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Kafka Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Eitacies Inc

Kafka DevOps Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$50 - $55/hr

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 ...

EITACIES Inc.

Kafka DevOps Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$120 - $150/hr

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 ...

Decisive Point

Software Engineer - Kafka

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$153 - $222/hr

Apache Spark, Apache Hudi, Trino, Apache Kafka, Flyte, Kubernetes, Python, Golang, Java We're looking for someone who has: * A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or ...

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 · On-site

$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

ML Engineer II

Aliso Viejo, CA · On-site

$52 - $57/hr

FastAPI preferred; background jobs (Celery/RQ/SQS/Kafka). * Engineering excellence: Docker, CI/CD, pytest, secure secrets, monitoring, performance tuning. Qualification And Education: * Prior ...

Eliassen Group

Senior Software Engineer

Concord, CA · On-site

$60 - $80/hr

The role supports the Kafka platform used by application teams. Experience supporting Flink ... Provide hands-on engineering and support for Kafka platforms, including incident response, root ...

New

Eliassen Group

Senior Software Engineer

Concord, CA · On-site

$60 - $80/hr

The role supports the Kafka platform used by application teams. Experience supporting Flink ... Provide hands-on engineering and support for Kafka platforms, including incident response, root ...

New

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All JobsKafka Engineer JobsKafka Engineer Jobs in California

Kafka Engineer information

See California salary details

$38.5K

$100.4K

$135.7K

How much do kafka engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 27, 2026, the average yearly pay for kafka engineer in California is $100,420.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $82,900.00 and $115,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a Kafka engineer do?

A Kafka Engineer specializes in designing, building, and maintaining distributed data streaming systems using Apache Kafka. They are responsible for configuring Kafka clusters, ensuring data reliability and scalability, and integrating Kafka with other systems. Kafka Engineers also monitor system performance, troubleshoot issues, and optimize data pipelines to support real-time data processing needs. Their work is essential for organizations that rely on high-throughput, low-latency data streaming for applications such as analytics, event sourcing, and microservices architectures.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Kafka engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Kafka Engineer, you need a strong understanding of distributed systems, proficiency in Apache Kafka, and experience with programming languages like Java or Python, often supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools such as Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, monitoring systems (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana), and relevant certifications like Confluent Certified Developer for Apache Kafka are typically required. Problem-solving skills, effective communication, and the ability to work collaboratively make someone stand out in this position. These skills and qualities are crucial to ensure reliable data pipelines, seamless integration, and efficient troubleshooting in mission-critical, real-time data environments.

How does a Kafka engineer typically collaborate with development and operations teams?

Kafka Engineers play a key role in bridging the gap between development and operations teams. They work closely with developers to design and implement event-driven architectures using Kafka, ensuring data flows reliably between services. Simultaneously, they partner with operations teams to deploy, monitor, and maintain Kafka clusters, addressing issues like scalability, fault tolerance, and security. Effective communication and a strong understanding of both software development and infrastructure are essential for success in this collaborative environment.

What is the difference between Kafka Engineer vs Data Engineer?

AspectKafka EngineerData Engineer
Required CredentialsCertifications in Kafka, cloud platforms, programming languagesCertifications in data tools, cloud, SQL, programming
Work EnvironmentFocus on Kafka setup, streaming data, real-time processingBroader data pipeline, storage, and processing tasks
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, data-driven organizations using KafkaVarious industries managing large data systems
Common Search & ComparisonOften compared for specialization in streaming dataBroader role encompassing multiple data technologies

The Kafka Engineer specializes in designing, implementing, and maintaining Kafka-based streaming data systems, focusing on real-time data processing. In contrast, Data Engineers work on building comprehensive data pipelines, integrating various data sources, and managing storage solutions. While Kafka Engineers focus on Kafka-specific tasks, Data Engineers handle a wider range of data tools and platforms, making their roles complementary but distinct in data infrastructure teams.

What are popular job titles related to Kafka Engineer jobs in California?

For Kafka Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Kafka Engineer jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Kafka Engineer jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Kafka Engineer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Kafka Engineer job openings:

Kafka Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Kafka Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 60% Full Time, and 40% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $100,420 per year, or $48.3 per hour.

AWS-Kafka Engineers

Costa Mesa, CA • On-site

R2 Technologies Corporation
See more jobs at R2 Technologies Corporationexternal

Full-time

Re-posted 24 days ago

Job description

Overview:
AWS-Kafka Engineers
Location- San Jose /Costa Mesa CA
Experience- 3-6 Years
  • 4-6 years of work experience - hands on and good coding skills, preferably with Java, Scala or Python
  • Knowledge and experience with Kafka Streaming, Containerized Micro Services
  • Knowledge and experience with RDBMS (Aurora MySQL) and No-SQL (Cassandra)
  • AWS Cloud experience - S3, EFS, MSK, ECS, EMR, etc.
  • Knowledge of Hadoop/Spark and various data formats like Parquet, CSV, etc. is a plus

Skills:
AWS,Kafka

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