Data Analytics Engineer, Data Team

Remote: South Africa or India

Prodigy Finance – Who Are We?

Prodigy Finance is a platform that delivers socially responsible financial services, making it possible for students from more than 150 countries to fulfil their dream of studying at the world's top universities and schools by financing their international postgraduate studies whilst delivering competitive financial and social returns to alumni, institutional and private investors.

This borderless and innovative model enables education loan financing to students from across the globe, whilst using predicted post-degree affordability rather than present-day salary. Since 2007, Prodigy Finance has extended over $2.5 billion through the platform to fund over 66,000 students. Prodigy Finance is fuelled by impact investors and other privately qualified entities who invest in tomorrow's leaders whilst earning a financial and social return. Our borderless lending model enables students to apply for a loan based on their future earning potential and not just their current circumstances and credit history.

What Will You Do in This Role?

The Data team at Prodigy Finance owns the analytical data plane — the foundation for portfolio analytics, lender reporting, funding operations, and credit risk. A small, focused team manages a set of business-critical data systems including the Risk ETL, Loan Tape, and funding allocation infrastructure, all built on AWS Redshift and maintained through Python, SQL, and DBT.

You will join as a Data Analytics Engineer working alongside our Data Modelling and Data Engineering leads. Your primary focus will be on building and maintaining the ETL pipelines, data models, and reporting workflows that keep these systems running reliably. This is a hands-on execution role with real ownership — you will work through a backlog of meaningful technical improvements, support live systems, and help raise the overall quality and reliability of Prodigy's data infrastructure.

You will work in a team of four and closely collaborate with teams in Credit Risk, Capital Markets, Compliance, and Funding Operations who depend on this data every day.

Responsibilities

• Support the design and development of data solutions under the guidance of the Senior Engineers
• Work with AWS Redshift and related AWS technologies, using GitHub to manage and version ETL processes and pipelines
• Write, debug, and maintain SQL and Python code to build and sustain data models in the warehouse
• Adapt ETL code as source data evolves or new business requirements come in
• Document ETL designs, testing approaches, and results clearly and thoroughly
• Support the creation, maintenance, and testing of reports in Tableau and/or Metabase
• Assist with automated reporting workflows and other recurring analytical processes
• Interpret data, investigate anomalies, and help maintain data quality across the warehouse
• Actively leverage AI coding assistants to accelerate delivery and improve output quality

What Would the Ideal Candidate Be Great At?

• SQL fundamentals — not just writing queries, but thinking carefully about data models and pipeline logic
• Analytical rigour — detail-oriented with a strong focus on accuracy, especially when working with financial data
• Methodical problem-solving — can investigate an issue independently, knows when to escalate, and communicates findings clearly
• Adaptability — comfortable in a fast-paced fintech environment where priorities shift and ambiguity is normal
• Ownership — genuine accountability for their work; receptive to feedback and motivated to grow
• Version control fluency — comfortable with GitHub workflows and version-controlled development practices
• AI-augmented development — knows how to get real productivity gains from AI coding tools, not just surface-level use

Qualifications and Experience

• 3+ years of hands-on experience in a data engineering or analytics engineering role
• Strong working knowledge of SQL — writing, debugging, and optimising queries against large datasets
• Experience with Python for data transformation and pipeline work
• Familiarity with AWS Redshift or comparable cloud data warehouse technologies
• Comfortable with GitHub workflows and version-controlled development practices
• Demonstrable use of AI coding tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar) as part of day-to-day work
• Ability to work autonomously and take ownership in a fully remote, distributed team

Experience That Would Be Nice to Have

• Familiarity with DBT — experience building or maintaining DBT models would be highly valued
• Exposure to financial or regulated data environments
• Experience working with ETL pipelines in a production setting
• Familiarity with data quality monitoring or testing frameworks
• Experience working with reporting tools such as Tableau or Metabase

Why Join Prodigy Finance?

• Work on data systems that directly support business-critical decisions: credit risk, lender reporting, and funding operations
• Real ownership from day one — your work will have immediate, visible impact on teams that depend on it daily
• Learn from experienced data engineers and analysts in a collaborative, low-ego environment
• Operate with high autonomy in a remote-first, trust-based setup
• Be part of a mission-driven fintech with genuine social impact at its core

Prodigy Finance Benefits

• Competitive remuneration package
• Company contribution to healthcare/medical aid scheme
• Fully remote
• Generous leave policy (24 days annual leave + 1 day for every year worked to a max of 29 days, birthday leave, 6 months' primary caregiver / 2 months' secondary caregiver parental leave, 4 weeks sabbatical leave after 5 years of continuous service)

The Purpose, Values and Behaviours That Drive Our Culture

Our Purpose:
To provide equal access to life-changing education globally.

Our Values:

• We are doing something big here — life-changing work that shifts the status quo
• Bigger than us — our work is in service of the greater good, not individual ego
• Grow bravely together — relentless improvement, curiosity, and openness to the new
• Keep pushing forward — we embrace challenge and don't stop at the first hurdle

Our Behaviours:

• Judgement: Applying sound judgement to solve problems and prioritise opportunities leads to the best outcomes. We identify key issues, compare data, and choose effective solutions based on facts, constraints, and consequences. We focus on fewer, high-impact actions.
• Accountability: At Prodigy, accountability is personal. We take responsibility for our actions, decisions, and outcomes — both positive and negative. We own mistakes, refocus when needed, and hold ourselves and others accountable for achieving goals.
• Collaboration: We work effectively across teams, fostering learning and cooperation to achieve exceptional results. We listen actively, maintain strong relationships, and align personal contributions with team goals. Collaboration does not mean consensus-building.
• Leadership: Leadership exists at all levels. We influence our thoughts and behaviours to achieve both personal and company goals. We take collective responsibility, act as role models, and embody Prodigy's values.
• Biased to Focus Action: We prioritise doing the right things with urgency and decisiveness. Data and customer focus guide our actions. We embrace uncertainty, accelerate decision-making, and drive execution, learning, and momentum.
• Communication: Clear, effective communication is key. We proactively share relevant information, focus on desired outcomes, and use data to support our message. We articulate ideas well and listen actively.
• Continuous Improvement: We believe in constant progress. Every employee seeks ways to improve themselves, our product, and our processes. We favour rapid, incremental improvements over perfect design.
• Learning and Experimentation: Openness, curiosity, and a learning mindset drive success. Experimentation fuels discovery, helping us learn, adapt, and prepare for future challenges.

Join Prodigy Finance and play a pivotal role in achieving our mission of providing equal access to life-changing education globally.