Kafka Specialist – Data Infrastructure

What We’re Working OnWe’re supporting a fast-growing fintech platform undergoing major modernization of its real-time data infrastructure. Built on event-driven architecture and powered by Kafka, the system handles mission-critical messaging across multiple retail brands. We’re looking for a Kafka Architecture SME to help lead the next phase of remediation and optimization — ensuring scalability, security, and performance at production scale.

What You’ll DoJoin the team as a Kafka Architecture SME (Senior-level)Own and execute a set of high-priority Kafka remediation epicsUpgrade Kafka/MSK clusters and harden IAM and proxy securityDefine and implement retention, replication, and offloading strategiesEnable structured observability with metrics, telemetry, and alarmsReplace EventBridge dependencies with direct Kafka producers to reduce latencyCollaborate with architects, developers, and platform engineersWork remotely with a global team across multiple time zonesWhat We’re Looking For5+ years of experience working with Kafka in production environmentsDeep understanding of Kafka internals, replication, partitions, ISR, and retention policiesHands-on experience with AWS-native Kafka (MSK) and services like S3, Lambda, KMSExperience with Kafka monitoring and telemetry (CloudWatch, Grafana, etc.

)Strong focus on Kafka security, including IAM, secrets management, and proxy hardeningComfortable working autonomously and delivering results on tight timelinesFluent in English (spoken and written)This job is 100% Remote; however, it requires candidates to be working fully within the UK timezone. Please ensure you have a comfortable office set at your desired work location. Ongoing recruitment – no set deadline.