Associate Data Engineer

Job Title: Associate Data Engineer
Company: WPP Media South Africa
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Reports To: Senior Data Specialist

About the Role
The Associate Data Engineer is a technical role focused on the architecture, automation, and reliability of WPP’s media data ecosystem. Moving beyond front-end visualization, this role is responsible for building and maintaining the "data pipes" that collect, clean, and transport data from diverse AdTech/MarTech platforms into centralized environments. You will leverage your background in Application Development to move the agency away from manual reporting toward a scalable, code-based analytics environment.

Core Responsibilities
1\. Pipeline Engineering & Automation (Primary Focus)
•    Design, build, and maintain automated data pipelines using Adverity, Supermetrics, Fivetran and Python to eliminate manual reporting cycles.
•    Map and automate complex workflows between SharePoint, BigQuery, and Power BI to ensure 100% data availability.
•    Use Google Apps Script and VBA Macros to innovate and streamline internal business processes and reporting templates.
2\. ETL, Data Modeling & SQL Optimization
•    Develop and optimize SQL logic within GCP BigQuery to ingest, clean, and structure large-scale marketing datasets.
•    Implement dbt (Data Build Tool) fundamentals to ensure data transformations are modular, version-controlled, and tested.
•    Apply Dimensional Modeling (Kimball) to structure data for maximum efficiency and reduced cloud processing costs.
3\. Media Intelligence & Visualization
•    Design and maintain interactive dashboards in Power BI (Advanced DAX) and Looker Studio for internal and external stakeholders.
•    Integrate data from Google Marketing Platform, Meta, Amazon, TikTok, and other major AdTech stacks.
•    Support strategic analysis using specialized media tools including Nielsen and Telmar for cross-channel spend and reach-based planning.
4\. Data Governance & Quality Assurance
•    Implement automated validation rules and "Data Health" alerts to identify discrepancies before they reach the client.
•    Oversee data accuracy, completeness, and naming convention consistency across all platforms.

Qualifications & Technical Requirements
•    Education Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, Engineering, or related quantitative discipline (preferred).
•    Experience 2–4 years’ experience in data analysis, reporting automation, or data operations within a media, marketing, or digital environment.

Technical Competencies
SQL & Data Transformation
•    Strong working proficiency in SQL (joins, aggregations, window functions)
•    Experience transforming and structuring multi- source datasets for reporting
•    Exposure to data modelling principles (fact/dimension concepts)
•    Data Transformation using DBT and best practices
Data Integration & Automation
•    Experience maintaining and configuring automated data pipelines (Adverity, Supermetrics, API connectors)
•    Exposure to scripting for automation (Python, VBA, or Google Apps Script)
•    Demonstrated ability to reduce manual reporting through automation
Cloud & Data Platforms
•    Working knowledge of Google Cloud (BigQuery querying and dataset management)
•    Experience integrating AdTech and MarTech data into centralised reporting environments
BI & Reporting Enablement
•    Advanced Power BI or Looker Studio development (data modelling + refresh logic)
•    Advanced Excel proficiency (complex formulas, pivots, automation)
•    Ability to structure scalable reporting templates
Business & Communication Skills
•    Ability to translate technical outputs into actionable insights
•    Comfortable engaging with cross-functional stakeholders
•    Experience supporting finance, planning, and strategy teams with data outputs