Sr. Open Source Software Engineer (Kafka)
Core
Lead end-to-end upstream initiatives in Apache Kafka, from design and implementation to release, serving enterprise customers in financial services, retail, and technology.
Role type
Senior Open Source Software Engineer (Kafka)
Builds
Apache Kafka upstream components including broker internals, storage, log replication, KRaft, consumer groups, Kafka Streams, and Kafka Connect.
Domain
Data infrastructure / Distributed systems
Required skills
Apache Kafka committer status, expert Java engineering, deep Kafka internals expertise, open source governance leadership, technical judgment, asynchronous technical communication
Preferred skills
KIP writing, community mentorship, CI/CD infrastructure improvement
Technologies
Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, JIRA
Responsibilities
Lead upstream initiatives from KIP drafting to release; provide binding committer reviews on patches; contribute to release management; translate customer needs into upstream proposals; shape community direction; mentor engineers to committer status; improve upstream infrastructure.
Seniority
Senior, hands-on IC