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Kafka Software Engineer Jobs in Springfield, IL (NOW HIRING)

Kafka Software Engineer information

See Springfield, IL salary details

$62.9K

$146.2K

$203.7K

How much do kafka software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 28, 2026, the average yearly pay for kafka software engineer in Springfield, IL is $146,212.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $118,900.00 and $171,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

Do software engineers use Kafka?

Yes, Kafka is commonly used by software engineers, especially those working in data engineering, distributed systems, or real-time data processing roles. Proficiency with Kafka often involves understanding messaging systems, stream processing, and related tools like Apache Spark or Kafka Connect.

Is Kafka in high demand?

Kafka Software Engineers are in high demand due to the widespread adoption of Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming and processing. Companies seek professionals skilled in Kafka, distributed systems, and related tools like Kafka Connect and Kafka Streams to manage large-scale data architectures.

What engineers make $500,000?

Senior software engineers, including those working with distributed systems like Kafka, can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially with extensive experience, specialized skills, and in high-cost-of-living areas. Compensation often includes base salary, bonuses, and stock options, and reaching this level typically requires advanced expertise and leadership roles.

What does a Kafka engineer do?

A Kafka engineer designs, develops, and maintains systems using Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming and processing. They configure Kafka clusters, optimize performance, and ensure data reliability, 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 are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Kafka Software Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Kafka Software Engineer, you need strong programming skills (often in Java, Scala, or Python), a solid understanding of distributed systems, and experience with Apache Kafka architecture and stream processing. Familiarity with tools like Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Zookeeper, and containerization platforms, along with certifications such as Confluent Certified Developer for Apache Kafka, are highly valued. Excellent problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills help you design scalable solutions and collaborate across engineering teams. These technical and interpersonal skills are critical to building reliable, high-throughput data pipelines and ensuring seamless real-time data flow in modern applications.

What are some common challenges Kafka Software Engineers face when building scalable streaming applications?

Kafka Software Engineers often encounter challenges related to ensuring high throughput, low latency, and fault tolerance when designing streaming data pipelines. Managing message ordering, handling data schema evolution, and optimizing partitioning strategies are critical for maintaining data consistency and performance. Additionally, engineers must monitor cluster health, address issues like consumer lag, and coordinate with DevOps and data engineering teams to ensure seamless integration with other systems.

What are Kafka Software Engineers?

Kafka Software Engineers are specialized software developers who design, build, and maintain systems that use Apache Kafka, a distributed event streaming platform. They create and manage data pipelines, ensure reliable message delivery, and optimize the performance of applications using Kafka. These engineers often work closely with data engineers, architects, and other developers to enable real-time data processing, analytics, and integration across various systems. Their role is crucial in organizations that rely on high-throughput, fault-tolerant data streams.
What job categories do people searching Kafka Software Engineer jobs in Springfield, IL look for? The top searched job categories for Kafka Software Engineer jobs in Springfield, IL are:
What cities near Springfield, IL are hiring for Kafka Software Engineer jobs? Cities near Springfield, IL with the most Kafka Software Engineer job openings:
Infographic showing various Kafka Software Engineer job openings in Springfield, IL as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 62% Full Time, and 38% Part Time. Highlights an 84% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $146,212 per year, or $70.3 per hour.
Principal Data Architect: Data Movement, Enrichment, and Orchestration

Principal Data Architect: Data Movement, Enrichment, and Orchestration

Highmark Health

Springfield, IL • On-site

Other

Posted 5 days ago


Highmark Health rating

7.8

Company rating: 7.8 out of 10

Based on 28 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


Job description

Company :

enGen

Job Description :

JOB SUMMARY

We are seeking a hands-on Principal Data Architect to serve as a leader in our ongoing data and digital transformation, leveraging a modern open data ecosystem build on foundational iceberg lakehouse patterns for both humans and AI to thrive. This role will own defining and delivering our enterprise strategy and architectural approach towards data movement [including integration and interoperability], Enrichment, and Orchestration. This scope will span the full enterprise of a complex hybrid ecosystem: We are not a skunkworks team just trying out new technology and you will make our implementations with dbt, airflow, kafka, and iceberg real for a $30B+ company impacting millions of lives across the country.

Not only will this person be a leader of our rapid modernization but will insistently keep a business and customer first mentality. The right leader understands the efficiencies and innovations needed to transform will also couple with deprecating a number of existing operational/legacy platforms. We require a natural thought leader and strategic advisor, shaping and driving the evolution of complex architectures across multiple domains, necessitating tradeoffs on time, cost, and complexity, but never trading off the positive experiences and impacts to our members.

Success in this role requires experience driving adoption of best practices and emerging technologies (ie lakehouse, iceberg, ELT vs ETL, and open source trends and tradeoffs), driving innovation and continuous improvement across the organization (teaching and mentoring is a passion for this person), and understanding the evolution of the space and patterns to make decisions that set the company and teams up for success short, mid, and long-term (ie you know what's ready for exploration vs what's ready for enterprise scale).

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Lead the development and articulation of complex architecture vision and strategy, ensuring alignment with business goals and strategic initiatives. Champion the adoption of best practices and emerging technologies, driving innovation and continuous improvement across the organization.

