Sr. Kafka Engineer

Fortune Global Solutions, LLC; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Fortune Global Solutions, LLC seeks a Sr. Kafka Engineer to design, implement, and operate large-scale Kafka solutions in Irvine, CA. You will work across DevOps, architecture, and application teams to ensure security, reliability, and performance of streaming data platforms.

The role emphasizes strong troubleshooting and automation skills, with hands-on work in AWS, Docker/Kubernetes, and real-time data processing. Hybrid onsite work in Irvine is expected.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of engineering experience in software, platform, or infrastructure fields.
• 5+ years hands-on Kafka experience in production.
• Strong AWS/MSK experience and cloud familiarity.
• Proficient Java development with Spring Boot and microservices.
• Experience integrating Kafka with Java and Python apps.
• Knowledge of Kafka Connect and Schema Registry.
• Familiarity with Terraform, Ansible, Docker, and Kubernetes.
• Experience with Splunk, Datadog, or Prometheus/Grafana for observability.
• Solid troubleshooting, automation, and root-cause analysis skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration abilities.

Responsibilities

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

Skills

Kafka

AWS

Java

Spring Boot

Python

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Ansible

SRE / DevOps

Security (SSL/SASL/ACLs)

Monitoring (Splunk/Datadog)

Tools

Splunk

Datadog

Prometheus

Grafana

OpenShift

Kafka Connect

Schema Registry

Job description

Sr. Kafka Engineer

Location: Irvine, CA (Hybrid)

Duration: Long Term Contract

Required Experience: 12 years

Job Summary

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.

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.

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, PrometheGrafana, or Datadog.
• Understanding of 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

• Confluent Kafka / Confluent Cloud experience.
• Experience building self-service platforms and automation.
• Experience with distributed tracing, APM, and synthetic monitoring.