Full Stack Engineer – Java, Kafka & AWS MSK Migration

Full Stack Engineer – Java, Kafka & AWS MSK MigrationLocation: Seattle, WA (In Office)Experience: 5–8 years (flexible)About the Role:Seeking an experienced Full Stack Engineer with strong Java expertise and deep hands-on Apache Kafka experience to lead and support the migration of existing Kafka infrastructure to Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (AWS MSK). This role blends backend engineering, streaming architecture, and cloud infrastructure skills to ensure a seamless, low-risk transition with minimal disruption to downstream consumers.Key Responsibilities:Lead technical migration of self-managed/on-prem Kafka clusters to AWS MSK — cluster sizing, topic replication, cutover planningDesign and implement Java-based microservices and APIs producing/consuming from Kafka topicsDevelop full-stack features (backend + UI integration) supporting event-driven architecturesRe-architect/refactor producer/consumer applications for MSK compatibility (IAM auth, TLS, VPC connectivity, security groups)Implement monitoring/alerting/observability using CloudWatch, Prometheus/Grafana, or equivalentDefine and execute data validation, dual-write/dual-read, and rollback strategies during cutoverOptimize Kafka topic partitioning, replication factor, retention policies, and consumer group configurationsCollaborate with DevOps/Infra teams on Terraform/CloudFormation-based MSK provisioningEnsure compliance with security, encryption (at-rest/in-transit), and access control standards (IAM, SASL/SCRAM, mTLS)Troubleshoot performance, latency, and throughput issues pre/post-migrationDocument migration runbooks, architecture decisions, and operational proceduresMentor junior engineers on Kafka/MSK best practicesRequired Skills & Experience:Java: Strong hands-on experience with Java (8/11/17), Spring Boot, REST API developmentKafka: Deep expertise in producers/consumers, Kafka Streams/Connect, schema registry (Avro/Protobuf), partition strategy, consumer group managementAWS MSK: Proven experience provisioning, configuring, and migrating workloads to AWS MSK; familiarity with MSK Connect, MSK ServerlessAWS Ecosystem: IAM, VPC, CloudWatch, Lambda, S3, Secrets ManagerFull Stack: Frontend framework exposure (React/Angular) is a plusDevOps: CI/CD (Jenkins/GitLab CI), Infrastructure as Code (Terraform/CloudFormation), Docker/KubernetesDatabases: SQL/NoSQL (PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, MongoDB)Experience with large-scale, mission-critical migrations in regulated environments (financial services preferred)Strong understanding of distributed systems, fault tolerance, and event-driven design patternsPreferred Qualifications:Prior experience migrating from self-managed Kafka (Confluent/Apache) to AWS MSKExperience in banking/financial services with knowledge of data governance and compliance requirementsAWS Certification (Solutions Architect / Developer Associate)