Director, Engineering - Confluent

International Business Machines Corporation; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

IBM Software is building a massively scalable data streaming platform and cloud-native solutions to transform enterprise data processing. You will lead a global team of engineers and engineering leaders responsible for the Kafka-based Confluent Cloud Brokers, Networking, and Security.

This role emphasizes strategic vision, execution, and collaboration with internal stakeholders. The ideal candidate has a proven track record in leading teams, delivering on complex distributed systems, and driving

Qualifications

• 3+ years of second-level engineering management experience.
• Experience running large stateful data systems in the cloud.
• Strong fundamentals in distributed systems design and development.
• Track record of shipping features and meeting deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Lead a global team of software engineers and engineering leaders.
• Define long-term direction and strategy for the Kafka platform and Confluent Cloud.
• Drive technical innovation and prioritize high-impact initiatives.
• Build a culture of continuous improvement and operational maturity.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Distributed systems

Cloud infrastructure

Hiring & coaching

Strategic planning

Tools

Kafka

Confluent Cloud

Job description

Introduction

At IBM Software, we transform client challenges into solutions. Building the world’s leading AI-powered, cloud-native products that shape the future of business and society. Our legacy of innovation creates endless opportunities for IBMers to learn, grow, and make an impact on a global scale. Working in Software means joining a team fueled by curiosity and collaboration. You’ll work with diverse technologies, partners, and industries to design, develop, and deliver solutions that power digital transformation. With a culture that values innovation, growth, and continuous learning, IBM Software places you at the heart of IBM’s product and technology landscape. Here, you’ll have the tools and opportunities to advance your career while creating software that changes the world.

Your role and responsibilities

We are building a massively scalable stream processing infrastructure that enables low-latency operations like filters, joins and aggregations on real-time data. This will enable our customers to easily build stateful stream-processing applications that are scalable, elastic, and fully fault-tolerant.

We are looking for an engineering leader to lead the strategic vision, engineering, and operations of core engineering teams that build Confluent's industry-leading Kafka platform. The Confluent Cloud Brokers, Networking and Security will be your primary focus. As a key leader, you will play a significant role in the ongoing transformation of the Kafka platform, driving innovation and outpacing competitors. You will be responsible for operating our cloud platform at scale.

What You Will Do:

• Lead a highly productive, global team of software engineers and engineering leaders


• Drive the long-term direction and strategy of Confluent and Kafka, while partnering with internal stakeholders to drive the team’s mission forward


• Create competitive advantages for Confluent and Kafka by driving technical innovation


• Work closely with peer engineering leaders to prioritize improvements in all these areas - from a culture of continuous improvement to prioritizing large and high-impact initiatives that will fundamentally change Kafka.


• Continue a strong growth trajectory by hiring top tier engineers, and establish quality standards, design principles, and operational maturity for the team

Required technical and professional expertise

• 3+ years of second-level engineering management experience leading productive, high-functioning teams.


• Maintain a high hiring bar while recruiting, motivating engineers, coaching/mentoring, and managing performance.


• Experience with running large stateful data systems in the cloud.


• Strong fundamentals in distributed systems design and development.


• A great track record of shipping features and hitting deadlines consistently.


• Sense of urgency, an aggressive mindset towards achieving results, and excellent prioritization skills.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Able to anticipate future technical needs for the product and craft plans to realize them, guided by our customers.


• Preferred experience running production services in public clouds


• Ability to influence the team, peers, and upper management using effective communication and collaborative techniques. Focus on building and maintaining a culture of collaboration within the team.

IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.