Principal Systems Engineering (Kafka Admin)

Are you ready to make an impact at DTCC?

Do you want to work on innovative projects, collaborate with a dynamic and supportive team, and receive investment in your professional development? At DTCC, we are at the forefront of innovation in the financial markets. We are committed to helping our employees grow and succeed. We believe that you have the skills and drive to make a real impact. We foster a thriving internal community and are committed to creating a workplace that looks like the world that we serve.

Pay and Benefits:

• Competitive compensation, including base pay and annual incentive
• Comprehensive health and life insurance and well-being benefits, based on location
• Pension / Retirement benefits
• Paid Time Off and Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well-being.
• DTCC offers a flexible/hybrid model of 3 days onsite and 2 days remote (onsite Tuesdays, Wednesdays and a third day unique to each team or employee).

The Impact you will have in this role:

Being the Kafka Administrator, you will play a meaningful role in ensuring the stability, security, and efficiency of our Confluent Kafka infrastructure. This position is part of the Architecture & Enterprise Services department, responsible for maintaining the firm's IT infrastructure and supporting seamless business operations. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in Kafka administration, security, performance tuning, and integration.

The Information Technology group delivers secure, reliable technology solutions that enable DTCC to be the trusted infrastructure of the global capital markets. The team delivers high-quality information through activities that include development of crucial, building infrastructure capabilities to meet client needs and implementing data standards and governance.

Your primary responsibilities:

• Kafka Cluster Management
  • Install, configure, and manage Kafka clusters, including Confluent Kafka components.
  • Maintain and optimize existing clusters while setting up new environments as needed.
• Performance Monitoring & Optimization
  • Continuously supervise Kafka clusters for performance, reliability, and capacity planning.
  • Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, ensuring optimal system efficiency.
• Security & Compliance
  • Implement and lead security protocols, including encryption, authentication, and authorization.
  • Ensure compliance with industry standards and internal security policies.
• Integration & Data Flow Management
  • Work closely with development teams to integrate Kafka with various data sources and sinks.
  • Configure and manage Kafka connectors to facilitate smooth data flow.
• Upgrades, Patching & Disaster Recovery
  • Plan and implement Kafka upgrades and patches, keeping systems updated with the latest features and security fixes.
  • Develop and maintain disaster recovery plans, conducting regular testing to ensure business continuity.
• Administration & Troubleshooting
  • Manage Kafka topics, including configurations, retention policies, and cleanup settings.
  • Provide technical support for Kafka-related issues, collaborating with multi-functional teams to ensure quick resolutions.
• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing
  • Maintain comprehensive documentation for Kafka configurations, processes, and best practices.
  • Contribute knowledge sharing within the team to improve operational efficiency.

**NOTE: The Responsibilities of this role are not limited to the details above. **

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 8 years of related experience
• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent experience

Talents Needed for Success:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in Kafka administration, including Confluent Kafka.
• Solid grasp of Kafka security, including encryption, authentication, and authorization.
• Experience with Kafka integration, including configuring and managing Kafka connectors.
• Hands-on experience with Kafka upgrades, patching, and disaster recovery planning.
• Proficiency in troubleshooting Kafka-related issues and optimizing system performance.
• Strong documentation skills and ability to communicate effectively across teams.
• Communicates openly keeping everyone across the organization informed.

The salary range is indicative for roles at the same level within DTCC across all US locations. Actual salary is determined based on the role, location, individual experience, skills, and other considerations. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

About Us

With over 50 years of experience, DTCC is the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry. From 20 locations around the world, DTCC, through its subsidiaries, automates, centralizes, and standardizes the processing of financial transactions, mitigating risk, increasing transparency, enhancing performance and driving efficiency for thousands of broker/dealers, custodian banks and asset managers. Industry owned and governed, the firm innovates purposefully, simplifying the complexities of clearing, settlement, asset servicing, transaction processing, trade reporting and data services across asset classes, bringing enhanced resilience and soundness to existing financial markets while advancing the digital asset ecosystem. In 2024, DTCC's subsidiaries processed securities transactions valued at U.S. $3.7 quadrillion and its depository subsidiary provided custody and asset servicing for securities issues from over 150 countries and territories valued at U.S. $99 trillion. DTCC's Global Trade Repository service, through locally registered, licensed, or approved trade repositories, processes more than 25 billion messages annually. To learn more, please visit us at or connect with us on LinkedIn , X , YouTube , Facebook and Instagram .

DTCC proudly supports Flexible Work Arrangements favoring openness and gives people freedom to do their jobs well, by encouraging diverse opinions and emphasizing teamwork. When you join our team, you'll have an opportunity to make meaningful contributions at a company that is recognized as a thought leader in both the financial services and technology industries. A DTCC career is more than a good way to earn a living. It's the chance to make a difference at a company that's truly one of a kind.

Learn more about Clearance and Settlement by clicking here .

About the Team

IT Architecture and Enterprise Services are responsible for enabling digital transformation of DTCC. The group manages complexity of the technology landscape within DTCC and enhances agility, robustness and security of the technology footprint. It does so by serving as the focal point for all technology architectural activities in the organization as well as engineering a portfolio of foundational technology assets to enable our digital transformation.