Senior Cloud Engineer (m/f/x) - Kafka

Dynatrace; Wien; On-site; EUR 74,000 - 92,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working model

Health insurance

Wellness days

Mental health support

Volunteer day

Regular team events

Job summary

Dynatrace is seeking a Senior Cloud Engineer to design, deploy, and manage Kafka on Kubernetes across AWS, Azure, and GCP using Strimzi. You will own cluster lifecycle, manage topics and ACLs, and automate quality gates with CI/CD and GitOps.

The role emphasizes developer-facing Kubernetes work, Go/Bash scripting, Helm templating, and contributing to Golang-based operators while improving observability and AI-assisted tooling across the platform.

Qualifications

• Proven hands-on experience operating Kafka in production.
• Solid understanding of Kafka internals and distributed systems fundamentals.
• Developer-oriented Kubernetes knowledge and scripting in Bash/Go.

Responsibilities

• Deploy, operate, and maintain Kafka on Kubernetes using Strimzi.
• Own the Kafka cluster lifecycle: upgrades, scaling, partition rebalancing.
• Manage topics, users, and ACLs declaratively with fleet-wide consistency.
• Build pre-release checks and automated quality gates for Kafka changes.
• Contribute to and debug Golang-based operators.
• Design Helm charts for Kafka and related platform services.
• Automate deployments with CI/CD and GitOps (ArgoCD).
• Improve monitoring and observability for Kafka.

Skills

Kafka in production

Kafka internals

Kubernetes

Go / Bash scripting

Helm

CI/CD & GitOps (ArgoCD)

AI-assisted tooling

AWS / Azure / GCP

Strimzi

Kubernetes Operators

Tools

Strimzi Kafka Operator

Operator Framework

ArgoCD

Helm charts

Prometheus

Job description

Your role at DynatraceOur team builds and maintains the foundational infrastructure services used across the Dynatrace Platform.We're looking for a Senior Cloud Engineer to join our Platform Infrastructure team with a focus on Kafka. You will be working with Kubernetes-native operators to deliver highly available, consistent and observable event streaming for our Kubernetes-based platform — at scale, across hundreds of Kafka clusters.This role is perfect for someone who enjoys developer-side Kubernetes work, running Kafka with Strimzi, keeping large fleets of clusters consistent and up to date, and contributing to operator code when necessary.Your ResponsibilitiesDeploy, operate, and maintain Kafka on Kubernetes using Strimzi across AWS, Azure, and GCP.Own the Kafka cluster lifecycle: version upgrades, scaling, partition rebalancing, and capacity planning.Manage topics, users, and ACLs declaratively and keep configuration consistent across the fleet — detecting and preventing configuration drift.Build pre-release checks and automated quality gates for Kafka changes to catch issues before they reach production.Contribute to and debug existing Golang-based operators (Operator Framework).Design and template Helm charts for Kafka and related platform services.Automate deployments using CI/CD and GitOps principles (ArgoCD).Collaborate with platform and product teams to provide reliable, scalable event streaming for Dynatrace products.Participate in troubleshooting and incident resolution for Kafka and related infrastructure services.Use AI-assisted developer tooling and AIOps to automate toil, speed up troubleshooting, and continuously improve how we build and operate our services.Continuously improve monitoring and observability for Kafka (broker health, consumer lag, under-replicated partitions).What will help you succeedMust Have:Proven hands-on experience operating Kafka in production (upgrades, scaling, troubleshooting).Solid understanding of Kafka internals and distributed-systems fundamentals (partitioning, replication, leader election, consumer groups, delivery guarantees).Developer-oriented Kubernetes knowledge (less cluster ops, more application/service integration).Scripting/programming expertise in Bash and Go (or another higher-level language).Helm proficiency – creating and templating charts.Familiarity with CI/CD and GitOps workflows (ArgoCD).Experience using AI-assisted developer tooling (e.g. coding assistants, AI-driven troubleshooting) in your daily engineering work.Experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP (at least one).Basic understanding of Kubernetes Operators principles (CRD, Reconciliation) and willingness to contribute to Golang based Operators.Nice-to-have:Experience with Strimzi or another Kafka operator, and with Cruise Control for rebalancing.Terraform/OpenTofu experience (infrastructure currently partly managed this way — migrating towards more operators).Monitoring & observability experience for Kafka (e.g. Prometheus metrics, consumer lag alerting).Experience with any of our broader infrastructure stack: PostgreSQL, Vault, RabbitMQ, Redis, Istio, External Secrets Operator (ESO) or Kyverno. The role offers plenty of opportunity to grow into these services alongside the Kafka focus.Why you will love being a DynatracerDynatrace is a leader in unified observability and security.We provide a culture of excellence with competitive compensation packages designed to recognize and reward performance.Our employees work with the largest cloud providers, including AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud, and other leading partners worldwide to create strategic alliances.You'll get to work at the forefront of innovation with Dynatrace Intelligence—the industry's first agentic operations system. Bringing together deterministic and agentic AI, it helps teams understand what's happening, why it matters, and what to do next— automatically.Over 50% of the Fortune 100 companies are current customers of Dynatrace.Compensation and RewardsDue to legal reasons, we are obliged to list a salary range for this position, which is €74,000 – € 92,000 gross per year based on full-time employment (38.5 h/week). We’ve listed the salary range for transparency, but if your experience and skills bring unique value, we’d still love to hear from you - please apply even if you’re outside the range.Equal Employment OpportunityDynatrace provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We actively foster an inclusive workplace that celebrates differences and promotes accessibility, collaboration, and growth for all.Note to Recruiters and Agencies : Thank you for your interest in Dynatrace. Please note that we do not accept unsolicited agency resumes —do not forward them via our website or directly to Dynatrace employees. Dynatrace will not pay fees for unsolicited resumes, and any resumes received this way will be considered the property of Dynatrace.Benefits and work-life perksWe offer best-in-class core rewards, including paid time off, financial security benefits, retirement savings plans, and health insurance. Beyond that, you’ll get other benefits and work-life perks designed to make your ride with us even more rewarding.Mental health supportOur Employee Assistance Program, powered by Telus Health, offers support for you and your family members.Wellness DaysFour company-designated extra paid days off for you to recharge batteries.FlexibilityOur hybrid working model and flexible working hours offer you the flexibility you need.AI-driven workflowsUse AI as your daily teammate to automate tasks and focus on what matters.Learn & developCompany-wide learning perks, designated team's learning days, and more.Volunteering dayA day of paid volunteer time to support a community or cause you care about.Regular team eventsWe host Global Culture Parties, Family & Friends at Work Day, Global Breakfasts, Green Weeks, Pride Month, and beyond!International vibeMost of our offices and teams are proudly multicultural. English is our shared language, but we embrace and learn from each other's cultures.Rewards vary depending on your employment type. Some benefits and perks also differ by location — explore your city to see what’s available there.About DynatraceDynatrace (NYSE: DT) is the leading AI-powered observability and security platform. We're advancing observability for today's digital businesses, helping transform modern digital ecosystems' complexity into powerful business assets.Our AI-driven insights cut through the noise, allowing customers to focus on what truly matters by automating manual tasks and resolving issues with pinpoint accuracy. Dynatrace offers simplicity, clarity, and reliability at scale to ensure teams can make informed decisions, minimize downtime, and drive their business forward with confidence.