Lead Kafka Developer - Hybrid

Lead Kafka Developer

Genesis
10 is currently seeking a Lead Kafka Developer for a hybrid position (3 days in office) with a Major Financial Institution located in Pittsburgh, PA;
Strongsville, OH;
Birmingham, AL;
Farmers Branch, TX; or Phoenix, AZ. This is a contract to hire opportunity.

We are seeking a Lead Kafka Developer to design, build, and operate scalable, high-throughput event streaming platforms using Apache Kafka. This role provides technical leadership, sets best practices, and drives the implementation of reliable, secure, and performant data streaming solutions across the organization.

• Lead the design and development of Kafka-based streaming architectures and data pipelines
• Own Kafka cluster setup, configuration, tuning, monitoring, and upgrades
• Establish standards for topic design, schema management, security, and reliability
• Collaborate with application, platform, and data teams to integrate event-driven solutions
• Troubleshoot complex production issues and drive root-cause analysis
• Mentor developers and provide technical guidance and code reviews
• Apply modern principles, methodologies and tools to advance business initiatives and capabilities

• 8+ years of relevant experience
• Bachelor's degree
• Expertise with Apache Kafka (producers, consumers, streams, connectors)
• Experience operating Kafka in production environments
• Proficiency in Java and/or Scala (Python a plus)
• Solid understanding of distributed systems, messaging patterns, and event-driven architecture
• Experience with schema registries, monitoring, and performance
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Kafka Streams
• ksqlDB
• Kafka Connect
• Cloud-based Kafka platforms and containerized deployments
• Familiarity with CI/CD, observability, and security best practices

Pay range: $60.70 - $68.70 per hour

Only candidates available and ready to work directly as Genesis
10 employees will be considered for this position.

If you have the described qualifications and are interested in this exciting opportunity, please apply!