrating third-party financial APIs or core banking systems into a data platform — what were the biggest challenges?
4
How would you design a real-time streaming pipeline using Kafka and Spark to handle high-volume insurance transaction data with low latency and high reliability?
5
Tell us about a time you identified and resolved a systemic data anomaly — how did you conduct root-cause analysis and what did you put in place to prevent recurrence?

Application Tips

Explicitly highlight any experience working with regulated financial data — mention compliance frameworks (e.g. GDPR, PCI-DSS) and how you embedded governance and security into your pipeline designs.
Showcase specific tools from their stack (Kafka, Spark, Airflow, dbt, Snowflake/BigQuery/Redshift) in your CV with concrete context — not just listed as skills, but tied to real projects and measurable outcomes.
Demonstrate mentorship and technical leadership experience, even informally — Turaco is looking for someone who raises team standards, so examples of code reviews, documentation, or junior engineer guidance will set you apart.

Career Path

Roles that lead here

Mid-level Data Engineer (3–5 years)

Data Analyst or Analytics Engineer transitioning into engineering

YOU

Where this leads

Principal Data Engineer or Data Architect

Head of Data / VP of Data Engineering

Skills & Keywords

data-engineeringpythonkafkasparksqletleltsnowflakebigqueryairflowdbtfintechdata-pipelinesturaco

Honest Assessment

Green Flags

Clear mission-driven purpose — building data infrastructure that supports affordable insurance for low-income earners gives the role genuine social impact beyond typical FinTech work.
Technical leadership scope is well-defined, offering real ownership over data architecture rather than just execution, which is rare at this level in the Nairobi market.
Cross-functional collaboration with Product, Risk, Finance, and Engineering signals that data is treated as a strategic asset within the organisation, not siloed.
Mentorship responsibilities indicate an existing data engineering team to lead, suggesting the company is investing in building data capability rather than starting from zero.

Watch Out

No salary range is disclosed, which makes it difficult for candidates to assess fit early in the process and can indicate inconsistent compensation practices.
The job description is very broad — spanning pipeline architecture, security, mentorship, analytics modelling, and cross-functional collaboration — which may signal that the team is small and the role could stretch thin across too many responsibilities.

A Day in the Life

☀️

A typical week might start with a Monday pipeline health review — checking Airflow DAG logs, investigating a failed dbt run, and syncing with the Finance team on a discrepancy flagged in the previous night's transaction reconciliation report. Mid-week, you might be deep in designing a new Kafka-based streaming architecture for real-time claims processing, while also reviewing a junior engineer's pull request for a BigQuery transformation layer. By Friday, you're presenting a data model proposal to the Product and Risk teams, translating their need for churn prediction inputs into a clear schema design — before wrapping up with a code pairing session to unblock a teammate on a Spark job optimisation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What qualifications do I need to apply for the Senior Data Engineer role at Turaco?

You need at least 5 years of data engineering experience, ideally in FinTech or financial services, along with a degree in Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field, and strong proficiency in Python/Java/Scala and SQL.

Is the Senior Data Engineer position at Turaco remote or office-based?

The role is listed as based in Nairobi, Kenya, suggesting it is office-based or hybrid — the posting does not explicitly mention remote work options, so it is worth clarifying during the application process.

How much does a Senior Data Engineer earn at Turaco?

Turaco has not disclosed the salary for this role, but Senior Data Engineers in Nairobi with 5+ years of FinTech experience typically earn between KES 250,000 and KES 500,000 per month — candidates should negotiate based on their specific experience and the tools required.

What are the career growth opportunities for a Senior Data Engineer at Turaco?

This role already carries technical leadership responsibilities including mentoring junior engineers and shaping data architecture, making it a strong stepping stone toward a Principal Engineer, Data Architect, or Head of Data position as Turaco continues to scale across Africa.

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