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Kafka Developer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

CEI

Lead Kafka Engineer

Pittsburgh, PA

$73/hr

Lead Kafka Developer Location: Pittsburgh PA or Dallas TX or Cleveland OH Contract: W2 only, 12 month contract with potential for extension or conversion to full time with either the client or CEI ...

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How much do kafka developer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 15, 2026, the average hourly pay for kafka developer in the United States is $52.64, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $42.31 and $60.58 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.

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Kafka Developer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Kafka Developer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 80% Full Time, 3% Part Time, and 17% Contract. Highlights an 80% Physical, 6% Hybrid, and 14% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $109,490 per year, or $52.6 per hour.

Senior Kafka Developer

Neshent Technologies

Weddington, NC

Full-time

Posted 16 days ago

Job description

Required Technical/Functional Skills
  • Minimum 10 years of experience in software development and data engineering.
  • Strong hands-on experience with Apache Kafka development and implementation.
  • Expertise in designing and developing real-time data streaming applications and event-driven architectures.
  • Experience building scalable, reliable, and fault-tolerant data pipelines.
  • Strong understanding of Kafka components including:
    • Kafka Brokers
    • Topics and Partitions
    • Producers and Consumers
    • Kafka Streams
    • Kafka Connect
    • Schema Registry
  • Experience with real-time stream processing using Kafka Streams and/or KSQL.
  • Knowledge of Hadoop ecosystem technologies preferred.
  • Strong troubleshooting and performance optimization skills.
Primary Responsibilities
  • Design, develop, and maintain real-time streaming applications using Apache Kafka.
  • Build and optimize high-throughput, fault-tolerant data pipelines.
  • Develop and maintain Kafka producer and consumer applications.
  • Configure, manage, and monitor Kafka clusters, brokers, topics, and partitions.
  • Implement integrations using Kafka Connect with external systems and data sources.
  • Develop stream processing solutions using Kafka Streams and KSQL.
  • Manage data serialization formats and resolve serialization-related issues.
  • Analyze performance bottlenecks and optimize Kafka cluster performance.
  • Troubleshoot message delivery, connectivity, and data processing issues.
  • Collaborate with engineering teams to design scalable event-driven solutions.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience with large-scale distributed systems and cloud-based data platforms.
  • Strong understanding of data engineering and streaming architecture patterns.
  • Experience working with Hadoop and big data processing environments.
  • Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, and communication skills.

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