Kafka Subject Matter Expert Enterprise IT

We are seeking a highly experienced Kafka Subject Matter Expert with 8 - 13+ years of IT experience and hands-on expertise (not just training) in designing, deploying, and managing Kafka event streaming solutions across hybrid multi-cloud enterprise environments. Experience supporting USPS or other federal agencies is strongly preferred. The ideal candidate will provide technical leadership, create detailed architecture artifacts, and ensure high availability and performance for enterprise-scale Kafka implementations.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement Kafka event streaming capabilities across applications and infrastructure in hybrid multi-cloud environments.

• Produce IT technical artifacts including design documents, architecture diagrams, assessments, white papers, test plans, requirements mapping, and implementation plans.

• Migrate legacy applications to modern architectures using Kafka Event Streams and Async APIs.

• Troubleshoot production Kafka event streams, performance issues, and software integration problems.

• Conduct research and provide recommendations on Kafka ecosystem best practices, high availability, and innovative strategies.

• Build proof-of-concept prototypes and assess new Kafka capabilities in sandbox environments.

• Define and implement enterprise standards, life cycle patterns, test-driven protection schemes, and automation strategies for Kafka ecosystems.

• Devise strategies and roadmaps for enterprise Kafka expansion, integrations, and governance.

• Conduct strategy and compliance reviews for architecture, databases, network, high availability, disaster recovery, patch management, and analytics.

• Communicate complex technical concepts to both technical teams and executive stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 8-13+ years in IT with hands-on Kafka expertise.

• Kafka Expertise: Apache Kafka, Confluent Platform, Confluent Cloud, Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Kafka Client APIs, Schema Registry, AVRO/JSON serialization.

• Kafka Ecosystem: Mirror Maker, Cluster Linking, Schema Linking, Identity Management, RBAC integrated with enterprise IDP.

• Cloud Experience: Hybrid multi-cloud environments; Kafka-compatible cloud services (Azure Event Hub, Amazon MSK).

• Integration Skills: Experience integrating Kafka with SaaS or on-premises solutions (Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, HP, Linux, SAP, etc.).

• Automation & DevOps: CI/CD, containerization, deployment strategies, scripting with Python, Shell, PowerShell, Ansible, Terraform, CloudFormation, Chef, Puppet.

• Data Management: SQL and NoSQL database experience.

• Generative AI: Working knowledge of AI workflows and prompt engineering.

• Documentation & Presentation: Proficiency with Visio, Draw.io, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Power BI.

• Communication: Ability to convey complex technical concepts to technical and executive audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience supporting USPS or federal agencies.

• Experience integrating Kafka with Agentic AI workflows.

• Enterprise-scale Kafka deployment and governance experience.

• Mentoring and leading technical teams in Kafka adoption.