Job Description

STRATEGIC STAFFING SOLUTIONS HAS AN OPENING!

Job Title: Kafka/Solace Engineer

Locations: Iselin, NJ/Charlotte, NC/Chandler, AZ

Duration: 12 Months
Role Type: W2 Contract Engagement

Job Description:

• Manage and maintain Solace PubSub+ and Apache Kafka clusters across on-prem and cloud environments.
• Design and implement high-availability and disaster recovery solutions using Solace redundancy groups and Kafka replication strategies.
• Perform performance tuning, capacity planning, and throughput optimization for messaging workloads.
• Analyze message flow bottlenecks and implement configuration changes to improve latency and reliability.
• Automate provisioning, monitoring, and operational tasks using scripting languages (Python, Shell) and tools like Ansible, Terraform, or Jenkins.
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines for middleware configuration and deployment.
• Ensure messaging platform security, compliance, and audit readiness (SOX, PCI, HIPAA).
• Implement authentication, authorization, and encryption mechanisms across Solace and Kafka environments.
• Collaborate with application development, infrastructure, and security teams to support business initiatives and integrated messaging solutions.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for middleware-related incidents and implement long-term solutions.
• Monitor platform health using tools like Solace Monitor, Kafka Manager, Prometheus, Grafana, and Splunk.
• Maintain detailed documentation for configurations, operational procedures, and recovery plans.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of Middleware Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through work experience, training, military service, or education.
• Deep expertise in Solace PubSub+ and Apache Kafka, including architecture, configuration, and operational management.
• Strong proficiency in scripting (Python, Shell) and automation tools (Ansible, Terraform, Jenkins).
• Experience with Linux/Unix environments and networking fundamentals.
• Familiarity with monitoring tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, Kafka Manager, and Solace Monitor.
• Knowledge of messaging security, RBAC, TLS, and compliance frameworks.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Excellent communication and documentation abilities.
• Proven leadership in incident management and change control processes.