Senior Software Engineer - Connect Platform

We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them.

It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together.

One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will contribute to several key initiatives for the Connect Platform Team at Confluent. The Connect Platform team’s mission is to design, build, and operate critical components that bridge Apache Kafka with the wider ecosystem - making it seamless, secure, and scalable for enterprises to move data between Kafka and external systems, both on-premises and in Confluent Cloud. The team is responsible for both self-managed (on-prem) and fully managed (cloud) connectors, ensuring organizations can confidently integrate, govern, and manage streaming data flows to power event-driven architectures.
Confluent Connect is the industry-standard integration and ingestion framework for Kafka, enabling organizations to stream data between Kafka and hundreds of external systems (databases, SaaS, storage, legacy apps).

The team delivers key primitives such as:

• Single Message Transforms (SMTs)

• Authentication, security, tenant isolation, role-based access, and network controls

• Support for both self-managed and fully managed connectors

• Work with distributed systems, cloud-native development, and secure, scalable data integration

• Architect a complex engineering system from end to end

• Partner across engineering and other key stakeholders to create and execute the overall roadmap for delivering a top-notch Data Streaming Platform for our customers

• Evaluate and enhance the efficiency of our platform’s technology stack, keeping pace with industry trends and adopting state-of-the-art solutions

• Solve complicated technical projects with high quality and provide technical guidance to the team in specialized areas

• Enhance the stability, performance, scalability, and operational excellence across multiple critical systems

• 3-5 years of relevant software development experience

• Proven track record of leading the delivery of large-scale, secure, highly available, low latency, high quality systems

• Deep hands-on technical expertise in hyper-scale distributed systems engineering

• Experience running production services in the cloud and being part of on call rotation

• Expertise in cloud-native technology, including networking & security

• Experience with Java, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms is highly valued

• Strong collaboration skills and a growth mindset are essential, given the team’s cross-functional nature and focus on mentorship and operational excellence

• Prior experience working on AWS, GCP, or Azure and a deep understanding of cloud best practices

• Ability to influence the team, peers, and management using effective communication and collaborative techniques

• Proven experience in leading and mentoring technical teams

• Drive results by removing friction and improving the development stack with urgency and prioritization skills

• BS Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience. An advanced degree in computer science is preferred

Belonging isn’t a perk here. It’s the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what’s possible.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by law.

Confluent is an IBM subsidiary which has been acquired by IBM and will be integrated into the IBM organization. By proceeding with this application, you understand that Confluent will share your personal information with other IBM affiliates involved in your recruitment process, wherever these are located. More Information on how IBM protects your personal information, including the safeguards in case of cross-border data transfer, are available here.