  • Collaborate with senior stakeholders across the organization, influencing decision-making and ensuring alignment on complex architectural solutions.

  • Lead the evaluation and selection of new technologies and solutions, ensuring they meet the organization's evolving needs and strategic direction. Develop and maintain comprehensive architectural documentation, ensuring clarity and consistency across all stakeholders.

  • Proactively identify and mitigate potential risks and challenges, ensuring the successful implementation and ongoing operation of complex architectures. Serve as a subject matter expert and advocate for architectural best practices, contributing to the development of organizational standards and policies.

  • Provide expert guidance and mentorship, fostering a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing.

  • Other duties as assigned or requested.

EXPERIENCE

Required

  • 10 years of experience in Architecture, design, and implementation of complex systems and solutions.

Preferred

  • 5+ years of enterprise data architecture experience driving transformation through data platform modernization

  • 5+ years of architecture frameworks andmethodologies: This person will have a strong opinion of if medallion architecture is a framework,methodology, or a marketing term(You might getbonus points with examples of all three being an "ok" answer andmaygive a good use case argument where each may be the "best" answer)

  • 7+ years of experience with data movement platforms as an engineer, architect, or technical product manager/owner

  • Strong experience and knowledge ofthebelowrelevant platforms to this role:(Most critical being Airflow, Kafka, Flink,Iceberg Lakehouseand DBT)

  • Heavy Emphasis for Modernization:Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Airflow (includingCloudComposer), Beam (includingDataFlow), DBT,Kafka(Confluent),Flink(Confluent), Spark (includingDataProcand Databricks), Iceberg Format,Monte Carlo, Dynatrace,Atlan, Starburst,VertexAI, GitLab, GPT,and more

SKILLS

  • Architecture frameworks and methodologies

  • Software Development

  • Knowledge of emerging technologies

  • Strategic thinking and influencing

  • Critical thinking and decision making

  • While not required to possess expertise in all of the following technologies/areas, Principal Architects must demonstrate proficiency in those relevant to the applications they support: IMS, DB2, Oracle, Teradata, Data Warehousing, COBAL, Visual Basic, C, C++, SAS, Java/JavaScript Framework, PEGA, CSS3, Mobile, JSON, Cognos, Hadoop, SQL, J2EE, HTML5/XML, Waterfall, Agile.

EDUCATION

Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or closely related discipline

Preferred

  • Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology or closely related discipline

LICENSES or CERTIFICATIONS

Required

  • None

Preferred

  • None

Language (Other than English):

None

Travel Requirement:

0% - 25%

PHYSICAL, MENTAL DEMANDS and WORKING CONDITIONS

Position Type

Office- or Remote-based

Teaches / trains others

Occasionally

Travel from the office to various work sites or from site-to-site

Rarely

Works primarily out-of-the office selling products/services (sales employees)

Never

Physical work site required

No

Lifting: up to 10 pounds

Constantly

Lifting: 10 to 25 pounds

Occasionally

Lifting: 25 to 50 pounds

Rarely

Disclaimer: The job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential duties and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this job title. It may not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to do this job.

Compliance Requirement : This job adheres to the ethical and legal standards and behavioral expectations as set forth in the code of business conduct and company policies.

As a component of job responsibilities, employees may have access to covered information, cardholder data, or other confidential customer information that must be protected at all times. In connection with this, all employees must comply with both the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices and Privacy Policies and Procedures as well as all data security guidelines established within the Company's Handbook of Privacy Policies and Practices and Information Security Policy.

Furthermore, it is every employee's responsibility to comply with the company's Code of Business Conduct. This includes but is not limited to adherence to applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations as well as company policies and training requirements.

Pay Range Minimum:

$142,000.00

Pay Range Maximum:

$236,000.00

Base pay is determined by a variety of factors including a candidate's qualifications, experience, and expected contributions, as well as internal peer equity, market, and business considerations. The displayed salary range does not reflect any geographic differential Highmark may apply for certain locations based upon comparative markets.

Highmark Health and its affiliates prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on any category protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

We endeavor to make this site accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact the email below.

For accommodation requests, please contact HR Services Online at HRServices@highmarkhealth.org

California Consumer Privacy Act Employees, Contractors, and Applicants Notice

Req ID: J273699


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About Highmark Health

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

A national blended health organization, Highmark Health and our leading businesses support millions of customers with products, services and solutions closely aligned to our mission of creating remarkable health experiences, freeing people to be their best. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, we're regionally focused in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, and eastern and northwestern New York with customers in 50 states and the District of Columbia. We passionately serve individual consumers and fellow businesses alike. And our companies cover a diversified spectrum of essential health-related needs including health insurance, health care delivery, population health management, dental solutions, reinsurance solutions, and innovative, technology solutions. Our financial position reflects strength and stability, with our year-end 2022 consolidated revenues totaling $26 billion. And we're proud to carry forth an important legacy of compassionate care and philanthropy that began more than 170 years ago. This tradition of giving back, reinvesting and ensuring that our communities remain strong and healthy is deeply embedded in our culture, informing our decisions every day.

Industry

Health care and social assistance and insurance services

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Pittsburgh, PA, US