Platform Strategy Application Engineer

247Hire; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 96,000 - 165,000; Part time

Job summary

247Hire is seeking a contract Data & Dev Ops Engineer to support a production-grade data platform. You will work on real-time insights, AI initiatives, and scalable systems across Databricks, Kafka, and Kubernetes.

You will troubleshoot production issues, pick up existing codebases, and help maintain momentum on in-flight projects during the coverage period. 4+ years of hands-on experience and a CS-related degree are required.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of relevant hands-on experience in data platforms
• Strong background combining software development and systems engineering
• Experience with Databricks Spark Python and Airflow
• Proficiency with Kafka and streaming technologies and related tooling
• Experience building APIs and microservices
• Knowledge of CI/CD and observability tooling
• BS in CS or related field or equivalent experience

Responsibilities

• Drive DataOps solutions for pipeline reliability and data quality gates
• Maintain and run applications supporting data analytics, real-time and AI
• Migrate from Confluent Kafka to Azure Event Hubs
• Build automation for scaling, CI/CD, monitoring and testing
• Monitor data platform health and performance; participate in on-call
• Document work and ensure smooth handoff at contract end

Skills

Databricks Spark Python

Airflow

Kafka Streaming

REST/ Kafka Proxies

Java

JavaScript

APIs & microservices

Data testing & quality

Databases/ warehouses

Kubernetes

Docker & Helm

CI/CD pipelines

Runbooks & ops governance

Independent work

4+ years exp

BS in CS or equivalent

Education

BS in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

CircleCI

Airflow

Prometheus

Grafana

New Relic

Azure Event Hubs

Job description

Data is a strategic asset of the organization, informing all aspects of business decision-making. This contract provides temporary coverage within the Platform Strategy Data & Dev Ops Engineering team, maintaining continuity on solutions that power real-time insights and services, including generative AI initiatives, on the firm's Data Platform internal products and platforms.

We're looking for a contractor who can ramp quickly and step into ongoing work with minimal onboarding lag — someone with a strong background combining software development and systems engineering to support scalable, distributed, fault-tolerant systems already in production. This person should be comfortable picking up existing codebases and operational responsibilities, troubleshooting production issues, and maintaining momentum on in-flight projects during the coverage period.

Responsibilities:

• Drive and build solutions to enable DataOps processes — pipeline reliability, data quality gates, versioning, and continuous testing/monitoring across the data lifecycle.
• Maintain, deploy, and run existing applications supporting the firm's data analytics, real-time, and AI solutions.
• Build solutions to migrate from open source Confluent Kafka to Azure Event Hubs.
• Build automation solutions for system scaling, CI/CD, monitoring, testing, and observability.
• Monitor and help sustain data/analytics platform health, performance, and reliability.
• Participate in on-call rotations; respond to and help resolve incidents.
• Ensure smooth handoff/transition at contract end, including documentation of work performed.

Required Skills:

• Expertise with the Databricks ecosystem: Spark, Python, and Airflow
• Proficiency with Kafka and related streaming technologies: REST Proxy, Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Spark Streaming, Azure Event Hubs
• Strong programming background in one or more major languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, etc.
• Demonstrated experience creating APIs and microservices
• Solid understanding of software testing and data quality practices
• Experience with database/data warehouse platforms: Databricks, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Redshift
• Proficiency with Unix and containerization technologies: Kubernetes, Helm, Docker
• Experience configuring/using observability tools: Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic
• CI/CD pipeline design and deployment automation for data platforms (e.g., CircleCI or equivalent), including orb/reusable-component contribution workflows
• Experience with job scheduling and orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, Astronomer, Lakeflow Jobs) and environment promotion practices (dev/stage/prod)
• Kubernetes for containerized workload deployment and management
• Familiarity with runbook development and enforcement for operational governance
• Ability to work independently and productively with minimal ramp-up time
• 4+ years of relevant hands-on experience
• BS in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent hands-on experience

Preferred Skills:

• Experience building AI applications
• Web UI development: HTML/CSS/JavaScript/jQuery
• Cloud platform experience (AWS, Azure)
• Build automation/config management: CircleCI, Saltstack, Jenkins, Argo CD
• Exposure to NoSQL technologies: Redis, Cassandra, MongoDB, DynamoDB

Required Skills:

• Expertise with the Databricks ecosystem: Spark, Python, and Airflow
• Proficiency with Kafka and related streaming technologies: REST Proxy, Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Spark Streaming, Azure Event Hubs
• Strong programming background in one or more major languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, etc.
• Demonstrated experience creating APIs and microservices
• Solid understanding of software testing and data quality practices
• Experience with database/data warehouse platforms: Databricks, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Redshift
• Proficiency with Unix and containerization technologies: Kubernetes, Helm, Docker
• Experience configuring/using observability tools: Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic
• CI/CD pipeline design and deployment automation for data platforms (e.g., CircleCI or equivalent), including orb/reusable-component contribution workflows
• Experience with job scheduling and orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, Astronomer, Lakeflow Jobs) and environment promotion practices (dev/stage/prod)
• Kubernetes for containerized workload deployment and management
• Familiarity with runbook development and enforcement for operational governance
• Ability to work independently and productively with minimal ramp-up time
• 4+ years of relevant hands-on experience
• BS in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent hands-on experience