Staff Engineer – PaaS Messaging/Kafka (Remote)

GEICO; Detroit (MI); Remote; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is on the lookout for a talented Staff Engineer to join their PaaS Messaging team. In this exciting role, you will be at the forefront of transforming the insurance business by developing high-performance platforms and applications. You will collaborate with senior engineers to innovate and enhance existing systems, while also mentoring teams and influencing technical roadmaps. If you have a passion for open-source messaging and event streaming, and possess expertise in Kafka, Pulsar, and ActiveMQ, this opportunity is perfect for you. Join a dynamic environment where your contributions will drive meaningful change.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in complex system design and scalable distributed systems.
• Proficiency in Java, Go, Python, and C++ for building robust applications.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and collaborate with teams to solve complex problems.
• Develop strategies for the Platform Engineering domain and ensure quality performance.

Skills

System Design

Data Pipelines

Messaging Platforms (Kafka, Pulsar, ActiveMQ)

Java

Go

Python

C++

CI/CD

Cloud Services (AWS, GCP, Azure)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

Tools

Kafka

Pulsar

ActiveMQ

RabbitMQ

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

GEICO is seeking an experienced Staff Engineer to join our PaaS Messaging team. You will help drive our insurance business transformation by building high-performance, low-maintenance, zero-downtime platforms and applications. Collaborate with senior engineers to innovate, improve existing systems, and identify new opportunities, leading the strategy and execution of a technical roadmap to increase delivery velocity and unlock new capabilities. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in open-source messaging and event streaming, with proven experience in Kafka, Pulsar, and/or ActiveMQ.

As a Staff Engineer, you will:

• Provide technical thought leadership across the enterprise
• Collaborate with product managers, teams, and customers to solve complex problems
• Develop and execute strategies for the Platform Engineering domain
• Ensure quality, usability, and performance of solutions
• Mentor and coach engineering teams and influence leadership
• Share best practices and improve processes
• Analyze costs, forecast, and support resource planning
• Support operational needs and demonstrate adaptability

Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience in complex system design, data pipelines, and scalable distributed systems
• Proficiency in languages like Java, Go, Python, C++
• Experience with messaging platforms like Kafka, Pulsar, ActiveMQ, RabbitMQ, including concepts like Topic Scaling, Partitions, Consumer Groups
• Experience building Kafka Connectors or tooling
• Ability to influence engineering and product roadmaps
• Experience with CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and cloud services (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and analytical problem-solving

Experience:

• 6+ years of professional experience
• 4+ years in open-source frameworks
• 3+ years in architecture and design
• 3+ years with cloud services (AWS, GCP, Azure)

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent