Data Engineer

About the Firm 

Founded in 2011, CrossBoundary is a mission-driven investment firm committed to unlocking the power of capital for sustainable growth and strong returns in underserved markets. CrossBoundary provides transaction and investment advisory services, having developed a specialized expertise in unleashing investment across all sectors in these markets. Our advisory clients include governments, development finance institutions, private equity firms, Fortune 100 companies, and research institutions. Learn more at www.crossboundary.com. 

In 2019, CrossBoundary launched CrossBoundary Access (Access), Africa’s first infrastructure finance platform for mini-grids and adjacent technologies. Key numbers to date: 

• $35m funding closed in private capital 
• $100m of contracted pipeline  
• 100+ sites operating 
• 100,000 people using our power 

Access has entered a rapid stage of growth as we progress towards our goal of raising and deploying $150 million to build the leading distributed utility in Africa. More information on CrossBoundary Access can be found at www.crossboundary.com/access/.  
Job Description  

CrossBoundary Access is recruiting a Data Engineer. The Data Engineer will be responsible for accessing raw data from diverse sources, transforming it into clean, actionable datasets, and supporting the analysis of these datasets for the Access team.  

This individual will be setting up the data infrastructure and data processes for Access, leveraging the infrastructure already in place within CrossBoundary. They will apply software engineering best practices to design, build, and maintain data pipelines and models, working closely with business users to deliver transparent and effective data solutions. 

The Data Engineer will be Access’s first data hire and will report to the Commercial Director. 

Who We Are 

The CrossBoundary Access team is a unique group of people who are excited to make a difference in some of the world's most challenging and exciting renewable energy markets. Team members come from diverse backgrounds, but share a number of qualities: relentless curiosity, extreme ownership, a laser focus on results, and a bias for action. 

Who You Are 

• Self-starter who is passionate about creating lasting change in Africa 
• Pioneer who is excited to work with new technologies and innovations 
• Creative thinker with an ability to craft non-traditional and innovative solutions to practical problems 
• Can build strong relationships with clients and colleagues in stressful environments 
• Empathetic and thoughtful leader that can drive performance within a multi-disciplinary team 
• Comfortable with ambiguity; ability to operate effectively in a changing, challenging context 

Primary Responsibilities 

• Design and implement data extraction, transformation, and loading processes  
• Build and manage a centralized data repository to support business intelligence and machine learning applications  
• Utilize tools such as SQL, Python, and cloud-based data infrastructure platforms (AWS Redshift, Azure, Google Cloud) to maintain data pipelines  
• Apply data modeling principles to prepare datasets for analysis 
• Collaborate with the business users to deliver transparent and effective data analyses and solutions 
• Ensure high performance, availability, and quality of data systems through monitoring and optimization  
• Collaborate on data governance policies to ensure data compliance and security  
• Document and communicate data architecture and processes to Access leadership 

Qualifications 

Required skills and qualifications: 

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional certification in computer science, data, or related field  
• 2-4+ years’ experience working in data engineering 
• Highly skilled in building and maintaining ELT processes for a range of complex data sources, including open-source APIs 
• Confident in designing and implementing industry-standard data modelling principles to prepare datasets for analysis  
• Experience working with data lake and/or Lakehouse data architectures  
• Highly skilled in SQL 
• Skilled in data warehousing – Kimball technology 
• Proficient at working with cloud-based data tools; preference for experience with Snowflake, dbt, and Azure Data Factory  
• Experience applying software engineering best practices and guidelines to analytics code and data model development   
• Strong interest in Microsoft stack technologies 
• Passion for learning new technologies and tools 
• Extremely curious and flexible 
• Strong presentation skills, ability to communicate clearly and effectively across diverse audiences  

The ideal candidate will also have the following skills and qualifications: 

• Python 
• dbt  
• Snowflake  
• Azure Data Factory  
• Microsoft Azure  
• Microsoft Dynamics  
• Ability to build strong relationships with partners and colleagues in challenging environments 
• Comfort with ambiguity and an ability to operate effectively in a changing context 
• French speaking 

Think you have what it takes but are not sure you check every box? Research shows that while men apply to roles when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women often only apply when they meet every requirement. If you’re passionate about what we’re building, we want to hear from you! 

Location 

Nairobi, Kenya 

Equal Opportunity Employer 

CrossBoundary is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements in the country where we operate. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to our [email protected]