Kafka Admin/Developer

Key Responsibilities:
Kafka Administration
• Install, configure, and maintain Apache Kafka clusters in cloud and hybrid environments.
• Manage Kafka brokers, ZooKeeper / KRaft, topics, partitions, and replication.
• Monitor cluster health, throughput, latency, and availability.
• Perform capacity planning, upgrades, patching, and performance tuning.
• Implement high availability and disaster recovery strategies.
Kafka Development & Streaming
• Design and develop event-driven architectures using Kafka.
• Build and maintain Kafka producers and consumers.
• Implement Kafka Streams / ksqlDB for real-time data processing.
• Develop and manage Kafka Connect connectors for source and sink systems.
• Ensure schema management using Schema Registry (Avro, JSON, Protobuf).
Security & Compliance
• Implement Kafka security features including SSL/TLS, SASL, and ACLs.
• Enforce data encryption in transit and at rest.
• Integrate Kafka with IAM and enterprise authentication systems.
• Support compliance with HIPAA, CMS, FISMA, FedRAMP, and NIST standards.
• Assist with audits, security documentation, and ATO processes.
Integration & API Enablement
• Integrate Kafka streams with API Gateways (e.g., MuleSoft).
• Support near real-time data feeds for fraud detection and analytics platforms.
• Collaborate with API developers and data architects on integration patterns.
• Ensure reliable data delivery and message ordering.
Operations & Monitoring
• Integrate with existing monitoring and alerting tools like Splunk, New Relic, Grafana, ELK, or Confluent Control Center.
• Troubleshoot production issues and perform root cause analysis.
• Support incident response and on-call rotations.
• Document configurations, processes, and operational runbooks.
Agile Collaboration
• Work closely with DevSecOps, data engineering, QA, and security teams.
• Participate in Agile ceremonies and release planning.
• Provide technical guidance and best practices for streaming solutions.

Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 4+ years of experience with Confluent Kafka administration and development.
• Hands-on experience with Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, and Schema Registry.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS MSK, Confluent Cloud, Azure Event Hubs for Kafka).
• Strong Linux and scripting skills (Bash, Python).

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience supporting federal or healthcare IT programs.
• Knowledge of FHIR/HL7 healthcare data standards.
• Experience with API Gateway platforms.
• Familiarity with containerized Kafka deployments (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with event-driven microservices architectures.

Key Skills:
• Confluent Kafka Administration & Development
• Real-Time Data Streaming & Event Processing
• Kafka Security & Compliance
• Cloud & Hybrid Architectures
• Monitoring, Performance Tuning & Troubleshooting
• Healthcare & Federal IT Compliance

Residency Requirement: Candidate must be able to obtain Public Trust clearance and must have lived in the United States for at least three (3) out of the last five (5) years.