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. Salary: $100-130K Originally posted on Himalayas