Senior Platform Architect - Java, Kafka & Snowflake

NextPath Workforce Solutions; Reading (Berks County); On-site; USD 96,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

NextPath Workforce Solutions is seeking a Principal Software Architect to join our client's team in Reading, PA. This onsite contract-to-hire role requires senior leadership in designing and evolving production software architectures, with hands-on work in Java, Spring Boot, React, and Kafka.

The ideal candidate will lead backend and frontend design, manage data pipelines with Kafka, and drive scalable, secure, and observable architectures across teams.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience designing and evolving production software architectures in senior leadership roles.
• Hands-on experience with Java and Spring Boot in distributed, production-scale systems.
• Experience with React and modern web application architecture.
• Proven ability to design event-driven systems and large-scale streaming/data pipelines using Apache Kafka.
• Understanding of cloud data warehousing concepts with practical Snowflake experience.
• Experience leading architecture for third-party integrations, including API design and data mapping.
• Knowledge of DevOps practices, CI/CD, deployment automation, and testing strategies.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the platform’s technical architecture and long-term roadmap aligning with product goals and security standards.
• Lead the design of backend services using Java and Spring Boot, and frontend applications with React.
• Create scalable event-driven architectures and high-throughput data pipelines with Kafka.
• Oversee data architecture involving Snowflake and analytical data systems.
• Lead architecture for complex third-party integrations, API design, and reliability strategies.
• Establish architectural standards for service boundaries, observability, security, and performance.
• Strengthen CI/CD practices and deployment processes across engineering teams.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to evaluate technical tradeoffs and guide decision-making.
• Review designs, mentor engineers, and enhance engineering quality.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks, scalability issues, and operational bottlenecks.
• Lead the practical and secure integration of AI and large language models where beneficial.
• Communicate technical strategies, options, and tradeoffs clearly to stakeholders.

Skills

Java

Spring Boot

React

Event-driven

Apache Kafka

Snowflake

API design

CI/CD

DevOps

Architecture leadership

Job description

NextPath Workforce Solutions is seeking a Principal Software Architect to join our client's team in Reading, PA. This onsite contract-to-hire role requires senior leadership in designing and evolving production software architectures, with hands-on work in Java, Spring Boot, React, and Kafka.

The ideal candidate will lead backend and frontend design, manage data pipelines with Kafka, and drive scalable, secure, and observable architectures across teams.