Kafka Architect

Dice is the leading career destination for tech experts at every stage of their careers. Our client, Cyberobotix, is seeking the following. Apply via Dice today! We have a closable position for kafka role. Job Title: Kafka Architect (Senior) Location: St. Louis, MO (Onsite) Engagement Type: Contract (C2C) Visa: Any Job Description Looking for Senior Kafka Architect to design, build, and manage enterprise-scale Kafka-based data streaming solutions. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Kafka architecture, cluster management, and integration with big data technologies. This role requires strong hands-on experience, production support capabilities, and the ability to ensure high availability, performance, and security of Kafka infrastructure in a mission-critical environment. Key Responsibilities • Design, develop, and manage Kafka-based data pipelines for high-throughput, low-latency data streaming. • Architect, deploy, and maintain Kafka clusters in production environments. • Monitor, tune, and optimize Kafka performance to ensure reliability and scalability. • Perform Level 3 (L3) administrator support for Kafka infrastructure, including troubleshooting complex issues. • Ensure availability, performance, reliability, and security of Kafka platforms. • Create and manage Kafka topics, producers, and consumers. • Develop and maintain Java-based Kafka producers and consumers to enable seamless integration with downstream systems. • Work closely with engineering and data teams to support real-time and batch data processing needs. • Develop and maintain automation for Kafka infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, and operations. • Handle customer queries and provide technical support as needed. • Ensure support coverage during agreed business hours. • Participate in 24/7 on-call rotational support during service guard periods. Required Skills & Qualifications • Strong hands-on experience as a Kafka Architect or Senior Kafka Engineer. • Deep understanding of Apache Kafka internals, including brokers, partitions, replication, ISR, and consumer groups. • Experience designing and supporting highly available, fault-tolerant Kafka architectures. • Proficiency in Java for building Kafka producers and consumers. • Experience working with Big Data technologies such as: • Hadoop • Spark • Storm • Strong troubleshooting and performance-tuning skills for Kafka clusters. • Experience with automation and scripting for infrastructure management. • Familiarity with security concepts such as Kafka ACLs, authentication, and authorization. • Ability to work onsite in St. Louis, MO. Nice to Have • Experience with Kafka monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Confluent Control Center, etc.). • Experience with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation. • Prior experience in financial services or large enterprise environments.