Staff Software Engineer I - Confluent Compute Platform

At IBM Software, we transform client challenges into AI‑powered, cloud‑native solutions that drive digital transformation across industries. As part of Confluent, the platform moves data in real‑time to help organizations build smarter applications. This role focuses on building an open, multi‑cluster compute substrate for Confluent Cloud. Responsibilities Multi‑Cluster Workload Orchestration: Build the control plane that manages workload placement, lifecycle, and state across multiple Kubernetes clusters per region. Platform APIs & Abstractions: Design and evolve APIs that provide clean abstractions for polyglot workload management across diverse compute needs. Cloud Platform Integration: Build and optimize deep integrations with the broader Confluent Cloud platform for seamless end‑to‑end operations. Multi‑Tenancy & Security: Implement and enhance workload isolation, network policies, and secure execution environments. Observability & Operations: Drive operational excellence through monitoring integration, automated health checks, and self‑healing capabilities. What You Will Do Drive the overall technical charter for the Compute Platform, including multi‑cluster orchestration, workload placement, and security architecture. Design and implement platform APIs and Kubernetes operators using Go to support evolving workload requirements. Work closely with product management and engineering leadership to build and drive the roadmap for Confluent's Compute Platform, enabling new business opportunities. Deliver high‑impact initiatives in areas such as workload scheduling, disruption management, network isolation, rolling update strategies, and cross‑cluster resource management. Lead technical design reviews and drive architectural decisions across organizational boundaries. Mentor and grow other engineers on the team through code reviews, pairing, and technical guidance. Own operational aspects including availability, reliability, performance monitoring, emergency response, and disaster recovery for the global compute infrastructure. Required Education Bachelor's Degree Preferred Education Master's Degree Required Technical and Professional Expertise 8+ years of experience delivering scalable software solutions. Proven track record of leading the delivery of large‑scale, highly available, low‑latency systems. Deep expertise in Kubernetes, including controller development, operator patterns, and multi‑cluster architectures. Strong proficiency in Go with experience building production‑grade distributed systems. Experience with multi‑tenant platform architectures and security isolation patterns. Preferred Technical and Professional Experience Familiarity with gRPC, Protobuf, and API design for internal platform services. Experience with observability tools and operational excellence practices. Experience with multi‑cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure) and cloud‑provider integrations. Track record of providing technical leadership and mentorship. Track record of working collaboratively across teams including product management, SRE, and other engineering teams. A smart, humble, and empathetic attitude with a strong sense of teamwork. Drive and excitement about the challenges of a fast‑paced, innovative software environment. Benefits Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well‑being. Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long‑term disability coverage, and performance‑based salary incentive programs. Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave, and other Paid Care Leave programs. Training and educational resources on a personalized AI‑driven learning platform to pursue industry‑recognized certifications. Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences. IBM is proud to be an equal‑opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status. #J-18808-Ljbffr IBM