Job Brief We are seeking an experienced Kafka Developer to support the BID Program by designing and implementing real-time data streaming and event-driven architectures within cloud environments. The ideal candidate will have expertise in Kafka-based solutions, ensuring high availability, scalability, and security while integrating with VA systems. Contract Type : W2 Contract Key Responsibilities: • Design and develop Kafka-based event-driven architectures to support BID Program applications and microservices. • Implement Kafka topics, producers, consumers, brokers, and stream processing applications for real-time data streaming. • Optimize Kafka cluster performance, scalability, and security, ensuring compliance with VA requirements. • Integrate Kafka with Salesforce, RESTful APIs, cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP), and backend databases. • Develop and maintain Kafka Connectors for seamless data ingestion and extraction. • Implement error handling, message replay mechanisms, and monitoring tools to ensure system reliability. • Work in an Agile development environment with Scrum teams to deliver high-quality software solutions. • Ensure Kafka solutions adhere to VA security, compliance, and governance standards. • Support troubleshooting, debugging, and performance tuning of Kafka applications. Required Qualifications: • 8+ years of experience in software development, with at least 3 years working with Kafka in production environments. • Hands-on experience with Apache Kafka, Kafka Streams, and Kafka Connect. • strong knowledge of distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and messaging systems. • Experience integrating Kafka with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and working with Kubernetes/Docker. • Proficiency in Java, Scala, or Python for developing Kafka-based applications. • Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.). • Knowledge of data serialization formats (Avro, JSON, Protobuf). • Familiarity with monitoring and logging tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, ELK Stack). • Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps best practices. • Strong understanding of security protocols for Kafka authentication and authorization. • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field. • U.S. Citizenship required (due to federal contract regulations). Preferred Qualifications: • Experience supporting VA systems or other federal programs. • Knowledge of Salesforce and API integrations. • Certifications in Kafka, AWS, or Kubernetes.