Lead Kafka Engineer (Remote)

The candidate will be responsible for installing, monitoring, troubleshooting, and maintaining the Kafka platform, ensuring optimal performance and security, developing new features, automation, and integration. The Kafka Platform team is also involved in supporting PagerDuty and Uptrends SaaS platforms, including the automation of these platforms.

Responsibilities

• Install and provision new Kafka clusters and supporting components
• Regularly monitor the health and performance of the Kafka platform and data pipelines
• Identify and fix issues related to the platform including data pipelines, network problems, and cloud or containerization resource failures
• Perform performance tuning of Kafka platform components
• Optimize the cost and performance of Kafka clusters
• Upgrade the Kafka platform to newer versions including planning, testing, and implementation
• Manage the security of the Kafka platform including access control lists and encryption
• Perform regular backups and disaster recovery procedures
• Manage the capacity of the Kafka platform including projecting future growth and scal…
• Document procedures, configurations, and issue resolutions
• Collaborate with Confluent Support for unresolved issues
• Support existing IaC and CM automations/pipelines for platform management
• Maintain and enhance onboarding automation scripts
• Support Kafka self-service automations for topic, RBAC, schema, and connectors management
• Support application teams in Kafka setup and onboarding
• Provide support for team requests in Slack and escalate complex tickets
• Implement new vendor features as part of their product roadmap
• Enhance automation scripts and processes for self-service ticket reduction

Requirements

• Proven experience in the implementation and maintenance of Confluent Platform
• Relevant certifications, such as Confluent Certified Developer or Administrator for Apache Kafka
• Experience in automating processes and maintaining automated scripts
• Understanding of networking and capability to coordinate with various teams
• Proficiency in HELM, Kubernetes/Containers, and Docker
• Background in Cloud GCP including compute, networking, storage, and IAM
• Capability to use Python/Shell scripting for automation
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Fluent English communication skills at a B2+ level

Nice to have

• Familiarity with Cloud AWS including compute, networking, storage, and IAM
• Background in CI/CD
• Qualifications in Jenkins including pipelines and groovy
• Skills in Linux administration
• Familiarity with PagerDuty and Terraform
• Understanding of Uptrends

We offer

• Work on a flexible schedule remotely or from any of our comfortable offices or coworking spaces in Ukraine
• Receive the necessary equipment to perform your work tasks
• Change projects and technology stacks within EPAM
• Gain experience in various business domains (Insurance, E-commerce, Healthcare, Finance, Travelling, Media, Artificial Intelligence, and more)
• Consider relocation options in over 30 countries worldwide
• Participate in volunteer, charity programs and communities (both technical and interest-based)
• You can plan your individual career path together with your manager.
• Receive regular feedback from colleagues
• Improve your English for free with certified teachers (Speaking Clubs, client interview preparation courses, etc.)
• Get the opportunity to undergo free training and certification in AWS, GCP, or Azure Clouds
• Use the internal E-learn training program (18,200+ specialized training and mentoring programs)
• Access corporate accounts on LinkedIn Learning, Get Abstract and other partner resources
• Study at EPAM Solution Architecture School with the instructors who are practicing architects
• Develop as a leader, join Delivery Management, Resource Management, Leadership Essentials school and more
• Participate in internal communities (500+ meetups, technical discussions, brainstorming sessions, online events and conferences annually)
• Vacation and sick leave (including a sick leave without a medical certificate)
• A wide range of Voluntary Medical Insurance programs providing both medical treatment and various preventive options (including sports activities)
• Medical insurance for family members at corporate rates
• Company support during significant life events (childbirth or adoption, marriage, etc.)
• Support for psychological comfort: discounts on services from mental health specialists or coaches, thematic training
• E-kids program – a free programming language training program for EPAMers’ children

EPAM strives to provide its global team of over 52,800+ professionals in more than 55 countries with opportunities for professional growth from day one of collaboration. Our colleagues are the source of EPAM’s success, so we value cooperation, strive to always understand our clients’ business and aim for the highest quality standards. No matter where you are, you will join a dedicated, diverse community that will help you realize your potential to the fullest.