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Senior Kafka Developer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Damco Solutions

Senior Java Kafka Developer

Alpharetta, GA · On-site

$54.50 - $69.50/hr

Damco Solutions is seeking a skilled Java Developer with hands-on experience in Apache Kafka to design, develop, and maintain robust, scalable event-driven applications. The ideal candidate will have ...

Pull Skil

KAFKA Architect

Smithfield, RI · On-site

Job Title : Sr. KAFKA Architect Location: Smithfield, RI ( Must be onsite and no remote) Duration ... developer. Kafka Security (SSL SASL Kerberos ACL) Optimization of Kafka cluster and workloads ...

Oraapps Inc

Senior Kafka & Flink Engineer (AWS)

Austin, TX · On-site

$103K - $142K/yr

Job Title - Senior Kafka & Flink Engineer (AWS) Location - Austin , TX Duration - 12+ Months Note - This is a W-2 position, and we welcome candidates requiring H-1B transfer sponsorship to apply. No ...

Pull Skil

KAFKA Architect

Smithfield, RI · On-site

Job Title : Sr. KAFKA Architect Location: Smithfield, RI ( Must be onsite and no remote) Duration ... developer. • Kafka Security (SSL SASL Kerberos ACL) • Optimization of Kafka cluster and ...

Sarian, Inc.

Kafka Tester

Dallas, PA · On-site

Role: Sr. Kafka Tester Location: Strongsville, OH, Pittsburgh. PA, Dallas, TX - Fulltime Position ... Issue Resolution: Collaborating with developers to identify, analyze, and resolve data issues ...

Unikon IT

Kafka platform engineer

Houston, TX · On-site

The role combines Kafka platform engineering, security and network engineering, and senior Kafka development. The engineer will install, configure, secure, automate, monitor, and validate enterprise ...

Sarian, Inc.

Kafka Tester

Strongsville, OH · On-site

Role: Sr. Kafka Tester Location: Strongsville, OH/ Pittsburgh. PA/Dallas, TX/ Chicago, IL/Phoenix ... Issue Resolution: Collaborating with developers to identify, analyze, and resolve data issues ...

Charles Schwab

Senior Kafka SRE Engineer

Austin, TX · On-site

$56.50 - $75/hr

We are seeking a Kafka Site Reliability Engineer to help build, operate, and continuously improve ... Google Cloud certifications such as Professional Cloud Architect or Professional Cloud DevOps ...

Wave Era Inc.

Cassandra Developer

Jersey City, NJ · On-site

Senior Cassandra and Kafka Developer We are looking for a senior Cassandra developer who must-have supported Cassandra cluster in production, must-have experience in tuning (at least know what tuning ...

Charles Schwab Inc.

Senior Kafka SRE Engineer

Austin, TX · On-site

$120K - $155K/yr

We are seeking a Kafka Site Reliability Engineer to help build, operate, and continuously improve ... Google Cloud certifications such as Professional Cloud Architect or Professional Cloud DevOps ...

Wave Era Inc.

Cassandra Developer

Jersey City, NJ · On-site

Company Description Senior Cassandra and Kafka Developer We are looking for a senior Cassandra developer who must-have supported Cassandra cluster in production, must-have experience in tuning (at ...

Fujitsu

Oracle Senior Python and Kafka Engineer

Dallas, TX · On-site

$120K - $161K/yr

Event-Driven Systems, Observability and Data Lineage Position Summary We are seeking a hands-on Senior Python and Kafka Engineer to join an established engineering team supporting a correctness ...

Navtech, Inc.

Sr Java Developer with Kafka

Seattle, WA · On-site +1

$65.25 - $83/hr

Key projects: • Sr Java engineer - will work with other engineers to create a Java API around a legacy Scala codebase and implement Kafka stream processing. Team culture/work environment: • Team ...

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Senior Kafka Developer information

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How much do senior kafka developer jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 13, 2026, the average hourly pay for senior kafka developer in the United States is $61.73, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $52.40 and $69.23 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a senior Kafka developer do?

A Senior Kafka Developer is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining systems that use Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming and processing. They work on building scalable data pipelines, integrating Kafka with other systems, and ensuring high availability and performance. Additionally, they often provide technical leadership, mentor junior developers, and help define best practices for event-driven architectures within an organization.

What are some common challenges senior Kafka developers face when managing large-scale data streaming pipelines?

Senior Kafka Developers often encounter challenges such as ensuring data consistency across distributed systems, optimizing Kafka cluster performance, and monitoring for bottlenecks or data loss. Managing schema evolution and handling message serialization can also be complex, particularly in environments with multiple producers and consumers. Collaborating closely with DevOps, data engineering, and application development teams is essential to proactively address these issues and maintain high system reliability.

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

To thrive as a Senior Kafka Developer, you need deep expertise in distributed systems, stream processing, and strong programming skills in languages like Java or Scala, typically backed by a relevant degree and significant experience with Apache Kafka. Familiarity with Kafka Connect, Schema Registry, monitoring tools, and cloud platforms, as well as certifications like Confluent Certified Developer, are highly valuable. Exceptional problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills help you design scalable solutions and work effectively with cross-functional teams. These skills ensure the reliability, performance, and scalability of critical data infrastructure that powers real-time business operations.

What is the difference between Senior Kafka Developer vs Kafka Engineer?

