Principal Software Developer – Kafka

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Design, develop, and implement next-generation applications utilizing contemporary software engineering methodologies.

• Utilize AI-driven development, data streaming, infrastructure-as-code, containerization, and platform-as-a-service technologies.

• Upgrade the FAA TFDM platform.

• Offer architectural guidance for software development, Kafka/data streaming, integration, test automation, security testing, and deployment processes.

• Provide practical software expertise and mentorship in areas such as application integration, Kafka/data streaming, SOA, security, business rules processing, CI/CD, containerization, reporting, and user experience.

• Investigate and resolve defects in Kafka/data streaming, CI/CD, front-end, business logic, middleware, and backend components.

• Update executive leadership or clients on issues of considerable organizational or project significance.

• Perform additional duties as assigned or instructed.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, mathematics, engineering, or a related technical field.

• Over 12 years of experience in full lifecycle development.

• More than 3 years of direct experience in designing, developing, and maintaining Apache Kafka or other production streaming data solutions.

• At least 7 years of software development experience with Java, C++, or Python.

• Familiarity with AI-driven development, including agentic coding tools, multi-agent orchestration, MCP-based integration, RAG, context engineering, and AI evaluations/guardrails.

• Experience in Agile software development environments.

• Must be capable of obtaining and maintaining a Public Trust clearance.

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.

• Willingness to travel up to 25% as required.

• Extensive experience in Java along with proficiency in at least one other language such as C++ or Python.

• Strong grasp of object-oriented design, software architecture, design patterns, distributed systems, and modern software engineering practices.

• Experience in modernizing legacy applications with containerized solutions on OpenShift/Kubernetes.

• Practical experience in developing event-driven applications and utilizing Kafka Streams, Apache Flink, or ksqlDB.

• Expert-level production experience in designing, deploying, tuning, and troubleshooting Apache Kafka or similar platforms.

• Experience in designing high-volume, low-latency, and highly available event-driven systems.

• In-depth knowledge of Event Driven Architecture (EDA).

• Experience in applying AI-assisted software development methodologies.

• Expertise in operational excellence, security, reliability, performance, cost optimization, and sustainability.

• Proficient in identifying requirements, assessing technical alternatives, and leading complex enterprise solution design and execution.

• Experience in architecting and deploying cloud-native applications on AWS.

• Familiarity with monitoring, scalability, and application reliability tools.

• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills.

• Preferred: Experience in the FAA development environment.

• Preferred: Experience in AI specification-driven development.

• Preferred: Knowledge of secrets/configuration management and scripting.

• Preferred: Background in network and security engineering.

• Preferred: Experience with Istio or OpenShift Service Mesh.

• Preferred: Experience with automated unit testing, TDD, BDD, JUnit, Mockito, Cucumber, Selenium, or Sikuli.

• Preferred: Familiarity with Red Hat OpenShift/Kubernetes, Docker/Podman, and Helm.

• Preferred: Experience in enterprise DevOps/GitOps using GitLab, Argo tools, and Git.

• Preferred: Knowledge of Ansible, CloudFormation, or Terraform.

• Preferred: AWS Cloud certifications.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive salary.

• Health and Wellness programs.

• Income Protection.

• Paid Leave.

• Retirement benefits.

• Option for remote work.

• Opportunity to contribute to the FAA TFDM digital modernization.

• Mentorship and architectural leadership opportunities.