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Kafka Developer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Eitacies Inc

Kafka DevOps Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$50 - $55/hr

... Kafka or NoSQL technologies. * Strong programming skills in Python and/or Java, with a focus on ... Experience with DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices. * Strong production ...

Ab Ovo inc.

Java developer - NoSql & Kafka

Santa Clara, CA · On-site +1

$60.25 - $78/hr

... programming in Java/J2EE, REST Services, and related technologies * Hands on Experience with Spring, CXF. Spring Boot * NoSQL database technologies like Cosmos or Cassandra or MongoDB * Kafka

Ab Ovo Inc.

Java developer - NoSql & Kafka

Santa Clara, CA

$60.25 - $78/hr

... programming in Java/J2EE, REST Services, and related technologies * Hands on Experience with Spring, CXF. Spring Boot * NoSQL database technologies like Cosmos or Cassandra or MongoDB * Kafka

CYNET SYSTEMS

Data Engineer

Aliso Viejo, CA · On-site

$50 - $55/hr

Big Data Technologies (Apache Spark, Hadoop Ecosystem, Kafka). * DevOps & CI/CD (Git, Jenkins/Azure DevOps). Education and Experience: * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information ...

CYNET SYSTEMS

Data Engineer

Aliso Viejo, CA · On-site

$50 - $55/hr

Big Data Technologies (Apache Spark, Hadoop Ecosystem, Kafka). DevOps & CI/CD (Git, Jenkins/Azure DevOps). Education and Experience: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information ...

Sarian, Inc.

Senior DevOps Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$152K - $196K/yr

AWS, EKS, IAM, S3, Kubernetes, Kustomize, Flux, Crossplane, CRDs, Python, Github, Kafka, Linux, Trino Strong experience on DevOps - using AWS, EKS, IAM, S3, Kubernetes, Kustomize, Flux, Crossplane ...

Sarian, Inc.

Senior DevOps Engineer

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$154K - $199K/yr

AWS, EKS, IAM, S3, Kubernetes, Kustomize, Flux, Crossplane, CRDs, Python, Github, Kafka, Linux, Trino Key Qualifications • Strong experience on DevOps - using AWS, EKS, IAM, S3, Kubernetes ...

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All JobsKafka Developer JobsKafka Developer Jobs in California

Kafka Developer information

See California salary details

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How much do kafka developer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 8, 2026, the average hourly pay for kafka developer in California is $51.95, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $41.73 and $59.81 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What typical challenges might I face as a Kafka developer, and how is support structured within a team?

As a Kafka Developer, you’ll often face challenges related to ensuring data reliability, managing high-throughput event streams, and troubleshooting issues in distributed environments. Support is usually provided through collaborative team structures, where developers, DevOps engineers, and data engineers work closely to identify and resolve bottlenecks or performance issues. Regular code reviews, knowledge-sharing sessions, and access to system monitoring tools help address technical hurdles. You can expect a supportive environment where collaboration and proactive problem-solving are encouraged to ensure smooth data flow and system stability.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Kafka developer?

To thrive as a Kafka Developer, you need a solid understanding of distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and strong proficiency in programming languages like Java or Scala. Familiarity with Kafka tools (such as Kafka Streams, Connect, and Zookeeper), cloud platforms, and Apache ecosystem certifications is highly valued. Problem-solving abilities, effective communication, and teamwork are crucial soft skills for this role. These competencies are essential for building reliable data pipelines, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and maintaining high-throughput message systems in a production environment.

Is Kafka difficult to learn?

Kafka developers need to understand distributed systems, messaging concepts, and Kafka's architecture, which can involve a learning curve for beginners. Familiarity with programming languages like Java or Python and experience with data streaming tools can facilitate learning Kafka. Overall, with dedicated study and practical experience, many find Kafka manageable to learn over time.

What does a Kafka developer do?

A Kafka developer designs, develops, and maintains applications that utilize Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming and processing. They configure Kafka clusters, write producer and consumer code, and ensure data reliability and scalability, often working with related tools like Kafka Connect and Kafka Streams. Strong programming skills and knowledge of distributed systems are essential for this role.

What is a Kafka developer?

A Kafka Developer is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining real-time data streaming applications using Apache Kafka. They work on building data pipelines, integrating Kafka with various systems, and optimizing event-driven architectures. Their role involves writing producers and consumers, handling message serialization, and ensuring efficient data processing. Kafka Developers also focus on fault tolerance, scalability, and security to support high-throughput data applications.

What are the most commonly searched types of Kafka Developer jobs in California? The most popular types of Kafka Developer jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Kafka Developer jobs in California? For Kafka Developer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Kafka Developer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Kafka Developer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Kafka Developer jobs? Cities in California with the most Kafka Developer job openings:
Kafka Developer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Kafka Developer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 79% Full Time, 3% Part Time, and 18% Contract. Highlights an 81% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 15% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $108,056 per year, or $52 per hour.

Kafka DevOps Engineer

Eitacies Inc

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$50 - $55/hr

Full-time

Medical

Re-posted 11 days ago

Job description

Benefits:
  • Company parties
  • Health insurance
  • Opportunity for advancement

Required Qualifications
• 8+ years of overall IT industry experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Kafka or NoSQL technologies.
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or Java, with a focus on automation and tooling.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Git, CloudFormation, and
Terraform.
• Experience with at least one cloud platform: AWS, Azure, or Kubernetes-based environments.
• Experience building AI-powered solutions, MCP Servers, Agentic AI systems, or GenAI-based
automation tools.
• Strong Linux/Unix administration and troubleshooting experience.
• Excellent analytical, debugging, problem-solving, verbal, and written communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices.
• Strong production support, incident management, issue triaging, and root cause analysis experience.
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes administration, deployment, and performance tuning.
• Knowledge of security best practices, vulnerability management, CVE analysis, and monitoring
cloud/system/device logs.
• Experience designing self-service platforms and operational automation solutions.
Key Responsibilities

• Build, manage, and support Kafka and NoSQL platforms in production environments.
• Design, implement, and maintain scalable platform architectures and deployment solutions.
• Develop and maintain automation tools for infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, and operational
workflows.
• Integrate AI/GenAI capabilities into operational tools and platform management processes.
• Design and implement CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code solutions.
• Execute and manage code deployments across development, testing, staging, and production
environments.
• Troubleshoot and resolve platform, infrastructure, and application issues across all environments.
• Monitor system performance, reliability, availability, and security, and drive continuous improvements.
• Collaborate with development, operations, and architecture teams to improve platform efficiency and
developer productivity.
• Drive operational excellence through automation, observability, reliability engineering, and proactive
issue resolution.
Ideal Candidate

A self-driven engineer who can take ownership of complex platform challenges, build innovative
automation and AI-driven solutions, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and operate with
minimal supervision in a fast-paced production environment.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) No 2-5 Years Is Required
Amazon Web Services S3 (AWS S3) No 2-5 Years Is Required
Amazon Web Services EKS (AWS EKS) No 2-5 Years Is Required
Apache Kafka No 2-5 Years Is Required
Artificial Intelligence No At least 1 year Is Required
AWS-EC2 No 2-5 Years Is Required
GitHub No 2-5 Years Is Required
Kubernetes No 2-5 Years Is Required
NoSQL No 5-10 Years Is Required
python No 5-10 Years Is Required