AspectSenior Kafka DeveloperKafka Engineer
Primary FocusDesigning, developing, and optimizing Kafka-based applicationsImplementing, maintaining, and scaling Kafka infrastructure
Required SkillsKafka API, Java/Scala, data streaming conceptsKafka setup, cluster management, performance tuning
CertificationsKafka certifications, Java certificationsKafka certifications, DevOps certifications
Work EnvironmentDevelopment teams, data engineering projectsOperations, infrastructure teams, cloud environments

While both roles require Kafka knowledge and related certifications, Senior Kafka Developers focus on application development and data integration, whereas Kafka Engineers concentrate on infrastructure, deployment, and system performance. The roles often collaborate but serve different aspects of Kafka implementation within organizations.

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Senior Kafka Developer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Kafka Developer job openings in the United States as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, 3% Part Time, and 10% Contract. Highlights an 77% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 18% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $128,400 per year, or $61.7 per hour.

Remote DevOps Engineer (Kafka/Kong)

Richmond, VA • Remote

Pennant Solutions Group
Recruiting and Staffing Services • 1 - 10 employees
Learn more about Pennant Solutions Groupexternal

$52.25 - $71.50/hr

Contractor

Re-posted 22 days ago

Key responsibilities

  • Deploy, configure, and maintain Kafka clusters to ensure high availability, reliability, and performance.

  • Implement monitoring, alerting, and performance testing to identify and address issues with Kafka clusters.

  • Design and implement high-availability strategies, disaster recovery plans, and security measures for Kafka environments.

Job description

Senior Kafka Administrator/Kong Administrator with DevOps Experience
Remote-Contract to Hire

Our client is seeking a skilled and experienced Senior Kafka/Kong Administrator to join our client's IT operations team. As a Kafka/Kong Administrator, you will be responsible for the deployment, configuration, maintenance, and monitoring of our Kafka clusters and Kong gateways, ensuring the high availability, reliability, and optimal performance of our real-time platforms. Your role will be crucial in supporting our data engineering and application teams to deliver seamless data integration and processing.
Responsibilities: Kafka Administration
1. Cluster Deployment and Configuration:
  • Deploy and configure Kafka clusters following best practices for scalability, security, and performance.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather requirements and design Kafka infrastructure to meet data streaming needs.
  • Manage topics, partitions, replication factors, and broker configurations to ensure efficient data distribution and fault tolerance.
2. Monitoring and Performance Optimization:
  • Implement monitoring and alerting solutions to proactively identify and address performance bottlenecks, resource constraints, and anomalies.
  • Conduct regular performance testing, load testing, and capacity planning to ensure clusters can handle anticipated workloads.
3. High Availability and Disaster Recovery:
  • Design and implement high-availability strategies, including failover mechanisms and data replication across multiple data centers or cloud regions.
  • Develop and maintain disaster recovery plans and procedures to minimize data loss and downtime in the event of failures.
4. Security and Compliance:
  • Implement and manage security measures such as encryption, authentication, and authorization to ensure data privacy and compliance with industry standards.
  • Stay updated on security vulnerabilities and patches, applying necessary updates to maintain a secure Kafka environment.
5. Troubleshooting and Issue Resolution:
  • Diagnose and resolve Kafka-related issues, including performance degradation, data loss, and connectivity problems.
  • Collaborate with development and data engineering teams to troubleshoot consumer/producer application integration with Kafka.
6. Documentation and Knowledge Sharing:
  • Maintain thorough documentation of Kafka configurations, deployment processes, and troubleshooting procedures.
  • Provide training and knowledge sharing sessions to junior team members and other stakeholders.
7. Collaboration and Communication:
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including data engineers, developers, and system administrators, to ensure smooth integration of Kafka into our data ecosystem.
  • Communicate effectively with stakeholders to provide updates on Kafka performance, maintenance, and improvements.
8. Certification as a Confluent Certified Administrator for Apache Kafka (CCAAK) preferred.
Responsibilities: Kong Administration
  • Hands on experience installing and configuring Kong API Gateway as well as integration with existing API frameworks.
  • Describe and configure dataplane security using RBAC, Roles, Workspaces and Teams
  • Configure upstreams and load balancing
  • Create Services, Routes, and Consumers
2. Experienced in the Kubernetes platform
  • Working knowledge of Kong Ingress with Kubernetes\Dockers
3. Excellent knowledge of API design standards, patterns, and best practices especially with OpenAPI 2.0, REST, JSON, XML.
4. Troubleshoot problems on Kong Gateway
  • Distinguish between downstream and upstream networking issues
  • Collecting troubleshooting/debug information
  • Using log files and health and traffic metrics
5. Deep understanding of JWTs and their usage.
6. Preferred certification in Kong Gateway Certified Associate (KGCA)
7. 5+ years of experience with monitoring and troubleshooting. Should be able to monitor and debug platform or application issues.
  • Use Kong Vitals to monitor Kong Gateway’s health and performance
  • Pull metrics using Vitals API

Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).
  • 5+ years of hands-on experience in administering Apache Kafka clusters in production environments.
  • 5+ years proficiency in Kafka/Kong architecture, installation, configuration, and tuning.
  • Strong understanding of Kafka internals, including topics, partitions, replication, and consumer/producer APIs.
  • 5+ years of experience with Kafka ecosystem tools such as Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, and Schema Registry.
  • Knowledge of Linux systems and shell scripting.
  • Strong DevOps background.
  • 5+ years of familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) 
  • Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex issues efficiently.
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.