Senior Java & Kafka Engineer – Real-Time Data Platform (Azure) - Onsite in Chicago

Talan; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 109,000 - 179,000; Full time

Job summary

A global consulting and technology group is seeking a Senior Java & Kafka Engineer for a hybrid role in Toronto, Canada. The selected candidate will design cloud solutions, lead Kafka architectures, and optimize performance. Required skills include strong Java experience, Kafka internals, and cloud technology proficiency. Competitive salary ranges between USD 80,000 and 130,000, alongside comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

401(k) retirement plan with company matching

Paid vacation and holidays

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in Java development, including Spring Boot.
• Experience leading Kafka design, deployment, and performance tuning.
• Experience with cloud platforms like Azure or AWS.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement technical solutions in cloud environments.
• Lead the design and optimization of Kafka-based event streaming architectures.
• Monitor and maintain Kafka cluster performance.

Skills

Java

Kafka

Spring Boot

Spark

Kubernetes

Agile methodologies

Education

BS / master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or relevant technical field

Tools

Azure

AWS

PostgreSQL

Elastic Search

Kibana

Logstash

Job description

Company Description

With over 7,000 experts in 20 countries, Talan is a global consulting and technology group dedicated to accelerating our clients' transformation through technology, data, and innovation. We’re proud to be a Certified Great Place to Work and are on track to reach €1 billion in revenue by 2025.

At Talan, our philosophy is simple yet powerful: Positive Innovation—leveraging technology to benefit people and society.

Join us and be part of meaningful change!

Job Description

Location : Chicago, IL (Hybrid – at least 4 days onsite / week)

Visa Sponsorship : We offer sponsorship under specific treaty-based work visas, including TN and E-2 (for eligible Canadian, Mexican, and French citizens). We do not support or transfer other visa types, such as H-1B.

We are seeking a Senior Java & Kafka Engineer with experience in cloud technologies. You will play a key role in developing and evolving our data lake platform and event streaming solutions.

Responsibilities :

• Design, develop, and implement technical solutions in cloud environments using Java, Spark, Hive, Avro, Parquet, Kubernetes, Spring Boot, Elastic Search, Logstash, Kibana, Oozie, and PostgreSQL.
• Lead the design, implementation, and performance optimization of Kafka-based event streaming architectures, ensuring scalability, reliability, and high availability.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and tune Kafka clusters to maintain optimal system performance.
• Collaborate with Product Owners to break down customer requirements into actionable user stories.
• Deliver clean, tested, and maintainable code that meets acceptance criteria and Definition of Done.
• Manage deployment, CI/CD pipeline monitoring, and production stability activities.
• Engage in pair programming and write unit and BDD-style tests with JUnit, Mockito, and Cucumber.
• Participate actively in backlog refinement, sprint planning, and agile ceremonies.

LI-ASD

Qualifications

Required Technical Skills :

• Strong Java skills with 6+ years of experience, including Spring Boot.
• Proven experience leading Kafka design, deployment, and performance tuning is mandatory.
• Strong Kafka internals and troubleshooting skills.
• Big Data tools: Spark, Hive, Avro, Parquet.
• Kubernetes and container orchestration.
• Elastic Search, Kibana, Logstash.
• Cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or similar).
• Agile methodologies and automated testing (TDD, BDD).

Education and Experience

• BS / master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or relevant technical field.
• 5-10 years of experience working as a Senior Programmer Analyst role.
• First-hand experience working in a real Change and Release management environment.
• Experience with business analysis methodologies, processes, and documentation standards.

Company’s Benefits

At Talan, we invest in our employees' well-being and empower them with benefits, including:

• The yearly salary range for this role is USD 80,000-130,000.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company matching.
• 15 days of paid vacation per year at hire and up to 27 according to seniority (annual untaken vacation days are cashed out).
• 8 paid holidays + 5 sick days + 2 personal days per year.
• Company health, dental, and vision insurance plans + FSA.
• Voluntary STD and LTD.
• Commuter / transit benefits.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.