Java Spark Engineer

Dear Applicant,Please let me know if you are interested.Position: Java Spark Engineer Location: Berkeley heights, NJ (5 days onsite per week)Hire Type: long term Contract Job Description:Responsibilities:• Architect and build scalable, fault-tolerant data pipelines using Apache Spark (Java)• Lead design of batch and streaming ETL/ELT systems handling large data volumes• Deep-dive performance tuning: partitioning strategy, memory management, shuffle/skew optimization, job cost reduction• Set coding standards and lead code/design reviews across the team• Drive technical decisions on data architecture, storage formats, and pipeline orchestration• Mentor mid-level and junior engineers; act as a technical escalation point• Partner with product, analytics, and platform teams to translate requirements into scalable systems• Own production reliability — on-call ownership, incident response, root-cause analysis for pipeline failures• Evaluate and introduce new tools/frameworks where they improve the system• Contribute to capacity planning and cost optimization for cluster infrastructureRequired Qualifications• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field• 7+ years of professional Java development experience• 5+ years hands-on experience with Apache Spark in production environments• Expert-level understanding of distributed systems: fault tolerance, data locality, shuffle mechanics, resource management• Proven track record designing systems processing terabyte+ scale data• Strong SQL skills and deep familiarity with columnar storage formats (Parquet, ORC, Avro, Delta Lake/Iceberg)• Experience with cluster managers (YARN, Kubernetes) and cloud-managed Spark• Proficiency with Kafka• Strong grasp of CI/CD, containerization, and infrastructure-as-code practicesPreferred Qualifications• Experience with Flink or other stream-processing frameworks• Familiarity with data governance, lineage, and quality frameworks• Experience with workflow orchestration at scale• Background in system design for multi-tenant or multi-region data platforms• Prior experience leading a team or acting as a technical leadSoft Skills / Leadership• Excellent communication — able to explain technical tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders• Strong mentorship and coaching ability• Comfortable driving ambiguous, cross-team technical initiativesBehavioral Skills:Good Communication skills5 days Work from Office at Berkley Heights, NJTeam PlayerAbility to work in a changing environmentStrong problem solving and analytical skillsAbility to work independently or within a teamManage day-to-day challenges and communicate developmental risks with the technical team