Infrastructure Engineer 3 - Contingent (IBM MQ / Kafka)

Infrastructure Engineer 3 – Contingent (IBM MQ / Kafka)Location: Charlotte, NC / Minneapolis, MN / Chandler, AZ / Phoenix, AZ / Iselin, NJ Work Model: Hybrid (3 Days Onsite / 2 Days Remote) Work Type: Contract (Contingent) Positions: 5 Hours: 40 Hours per WeekShift Details• Schedule Options: Standard 8-hour shifts• Shift Timing: Monday – Friday• On-call requirement: YesMessaging Focused role They support IBM MQ, Kafka, Solace and Message Broker Candidate should have worked on at least 2-3 messaging platformsPrimary Focus: MQ & Kafka The Infrastructure Engineer 3 – Messaging is responsible for supporting enterprise-scale middleware and messaging platforms in a high-availability production environment. This role is heavily focused on IBM MQ and Kafka, along with other messaging technologies, ensuring system reliability, performance, and scalability. This role requires strong expertise in messaging platforms, incident management, automation, and enterprise infrastructure support, along with the ability to work in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment.Key ResponsibilitiesMessaging Platform Support• Support IBM MQ (WebSphere MQ) and Kafka environments• Manage queues, topics, brokers, and message flows• Ensure high availability and system reliabilityIncident Management• Perform L2/L3 production support• Troubleshoot messaging failures and system issues• Conduct root cause analysis and implement preventive solutionsSystem Performance & Optimization• Monitor and tune messaging systems for performance• Optimize throughput and reduce latencyPlatform Administration• Configure and maintain MQ, Kafka, Solace environments• Support deployments, upgrades, and patchingCollaboration• Work with application, DevOps, and infrastructure teams• Support enterprise integrations and cross-platform communicationDocumentation & Compliance• Maintain operational documentation and runbooks• Follow enterprise policies, standards, and compliance requirementsMust-Have Qualifications• 7+ years of Infrastructure Engineering experience• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Messaging platforms• Strong experience with IBM MQ (Required)• Strong experience with Kafka (Required)• Experience with at least 2–3 messaging platforms (MQ, Kafka, Solace, Message Broker)• Strong production support / L2-L3 experience• Experience supporting enterprise, highly available environmentsPreferred Qualifications• Experience with IBM Message Broker / ACE / IIB• Experience with Solace• Automation experience (Ansible, Udeploy)• Linux / Unix platform experienceCore Competencies• Messaging platform engineering• Production support & troubleshooting• Incident management• Performance tuning• Communication and collaborationWork Environment• Enterprise IT Infrastructure environment• High-availability production systems• Hybrid work model (3 days onsite)Additional Requirements• Must be eligible to work in the US• Must be flexible for on-call rotation• Strong communication and problem-solving skills