Kafka Architect

Job Title: Kafka Architect
Location: McLean, VA - 5 Days Onsite (may transition to 3 days onsite after 3 months)
Key Skills: Apache Kafka, Confluent Platform, Event-Driven Architecture, Real-Time Data Streaming, Kubernetes/Docker, CI/CD, Cloud Kafka (AWS/Azure), Security & Monitoring

Job Overview

We are seeking an experienced Kafka Architect to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of enterprise-scale event streaming solutions. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Kafka architecture, proven experience in building high-throughput distributed systems, and a strong background in financial services or similarly regulated industries.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and deployment of Apache Kafka based solutions to support real-time event streaming and data integration.
• Define and implement best practices for Kafka cluster design, security, scalability, monitoring, and disaster recovery.
• Collaborate with engineering, DevOps, and security teams to integrate Kafka into the enterprise ecosystem.
• Optimize Kafka performance, capacity planning, and throughput for high-volume financial data.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to developers and engineers using Kafka.
• Develop strategies for data governance, compliance, and resiliency in Kafka-based systems.
• Evaluate new tools, frameworks, and patterns to improve reliability and scalability of the event-driven architecture.

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of IT experience with at least 5+ years focused on Kafka architecture and engineering.
• Expertise in Apache Kafka, Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Schema Registry, and Confluent Platform.
• Strong background in event-driven architecture, messaging systems, and distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and CI/CD pipelines.
• Proficiency with Java, Scala, or Python for developing Kafka clients and stream processing.
• Solid understanding of networking, security, and authentication/authorization (SSL, Kerberos, OAuth, RBAC) in Kafka environments.
• Prior experience in financial services, banking, or regulated environments is highly desirable.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cloud-based Kafka deployments (AWS MSK, Confluent Cloud, or Azure Event Hubs for Kafka).
• Knowledge of NoSQL/SQL databases and data lakes integration with Kafka.
• Familiarity with monitoring/observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, etc.).
• Confluent Kafka certification(s) a plus.

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