Staff Software Engineer

Requirements:

• Deep Expertise: BS, MS, or PhD in computer science or a related field, or equivalent work experience, typically involving 8+ years of relevant experience in stream processing or large-scale distributed systems
• Architectural Acumen: Demonstrated strong fundamentals and extensive experience in the architecture, design, and development of a complex engineering system from end to end
• Strategic Influence: Proven ability to lead efforts with a group OR own a deep technical area individually, and effectively align small groups on technical direction
• Cloud Native Knowledge: Strong understanding of cloud engineering principles, including building and operating mission-critical systems in public cloud environments
• Polyglot Proficiency: Proficiency in Go, Java, Scala, or Rust with the ability to contribute technically to development in these languages

Nice to Have:

• Specialized Domain Knowledge: Deep expertise in the design, implementation, and optimization of large-scale, fault-tolerant state management systems, distributed storage systems, or high-throughput messaging systems
• Open Source Engagement: Recognized, impactful technical contributions to open-source stream processing projects, particularly Apache Flink
• Cloud Operations: Hands-on experience designing and operating Kubernetes operators for distributed applications

What You'll Be Doing:

• Architect and Drive Technical Strategy: Own the architecture and technical strategy for a complex engineering system (e.g., a core component of scheduling, deployment, autoscaling, or state management) within the Flink engine
• Contribute to the broader technical vision and translate it into actionable, high-impact projects aligned with Confluent Cloud’s strategic goals
• Exercise sound judgment in balancing short-term implementation efforts versus long-term architectural health
• Complex Project Execution: Independently drive the execution of open-ended, complicated technical projects within your area of expertise or across peer teams from inception through production
• Identify and initiate high leverage, high impact projects in your area of expertise and gain buy-in from stakeholders
• Significantly simplify the complexity of code and design to help the team and company move fast
• Technical Expertise and Operational Excellence: Serve as the sought-out technical expert for your domain, driving great quality and impact to architectural designs for your team and peer teams
• Improve the stability, performance, scalability, and operational excellence across multiple critical systems within the SPA team
• Act as a subject matter expert for troubleshooting and improving operational automation, proactively addressing systemic issues
• Mentorship and Communication: Demonstrate strong, clear, succinct technical communication skills (written and verbal) to drive clear decisions and uplevel communication for the team
• Mentor and coach junior and mid-level engineers, helping the team grow sustainably (e.g., by setting up processes/tools that make others successful)

Perks and Benefits:

• Belonging isn’t a perk here, it’s the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what’s possible
• We’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by law