Kafka Platform Engineer

American Electric Power; Columbus, Northern (OH, KY); Hybrid; USD 99,000 - 129,000; Full time

Job summary

American Electric Power in Columbus, OH seeks a senior Kafka engineer to own the enterprise data movement backbone. You will engineer, operate, and scale Confluent Kafka deployments, ensuring reliability, data safety, and platform stability.

You\'ll containerize microservices on OpenShift, build CI/CD with GitHub Actions and Argo CD, and collaborate with architects to meet integration needs across on-prem and cloud environments. Strong knowledge of AWS/Azure and TLS security is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a computer science, engineering, or related technical field.
• 7 years of relevant work experience in data streaming or similar roles.
• Certifications such as CCAAK, CCDAK or CCAC are preferred.

Responsibilities

• Deploy and manage Kafka connectors and CDC streams in Confluent environments.
• Containerize and deploy microservices on OpenShift using Docker and YAML.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions and Argo CD for automated deployments.
• Perform Kafka admin tasks: topic creation, partitioning, replication, and monitoring.
• Collaborate with architects and product teams to design scalable integrations.
• Monitor Kafka clusters using Confluent Control Center, Prometheus, and Grafana.
• Develop custom connectors for data sources and sinks and support production deployments.

Skills

Kafka

OpenShift

Docker

CI/CD

Python/Java

AWS/Azure

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related field

Tools

Confluent Kafka

GitHub Actions

Argo CD

Kubernetes

Confluent Schema Registry

OpenShift

Job description

Job Summary

This role is responsible for engineering and operating the enterprise Kafka platform, company's strategic data movement backbone. The focus is on platform stability, scalability, data safety, and enablement of producer/consumer teams.

Job Description

What You'll Do:

Essential Job Functions & Tasks:

• Deploy and manage Kafka connectors (CDC, JDBC, IBM MQ, Redshift, etc.) in Confluent Kafka environments.
• Containerize and deploy microservices and connectors on OpenShift using Docker, YAML, and Kustomize.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions and Argo CD for automated deployments.
• Perform basic Kafka administration tasks such as topic creation, partitioning, replication, and monitoring.
• Collaborate with architects and business teams to understand integration requirements and deliver scalable solutions.
• Monitor Kafka clusters and connector health using tools like Confluent Control Center, Prometheus, Grafana, Dynatrace, Splunk and OpenShift-native monitoring.
• Build and maintain custom connectors for specialized data sources and sinks.
• Support production deployments and troubleshoot issues across Kafka pipelines and OpenShift environments.
• Clear understanding of cloud managed services including AWS, Azure cloud to deploy Confluent connectors for data integrations
• Support real-time data streaming between on-prem systems and cloud/SaaS platforms.
• Work closely with business teams, architects, and product owners to understand integration requirements.
• Coordinate with co-sourced/offshore teams for development and deployment tasks.
• Conduct code reviews, quality checks, and ensure adherence to standards.
• Ensure reliability and scalability of Kafka pipelines by applying 12-Factor principles and microservices architecture.
• Collaborate with architects and platform teams to align Kafka solutions with enterprise integration patterns and cloud strategies.
• Automate deployment, monitoring, and operational tasks wherever possible.
• Own integration of deliverables from design through production deployment.
• Act as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Kafka-based integrations and cluster administration.

Additional Requirements:

• Strong hands‑on Kafka experience in production environments.
• Understanding of distributed systems, messaging semantics, and fault tolerance.
• Experience with Kafka Deployments in Kubernetes Platform (OpenShift, Docker etc.)
• Experience with Multi-Region High Availability on-premises deployments
• Experience with building producer/consumer applications using Kafka connectors
• Experience building custom microservices in Python/Java
• Experience with Kafka security (TLS, ACLs, RBAC).
• Ability to troubleshoot complex, cross‑team data flow issues.

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience with Schema Registry, Kafka Connect, MirrorMaker.
• Experience with Oracle Golden Gate or similar CDC tool for data movement
• Familiarity with enterprise integration patterns and platforms (APIM, Camunda, webMethods, Oracle SOA or similar technologies).

What We're Looking For:

Education requirements are listed below:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related technical field is required.

Work Experience Requirements are listed below:

• 7 years’ relevant work experience is required. An equivalent combination of education and related experience may be considered.

License(s)/Certification(s) are listed below:

• Confluent Certified Administrator for Apache Kafka® (CCAAK)
• Confluent Certified Developer for Apache Kafka® (CCDAK)
• Confluent Certified Cloud Operator (CCAC)

At AEP, we’re more than just an energy company — we’re a team of dedicated professionals committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions. Guided by our mission to put the customer first, we strive to exceed expectations by listening, responding, and continuously improving the way we serve our communities. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact and being part of a forward-thinking organization, this is the company for you!

Compensation

$98,993.00 - $128,688.00

Physical Demands

The Physical Demand Level for this job is: S – Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally (Occasionally: activity or condition exists up to 1/3 of the time) and/or a negligible amount of force frequently. (Frequently: activity or condition exists from 1/3 to 2/3 of the time) to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is hereby reaffirmed that it is the policy of American Electric Power (AEP) to provide Equal Employment Opportunity in all respects of the employer-employee relationship including recruiting, hiring, upgrading and promotion, conditions and privileges of employment, company sponsored training programs, educational assistance, social and recreational programs, compensation, benefits, transfers, discipline, layoffs and termination of employment to all employees and applicants without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, veteran or military status, disability, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. When required by law, we might record certain information or applicants for employment may be invited to voluntarily disclose protected characteristics.

“AEP offers an outstanding group of people to be a part of. The AEP culture values your integrity and awards your hard work.”

This role is part of a larger enterprise architecture and technology delivery team focused on designing and implementing solutions that address critical business needs and opportunities. The positionis responsible fortranslating business requirements intopractical, scalable technicalarchitectures, spanning application, integration, data, and infrastructure domains, while ensuringnon‑functionalrequirements such assupportability, resiliency, performance, and securityare met.The role requires a balance ofstrategic architectural thinking andhands‑ontechnical execution, with direct involvement in design, deployment, and operational support.

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AEP offers generous time off, competitive pay, and educational opportunities to help employees advance their careers.

Our culture is purpose-driven and team-oriented: we combine innovation with a customer-first focus to deliver reliable energy and brighter futures.