Lead Software Engineer - Event Processing Platform

Branch Metrics; Remote; CAD 152,000 - 198,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology company is seeking a Lead Software Engineer for their Event Processing Platform in Canada. This remote position involves defining libraries and contracts, managing Kafka topologies for performance, and mentoring engineers. Candidates should have extensive backend experience, particularly with Java, Kotlin, and Go, and real-world Kafka expertise. The estimated compensation range is CAD 152,000 to CAD 198,000, reflecting skills and location. Join a diverse, inclusive team dedicated to transformative mobile marketing solutions.

Benefits

Health and wellness programs

Paid time off

Retirement planning options

Qualifications

• 8-10+ years backend/platform experience; prior tech lead on a high-throughput, low-latency data system.
• Depth in Java, Kotlin and Go with strong async/concurrency skills.
• Real-world Kafka expertise including idempotent producers and DLQ/replay strategies.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve libraries and contracts used by various services.
• Lead contract-as-code strategy and manage zero/low-downtime rollouts.
• Design and tune Kafka topologies to meet performance targets.

Skills

Backend/platform experience

Java

Kotlin

Go

Kafka expertise

Aerospike

DynamoDB

FoundationDB

Clear communication

Production-grade observability

Job description

Lead Software Engineer - Event Processing Platform

Canada

At Branch, we’re transforming how brands and users interact across digital platforms. Our mobile marketing and deep linking solutions are trusted to deliver seamless experiences that increase ROI, decrease wasted spend, and eliminate siloed attribution. Our Branch team consists of smart, humble, and collaborative people who value ownership over all. Everything we do is centered around creating a great product, team, and company that lives and breathes our motto: Build Together, Grow Together, Win Together.

About the role

Branch’s event processing Platform enables Branch’s Matching & Attribution, Identity graph, and Attribution.

What you’ll do

• Own the paved road: Define and evolve the common libraries, patterns, and contracts (Protobuf/Avro, gRPC/HTTP) used by sdk, gateway, matching, attribution, and identity services.
• Schema evolution at scale: Lead contract-as-code strategy (compatibility rules, registry, linting), zero/low‑downtime rollouts, backfill/replay plans, and migration tooling.
• Throughput & latency: Design and tune Kafka topologies (partitions, compaction, tiered storage), producer/consumer settings, batching/compression, and hot‑path code to hit p95/p99 targets.
• State & storage architecture: Model data across Aerospike/DynamoDB/FDB (keys/range design, TTL, transactions, conflict resolution); eradicate hot keys and write amps; codify backup/restore.
• Reliability & recovery: Ship idempotency/effectively‑once semantics, DLQs, reprocessing pipelines, multi‑region readiness, chaos tests, and disaster‑recovery drills (RPO/RTO goals).
• Observability & SLOs: Standardize OpenTelemetry (traces/metrics/logs), golden signals, burn‑rate alerts, and dashboards; make failure modes explainable with reason codes.
• Change safety: Feature flags, canary/blue‑green, automated rollback, perf budgets in CI, and pre‑merge contract/compat tests.
• Security & compliance by default: AuthN/Z between services, HMAC/signature verification at edges, PII controls, audit trails.
• Mentor & influence: Drive design reviews/RFCs, coach senior engineers, and partner with product teams as your customers.

What you bring

• 8‑10+ years backend/platform experience; prior tech lead on a high‑throughput, low‑latency data system.
• Depth in Java, Kotlin and Go. Strong async/concurrency, profiling, and performance tuning.
• Real‑world Kafka expertise (idempotent producers, EOS patterns, DLQ/replay, compaction/retention).
• Hands‑on with Aerospike and/or DynamoDB and/or FoundationDB (data modeling, transactions, hotspots, cost tuning).
• Avro/Protobuf + schema registry, backward/forward compatibility, and contract testing in CI.
• Production‑grade observability (Graphana), on‑call readiness, and incident management.
• Clear, pragmatic communication; writes crisp design docs and drives cross‑team alignment.

Nice to have

• Identity graphs, attribution pipelines, or similar matching systems.
• Multi‑region active/active, disaster recovery, chaos/latency injection.
• Stream processing (Flink/KStreams/Spark Structured Streaming) for enrichment/dedupe.
• Security hardening at the edge (rate limits, signatures, envelope encryption).

Example problems you’ll tackle

• Designing effectively‑once ingestion with idempotency keys across gateways and Kafka.
• Rolling out a schema change touching 10+ services with no downtime and a reversible plan.
• Eliminating a hot partition by reshaping keys/partitions and backfilling safely.
• Building a replayer that reprocesses N hours of data without violating ordering/SLOs.

This role does not qualify for relocation or visa sponsorship.

This role is 100% remote in Canada. This role is not eligible for remote work in any other location.

In accordance with applicable law, the following represents a reasonable estimated compensation range for this role: the estimated pay range for this role, if based in Canada is 152,000 CAD to 198,000 CAD. Please note that this information is provided for those hired in Canada only. Compensation for candidates outside of Canada will be based on the candidate’s specific work location. Actual compensation will be determined based on skills, experience, and geographic location and may be more or less than the amount shown above.

The salary range provided represents base compensation and does not include potential equity, which is available for qualifying positions. At Branch, we are committed to the well‑being of our team by offering a comprehensive benefits package. From health and wellness programs to paid time off and retirement planning options, we provide a range of benefits for qualified employees. For detailed information on the benefits specific to your position, please consult with your recruiter.

Branch is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

If you think you’d be a good fit for this role, we’d love for you to apply! At Branch, we strive to create an inclusive culture that encourages people from all walks of life to bring their unique, diverse perspectives to work. We aim every day to build an environment that empowers us all to do the best work of our careers, and we can’t wait to show you what we have to offer!

A little bit about us:

Branch is the leading provider of engagement and performance mobile SaaS solutions for growth‑focused teams, trusted to maximize the value of their evolving digital strategies. The Branch platform provides a seamless experience across paid and organic, on all channels and platforms, online and offline, to eliminate friction and drive valuable action at the moments of highest intent. With Branch, businesses gain accurate mobile measurement and insights into user interactions, enabling them to drive conversions, engagement, and more intelligent marketing spend.

Branch is an award‑winning employer headquartered in Mountain View, CA. World‑class brands like Instacart, Western Union, NBCUniversal, Zocdoc and Sephora acquire users, retain customers and drive more conversions with Branch.