Principal Kafka Administration Consultant

Project Description:

The Kafka Administrator is responsible for managing, maintaining, and monitoring Apache Kafka clusters within an organization. This role involves ensuring high availability, performance, and security of Kafka environments. The Kafka Administrator collaborates with development, infrastructure, and operations teams to support Kafka-based applications, troubleshoot issues, and optimize the platform for scalability and reliability.

Job Description:

- 10+ years of experience in infrastructure, 3+ years as Kafka Administrator or in a similar role managing Kafka clusters.

- Proven experience as a Kafka Administrator or in a similar role managing Kafka clusters.

- Strong understanding of distributed systems, data streaming, and event-driven architectures.

- Experience with Linux/Unix operating systems and shell scripting.

- Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) is a plus.

Job Responsibilities:

1. **Cluster Management:**

- Install, configure, and maintain Kafka clusters across various environments (development, testing, production).

- Perform upgrades and patching of Kafka and related components (e.g., Zookeeper).

- Ensure optimal performance and reliability of Kafka clusters.

2. **Monitoring and Troubleshooting:**

- Monitor Kafka cluster health and performance using tools like Prometheus, Grafana, or proprietary monitoring solutions.

- Diagnose and resolve issues related to Kafka brokers, topics, partitions, and consumers.

- Implement proactive measures to prevent potential issues.

3. **Security and Compliance:**

- Implement and manage security protocols for Kafka, including SSL/TLS encryption, Kerberos authentication, and access control policies.

- Ensure compliance with organizational and industry standards for data security and privacy.

4. **Capacity Planning and Scalability:**

- Perform capacity planning to ensure the Kafka infrastructure can handle current and future workloads.

- Optimize Kafka configurations for performance and scalability based on application requirements.

5. **Backup and Recovery:**

- Develop and maintain disaster recovery plans for Kafka environments.

- Implement and test backup and restore procedures to ensure data integrity and availability.

6. **Collaboration and Support:**

- Work closely with development teams to understand Kafka usage patterns and provide guidance on best practices.

- Provide support for Kafka-related issues, including on-call support as needed.

- Document Kafka infrastructure, configurations, and operational procedures.

7. **Automation and Scripting:**

- Develop automation scripts for routine tasks such as cluster provisioning, monitoring, and maintenance using tools like Ansible, Puppet, or custom scripts.

- Implement CI/CD pipelines for Kafka-related deployments and updates.