Cloud Kafka Architect & Confluent Platform Expert

IBM; Boston (KY); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM is seeking a Cloud Subject Matter Expert to enhance the client experience by leading problem resolution and architectural guidance for Kafka and Confluent Cloud implementations. You will collaborate with platform, application, and SRE teams to ensure robust, scalable, and secure data streaming solutions.

Responsibilities include driving design reviews, workshops, and best‑practice coaching; proactively identifying operational risks; and aligning security, governance, and compliance with

Qualifications

• Technical leadership as an authority, escalation point or design advisor for enterprise Kafka and Confluent Cloud platforms.
• Analysis and troubleshooting of complex technical issues across distributed systems and client IT environments.
• Design or review of event‑driven architectures and guidance on production readiness, operational excellence and change management.
• Coordination with cross‑functional teams to deliver effective solutions.
• Creation and reuse of knowledge assets and enablement content.
• Use of client feedback to drive product quality improvements.

Responsibilities

• Serving as the primary technical authority for the customer’s Kafka and Confluent Cloud platform, partnering with platform, application and SRE teams.
• Advising on data streaming architectures optimization to maximize ROI, resilience, and production readiness.
• Designing and reviewing enterprise‑grade event‑driven architectures and data contracts.

Skills

Technical leadership

Troubleshooting

Event-driven design

Cross-functional collaboration

Documentation & enablement

Data-driven improvements

Education

Master's Degree

Tools

Kafka

Confluent Cloud

Kafka Streams

Apache Flink

Schema Registry

Kafka Connect

Job description

IBM is seeking a Cloud Subject Matter Expert to enhance the client experience by leading problem resolution and architectural guidance for Kafka and Confluent Cloud implementations. You will collaborate with platform, application, and SRE teams to ensure robust, scalable, and secure data streaming solutions.

Responsibilities include driving design reviews, workshops, and best‑practice coaching; proactively identifying operational risks; and aligning security, governance, and compliance with