System Administrator

Kafka Admin - AutomationLocation: Tampa, FL / Jersey City, NJ - onsite 5 days per weekDuration: 6 monthsJob ResponsibilitiesManage and administer Apache Kafka and Confluent Platform environmentsAutomate infrastructure and deployment processes using IaC toolsDeploy and manage Kafka clusters on Kubernetes/OpenShiftEnsure high availability, scalability, and reliability of Kafka systemsMonitor system performance and optimize cluster operationsImplement and manage Kafka security frameworksHandle Kafka Connect and Schema Registry configurationsSupport disaster recovery and multi-region replication strategiesCollaborate with DevOps, platform, and engineering teamsDrive automation and continuous improvement initiativesResponsibilitiesConfigure and manage Kafka KRaft mode, topics, partitions, and replication factorsEnsure cluster high availability and fault toleranceMonitor Kafka clusters using Prometheus, Grafana, and Confluent Control CenterTrack key metrics such as broker health, consumer lag, and producer latencyPerform performance tuning and optimization of Kafka clustersImplement and automate security protocols including SSL/TLS, SASL, Kerberos, RBAC, and ACLsManage certificate lifecycle and secure communication channelsConfigure and maintain Kafka Connect with connectors like S3, JDBC, and SnowflakeManage Schema Registry for data governance and schema evolutionImplement disaster recovery strategies including Active-Passive clusters and Cluster LinkingSupport multi-region replication and failover mechanismsTroubleshoot and resolve complex Kafka and infrastructure issuesMaintain system documentation and operational proceduresEnsure compliance with enterprise security and operational standardsEssential SkillsStrong experience in Apache Kafka and Confluent Kafka administrationHands-on experience with automation tools like Ansible, Terraform, and GitOpsStrong knowledge of Kubernetes/OpenShift and Linux environmentsExperience with monitoring tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and JMXKnowledge of Kafka security including SSL, SASL, Kerberos, RBAC, and ACLsExperience with Kafka Connect and Schema RegistryStrong scripting skills in Python or ShellExperience in performance tuning and troubleshootingUnderstanding of networking and distributed systemsAbility to work independently and lead technical initiativeCore SkillsApache Kafka / Confluent KafkaInfrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible)Kubernetes / OpenShiftGitOps (ArgoCD, Jenkins)Kafka Connect & Schema RegistryMonitoring (Prometheus, Grafana)Security (SSL, SASL, Kerberos, RBAC, ACLs)Performance TuningDisaster Recovery & ReplicationPython / Shell ScriptingExperience Required: 6-8 years or above