Senior Kafka Engineer

Solugenix; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Solugenix is seeking a Senior Kafka Engineer in Irvine, CA to design, implement, and optimize Kafka solutions in a large-scale enterprise. The role emphasizes troubleshooting, automation, and platform engineering with teams across application, infrastructure, DevOps, and architecture.

Ideal candidates bring 10+ years in software or infrastructure engineering and 5+ years in production Kafka, plus strong AWS, Java (Spring Boot) and microservices experience. Excellent communication is essential.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software, platform, or infrastructure engineering.
• 5+ years of hands-on Kafka experience in production.
• Strong Kafka architecture knowledge: brokers, topics, partitions, replication.
• Experience with AWS, Java (Spring Boot) and microservices.
• Experience with Kafka Connect and Schema Registry.
• Experience with Terraform, Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes/OpenShift.
• Experience with monitoring tools such as Splunk, Datadog, or Prometheus/Grafana.
• Understanding Kafka security and access controls.
• Strong troubleshooting, automation, and root-cause analysis skills.
• Good understanding of SRE, DevOps, CI/CD, Git, and Jenkins.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and support Kafka clusters, topics, producers, and consumers.
• Manage Kafka partitions, replication, retention, performance, and capacity.
• Integrate Kafka with Java/Spring Boot and Python applications.
• Troubleshoot Kafka and production issues and perform root-cause analysis.
• Implement Kafka security, including SSL, SASL, and ACLs.
• Support Kafka in AWS environments and deployments in Docker/Kubernetes.
• Monitor Kafka using Splunk and Datadog.
• Develop automation using Python, Ansible, and Terraform.
• Improve platform reliability, scalability, and efficiency via SRE/DevOps.
• Identify repetitive tasks and develop automation and self-service solutions.
• Collaborate with development and architecture teams on real-time data solutions.
• Participate in incident response, problem management, and platform improvements.

Skills

Kafka

AWS

Java

Distributed systems

Troubleshooting

Automation

CI/CD

Git/Jenkins

Communication

SRE/DevOps

Tools

Kafka Connect

Schema Registry

Terraform

Ansible

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Job description

We are looking for a Senior Kafka Engineer with strong experience in Kafka, AWS, Java, and distributed systems. The candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, supporting, and optimizing Kafka solutions in a large-scale enterprise environment.

The role requires strong troubleshooting, automation, and platform engineering skills, along with the ability to work closely with application, infrastructure, DevOps, and architecture teams.

Required Skills & Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in software, platform, or infrastructure engineering.
• 5+ years of hands-on Kafka experience in production environments.
• Strong understanding of Kafka architecture, brokers, topics, partitions, replication, consumer groups, and offsets.
• Strong AWS experience, preferably AWS MSK.
• Strong Java development experience, preferably Spring Boot and microservices.
• Experience integrating Kafka with Java and Python applications.
• Experience with Kafka Connect and Schema Registry.
• Experience with Kafka Streams or ksqlDB is a plus.
• Experience with Terraform, Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes/OpenShift.
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools such as Splunk, Prometheus/Grafana, or Datadog.
• Understanding Kafka security and access controls.
• Strong troubleshooting, automation, and root-cause analysis skills.
• Good understanding of SRE, DevOps, CI/CD, Git, and Jenkins.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience building self-service platforms and automation.
• Experience with distributed tracing, APM, and synthetic monitoring.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and support Kafka clusters, topics, producers, and consumers.
• Manage Kafka partitions, replication, retention, performance, and capacity.
• Integrate Kafka with Java/Spring Boot and Python applications.
• Troubleshoot Kafka and production issues and perform root-cause analysis.
• Implement Kafka security, including SSL, SASL, and ACLs.
• Support Kafka in AWS environments and support Kafka deployments in Docker/Kubernetes environments.
• Monitor Kafka using tools such as Splunk and Datadog.
• Develop automation using Python, Ansible, and Terraform.
• Improve platform reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency through SRE and DevOps practices.
• Identify repetitive operational tasks and develop automation and self-service solutions.
• Work with development and architecture teams to design reliable real-time data solutions.
• Participate in incident response, problem management, technology evaluations, and platform improvements.

Pay Range for CA, CO, IL, NJ, NY, WA, and DC: $80/hour to $85/hour. Starting rate of pay offered may vary depending on factors including but not limited to, position offered, location, education, training, and/or experience.

Solugenix will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act and Ordinance. Applicants do not need to disclose their criminal history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if we are concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, applicants will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

About The Client

Our client is an American financial services company. It ranks among the world's oldest and largest investment management organizations. They have offices globally.

About Solugenix

Solugenix is a leader in IT services, delivering cutting-edge technology solutions, exceptional talent, and managed services to global enterprises. With extensive expertise in highly regulated and complex industries, we are a trusted partner for integrating advanced technologies with streamlined processes. Our solutions drive growth, foster innovation, and ensure compliance providing clients with reliability and a strong competitive edge.

Recognized as a 2024 Top Workplace, Solugenix is proud of its inclusive culture and unwavering commitment to excellence. Our recent expansion, with new offices in the Dominican Republic, Jakarta, and the Philippines, underscores our growing global presence and ability to offer world-class technology solutions. Partnering with Solugenix means more than just business it means having a dedicated ally focused on your success in today's fast-evolving digital world.