Sr Kafka Platform Engineer

American Electric Power • Columbus, OH

22h

About The Position

This role is responsible for engineering and operating the enterprise Kafka platform, which is a strategic, on‑prem data movement backbone. The focus is on platform stability, scalability, data safety, and enablement of producer/consumer teams.

Requirements

• Strong hands‑on Kafka experience in production environments.
• Understanding of distributed systems, messaging semantics, and fault tolerance.
• Experience with Kafka Deployments in Kubernetes Platform (OpenShift, Docker etc)
• Experience with Multi-Region High Availability on-premise deployments
• Experience with building producer/consumer applications using Kafka connectors
• Experience building custom microservices in Python/Java
• Experience with Kafka security (TLS, ACLs, RBAC).
• Ability to troubleshoot complex, cross‑team data flow issues.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or related technical field is required.
• 8 years of relevant work experience is required.
• An equivalent combination of education and related experience may be considered.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Schema Registry, Kafka Connect, MirrorMaker.
• Familiarity with enterprise integration platforms and patterns (APIM, Camunda, n8n.io, webMethods, Oracle SOA or similar technologies).
• Confluent Certified Administrator for Apache Kafka® (CCAAK)
• Confluent Certified Developer for Apache Kafka® (CCDAK)
• Confluent Certified Cloud Operator (CCAC)

Responsibilities

• Develop Kafka producers, consumers, and stream processors using Java Spring Boot, Python, or Node.js.
• Deploy and manage Kafka connectors (CDC, JDBC, IBM MQ, Redshift, etc.) in Confluent Kafka environments.
• Containerize and deploy microservices and connectors on OpenShift using Docker, YAML, and Kustomize.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions and Argo CD for automated deployments.
• Perform basic Kafka administration tasks such as topic creation, partitioning, replication, and monitoring.
• Collaborate with architects and business teams to understand integration requirements and deliver scalable solutions.
• Monitor Kafka clusters and connector health using tools like Confluent Control Center, Prometheus, Grafana, Dynatrace, Splunk and OpenShift-native monitoring.
• Build and maintain custom connectors for specialized data sources and sinks.
• Support production deployments and troubleshoot issues across Kafka pipelines and OpenShift environments.
• Clear understanding of cloud managed services including AWS, Azure cloud to deploy Confluent connectors for data integrations
• Support real-time data streaming between on-prem systems and cloud/SaaS platforms.
• Work closely with business teams, architects, and product owners to understand integration requirements.
• Coordinate with co-sourced/offshore teams for development and deployment tasks.
• Conduct code reviews, quality checks, and ensure adherence to standards.
• Ensure reliability and scalability of Kafka pipelines by applying 12-Factor principles and microservices architecture.
• Collaborate with architects and platform teams to align Kafka solutions with enterprise integration patterns and cloud strategies.
• Automate deployment, monitoring, and operational tasks wherever possible.
• Own integration deliverables from design through production deployment.
• Act as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Kafka-based integrations and cluster administration.

Benefits

• $116,255.00 - $151,132.50 Base Salary from $116,255.00 - $151,132.50 /year.
• AEP offers a unique comprehensive benefits package that aims to support and enhance the overall well-being of our employees.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior