Senior Software Engineer - Confluent
IBM · Posted Oct 27
Hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, quantum computing, and IT consulting services
Get a personal compatibility score
Add a resume for personal matches
About the role
IBM Software builds AI-powered, cloud-native products and works on digital transformation solutions. The Confluent backend team builds foundational cloud frameworks and services, including a multi-tenant, multi-cloud compute substrate for Confluent Cloud and Kafka Connect connectors. This Senior Software Engineer role develops and operates high-performance backend services and Kafka connectors, troubleshoots distributed systems, and supports on-call and operational excellence.
What you will do
- Build mission-critical infrastructure: Develop, test, and operationalize high-performance, scalable, and resilient backend services.
- Build and evolve Kafka connectors: Design, develop, and maintain Kafka Connect connectors for integrating with external data systems.
- Scale and optimize connector performance: Solve complex challenges in the stream processing space using cloud and on-premises resources to improve the performance, scalability, and elasticity of Kafka Connectors.
- Troubleshoot & debug: Dive into a complex technical stack that includes microservices, Kubernetes, containers, and virtualization to resolve issues and optimize performance.
- Support operational excellence: Participate in on-call rotations, ensure the operational readiness of our services, and help the team meet availability and performance SLA commitments.
- Innovate & improve: Act as a proactive engineer who identifies and suggests architectural, process, and operational improvements.
- 4+ years of industry experience designing, building, and supporting backend systems in production.
- Solid engineering fundamentals with a deep focus on software quality, code reviews, documentation, and automated testing.
- Strong programming and algorithmic skills, with proficiency in major programming languages such as Java, Go, C/C++, or Python.
- Cloud-native experience, including hands-on experience or strong familiarity with configuring and deploying distributed systems and microservices using modern tools (e.g., Kubernetes, Helm, Docker).
- Operational awareness, with experience participating in on-call rotations and a strong desire to build reliable, production-grade cloud services.
- Self-starter mentality, with the ability to work effectively in a team and excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Collaborative mindset, featuring a strong sense of customer centricity, teamwork, and a drive to learn and grow alongside your peers.
- Educational background: BS or MS in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
- Experience contributing to large-scale, highly available, low-latency, and high-throughput data systems.
- Knowledge of control planes, data planes, and multi-tenant resource management in public clouds (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
- Prior experience working with or extending the internal architecture of Apache Kafka® or Kafka Connect.
Skills used in this role
Benefits and support
- Compensation and benefits are detailed in the job posting
About IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company that provides hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence, and enterprise infrastructure solutions. Operating in over 175 countries, IBM helps businesses across industries modernize operations, secure data, and drive digital transformation through platforms like watsonx and Red Hat OpenShift. Founded over a century ago, the company remains a pioneer in high-performance computing, enterprise automation, and quantum technology.
- Industry
- Information Technology
- Company size
- 260,000+ employees
- Founded
- June 16, 1911
- Location
- Armonk, New York, USA
- Funding stage
- Public Company
Funding
Public Company · $3.5B raised
- ·Post Ipo Debt$150M
Leadership
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Senior Vice President, Software and Chief Commercial Officer
Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Recent coverage
IBM Newsroom
Expanding enterprise data engineering with Apache Flink® stream processing2026-10-20
IBM Newsroom
IBM named a Leader in the 2026 IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Agentic AI Platforms2026-10-14
IBM Newsroom
Cleveland Clinic, RIKEN and IBM Finalists for 2026 ACM Gordon Bell Prize in Quantum-Centric Supercomputing2026-09-09
IBM Newsroom
Wimbledon and IBM Introduce New AI-Powered Fan Experiences and Modernized Digital Platforms for The Championships 20262026-07-08