We are seeking a Kafka Architect with proven experience in leading large-scale Kafka migrations - whether between enterprise-managed platforms (Confluent, AWS MSK, Azure Event Hubs) or from/to open-source Apache Kafka. The role focuses on architecting resilient streaming environments and guiding organizations through complex migration journeys.
Core Responsibilities
- Lead end-to-end Kafka migration strategy and execution (assessment, planning, cutover, validation).
- Architect and optimize Kafka clusters (OSS or managed), ensuring scalability, high availability, and security.
- Manage data replication and cutover using MirrorMaker2 or equivalent tooling with minimal downtime.
- Ensure integration with downstream systems via Kafka Connect, Schema Registry, and CDC pipelines.
- Drive automation and IaC (Terraform, Ansible) for deployment, upgrades, and operations.
- Establish observability and performance management with Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, etc.
- Define and enforce governance, access controls, and schema evolution best practices.
- Partner with engineering, operations, and security teams to ensure sustainable Kafka adoption.
Key Requirements
- Demonstrated experience in Kafka migrations (Confluent, MSK, Event Hubs, OSS Kafka).
- Strong knowledge of Kafka architecture, scaling, operations, and performance tuning.
- Proficiency with migration and replication tools (MirrorMaker2, Replicator, or similar).
- Skilled in infrastructure automation and CI/CD for Kafka environments.
- Solid understanding of security and compliance (ACLs, RBAC, encryption, IAM integration).
- Experience with Kafka ecosystem tools (Connect, Schema Registry, CDC).
Nice-to-Haves
- Multi-cloud or hybrid Kafka deployment experience.
- Exposure to custom connector/plugin development.
- Programming background (Java/Scala/Python) for automation and tooling.
