Enterprise Java Architect – Event-Driven and Kafka Messaging

Role: Enterprise Java Architect – Event-Driven and Kafka Messaging
In-Person Interview in Dallas, TX
Location: Dallas, TX, United States (Hybrid – 3 days onsite per week)

ROLE SUMMARY
This role owns the architecture of a large-scale, event-driven Java platform, translating complex business requirements into scalable Kafka-based messaging designs and distributed system architectures. You will work directly with senior engineering leadership to define technical direction, defend design trade-offs at an advanced level, and drive hands-on implementation across the platform. Success in the first 90 days means demonstrating command of the existing event-driven architecture and proposing concrete improvements backed by clear architectural reasoning.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Architect and evolve enterprise-scale, event-driven Java systems, defining service boundaries, messaging patterns, and long-term technical roadmaps.
• Design and optimize Apache Kafka streaming architectures, including topic and partition strategy, consumer group topology, schema evolution, and exactly-once delivery guarantees.
• Lead architectural decision-making and clearly articulate design trade-offs to engineering leadership and stakeholders.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership across Java, Spring Boot, and microservices, writing and reviewing production-critical code alongside the team.
• Apply domain-driven design and distributed systems patterns, including CQRS, Saga, and Event Sourcing, to solve complex business problems.
• Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to standardize architecture practices and drive consistent adoption across the platform.
• Mentor engineers on Kafka internals, reactive programming, and enterprise architecture principles.
• Collaborate with DevOps to ensure secure, scalable deployment of event-driven services across cloud environments.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 12+ years of hands-on Java/J2EE development, including 5+ years in an architect or principal engineering role.
• Deep, demonstrable expertise in Apache Kafka internals, including partitioning, consumer group rebalancing, schema evolution, and exactly-once semantics.
• Strong background in microservices, domain-driven design, and distributed systems patterns such as CQRS, Saga, and Event Sourcing.
• Proven ability to defend architectural decisions and discuss design trade-offs at an advanced technical level.
• Experience with Spring Boot, container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes), and at least one major cloud platform (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform).

TECH STACK
Java · Spring Boot · Apache Kafka · Kafka Streams · Microservices · Domain-Driven Design · Kubernetes · Docker · AWS · Azure · Google Cloud Platform · RESTful APIs · Confluent Platform · Distributed Systems · CI/CD

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with Confluent Platform, Kafka Streams, or ksqlDB.
• Familiarity with service mesh technologies (Istio, Envoy) and resilience patterns such as circuit breaker, retry, and rate limiting.
• Exposure to SAFe Agile or similar enterprise architecture governance frameworks.
• Cloud architecture certification (AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Azure Architect, or Google Cloud Platform Professional Architect).