Kafka (Subject Matter Expert)

GovCIO; Garden City (ID); Remote; USD 150,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

A government IT services provider is seeking a Kafka Subject Matter Expert to support USPS’s CASI group. This role involves integrating Kafka into enterprise architectures and providing high-level technical guidance. Candidates should have significant experience in Kafka implementations and cloud services. The position is fully remote in the U.S. and offers competitive compensation ranging from $150,000 to $195,000 annually.

Benefits

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Corporate Discounts

Learning & Development resources

Flexible Work Environment

Pet Insurance

Qualifications

• 20+ years of experience or equivalent experience in related field.
• Hands-on experience with Kafka implementation.
• Ability to produce IT technical artifacts.
• Knowledge of Kafka architecture and use cases.

Responsibilities

• Provide analysis support for Kafka integration.
• Troubleshoot production Kafka issues.
• Conduct research on Kafka best practices.
• Define standards for Kafka lifecycle management.

Skills

Kafka event streaming

Design principles

Cloud services

SQL and NoSQL databases

Generative AI

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Apache Kafka

Confluent Platform

Azure Event Hub

Job description

Overview

GovCIO is currently hiring for a Kafka (Subject Matter Expert) to support our customer, USPS and their CIO Architecture, Strategy & Innovation (CASI) group. The CASI team assists the Vice President of IT design, develop, maintain, support, and translate corporate business vision and strategy along with stakeholder input into objectives for building, enhancing, or replacing business and IT systems capabilities, together with an IT roadmap implementation, while maintaining resilience to change as a key architectural and strategy objective for the enterprise. This position is full remote within the United States.

To support the USPS mission, projects, and system requirements, USPS requires sophisticated information technology systems support services by experienced professionals. The CASI team demonstrates leadership by evaluating and driving implementation of innovative solutions for technology infrastructure and application architecture.

Responsibilities

• Analysis support to integrate new kafka cluster and event stream requirements into established large-scale, production enterprise architectures.
• Conduct Design and Architecture assessments and provide written recommendations for integrating kafka event streams within an application domain or enterprise event brokering.
• Troubleshoot production kafka event streams and software integration issues as top tier internal support, including review of performance issues and proposing resolutions.
• Conduct research and provide written reviews of kafka ecosystem best practices and innovative strategies for hybrid multi-cloud high availability.
• Conduct proof of concept activities and build prototypes for kafka technology stack components in sandbox environments to assess new capabilities.
• Define and implement standards and patterns for kafka ecosystem life cycle, test-driven protection schemes, and automated implementation strategies.
• Devise strategies and roadmaps for enterprise expansion of kafka ecosystem capabilities, integrations, and governance.
• Strategy and compliance reviews and recommendations for enterprise kafka ecosystem elements which may include the following: architecture frameworks, databases, network, web and application architecture resources, backup and recovery, high availability, disaster recovery, patch management and analytics.
• Querying and managing data in both SQL and NoSQL databases.

Qualifications

Bachelor\'s with 20+ years (or commensurate experience)

• Hands-on experience designing and implementing kafka event streaming capabilities in applications and infrastructure across hybrid multi-cloud environments.
• Experience producing IT technical artifacts, with an emphasis on kafka event streams, including design documents, architecture diagrams, architecture assessments, white papers, test plans, requirements mapping, and implementation plans.
• In-depth knowledge of design principles and inner workings of kafka implementations and applicable use cases for migrating applications from legacy style to modern style with the use of Event Streams and Async APIs.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Apache Kafka, Confluent Platform, Confluent Cloud.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Apache Strimzi, Confluent for Kubernetes.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Cloud services with Kafka API compatibility (e.g. Azure Event Hub, Amazon MSK).
• Demonstrable knowledge of Confluent Schema Registry and serialization using JSON and AVRO schemas.
• Demonstrable knowledge of kafka replication options including Mirror Maker, Confluent Cluster Linking and Schema Linking.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Confluent Identity Mgmt and RBAC, integrated/federated with enterprise IDP & role management.
• Demonstrable knowledge of Kafka Client APIs (Producer, Consumer, Streams).
• Demonstrable knowledge of Kafka Connect and Connectors (e.g. JDBC, Cassandra, Google BigQuery, Websphere MQ, etc).
• Demonstrable knowledge of sizing and capacity planning for kafka clusters.
• Demonstrable knowledge of kafka topic partitioning strategies including partition key design strategies.

Additional Requirements

• Using design patterns for building scalable and maintainable applications/solutions.
• Clearly document code, models, and technical solutions.
• Proficiency in Generative AI and prompt engineering.
• Continuous learning and adaptability in a very large IT organization
• Communicating complex technical concepts to both technical and executive stakeholders.
• Troubleshooting software and technical implementations in large-scale enterprise ecosystems.
• Understanding of concepts like CI/CD, containerization, and deployment strategies for kafka components in large-scale production environments.
• Querying and managing data in both SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Proficiency creating technical diagrams with products like Microsoft Visio or Draw.io.
• Proficiency creating technical design and architecture documents in Microsoft Word.
• Proficiency creating business and technical presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Proficiency creating data representations, charts and reports in tools such as Microsoft Excel worksheets and Power BI.

Clearance Required

US Citizenship or Permanent Residency (Green card) is required to obtain and maintain the Public Trust

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Integrating kafka event streams with Agentic AI workflows.

Company Overview

GovCIO is a team of transformers--people who are passionate about transforming government IT. Every day, we make a positive impact by delivering innovative IT services and solutions that improve how government agencies operate and serve our citizens.

What You Can Expect

Interview & Hiring Process

If you are selected to move forward through the process, here’s what you can expect:

• During the Interview Process
• Virtual video interview conducted via video with the hiring manager and/or team
• Camera must be on
• A valid photo ID must be presented during each interview
• During the Hiring Process
• Enhanced Biometrics ID verification screening
• Background check, to include:
• Criminal history (past 7 years)
• Verification of your highest level of education
• Verification of your employment history (past 7 years), based on information provided in your application

Employee Perks

At GovCIO, we consistently hear that meaningful work and a collaborative team environment are two of the top reasons our employees enjoy working here. In addition, our employees have access to a range of perks and benefits to support their personal and professional well-being, beyond the standard company offered health benefits, including:

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Corporate Discounts
• Learning & Development platform, to include certification preparation content
• Training, Education and Certification Assistance*
• Referral Bonus Program
• Internal Mobility Program
• Pet Insurance
• Flexible Work Environment

*Available to full-time employees

Our employees’ unique talents and contributions are the driving force behind our success in supporting our customers, which ultimately fuels the success of our company. Join us and be a part of a culture that invests in its people and prioritizes continuous enhancement of the employee experience.

Equal Opportunity

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. EOE, including disability/vets.

Compensation

Posted Salary Range: USD $150,000.00 - USD $195,000.00 /Yr.

Base pay offered may vary depending on factors including market location, knowledge, skills, education, experience, and internal equity. The total compensation package may include other elements, to be discussed during the hiring process. If hired, employee will be in an at-will position and GovCIO reserves the right to modify base salary or other compensation programs at any time.

Location

US-Remote

ID

2025-6452

Category

Software Engineering Services

Position Type

Full-Time