Staff Software Engineer

We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them. It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together. One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform. ABOUT THE ROLE: We are looking for a staff level technical leader to help us build the next-generation network data plane to enable our Confluent Cloud platform to achieve 10x the current scale. This is a hybrid engineering role, blending deep software development expertise with hands-on operational excellence. Cloud networking is a strategic investment area with significant potential to impact the company's growth. The Traffic team is responsible for the network platform of Confluent Cloud with a focus on performance, security, reliability, and cost optimizations for all network traffic that ingresses and egresses a customer's Kafka and DSP deployments as well as all internal service to service traffic on Confluent Cloud. You will architect, design and lead cross-team initiatives to deliver highly scalable, cost efficient, networking data plane solutions, while also ensuring these systems are reliable, observable, and resilient in production. You’ll work across engineering, security, product, and platform orgs to deliver building blocks that empower product teams to integrate networking seamlessly. WHAT YOU WILL DO: - Design, develop, and operationalize high-performance, scalable, reliable, and resilient systems for the Confluent Cloud network data plane platform. - Independently drive the execution of ambiguously scoped cross-team software projects, ensuring the delivery of complex projects in production with a focus on quality. - Leverage cloud providers to deliver impactful business solutions. - Troubleshoot and improve operations for a complex technical stack that spans across AWS, Azure, and GCP, including microservices, containers, and virtualization. WHAT YOU WILL BRING: - BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent work experience. - 8+ years of software engineering industry experience. - Strong fundamentals in distributed systems design and development. - Experience in building and operating large-scale systems. - Solid understanding of networking primitives and protocols. - Self-starter with the ability to work effectively in teams. - Proficiency in C++, Go, Python, or other programming languages WHAT GIVES YOU AN EDGE: - Experience with Kubernetes. - Experience with network proxies and/or load balancers. - Experience with public clouds (AWS, Azure, or GCP). READY TO BUILD WHAT'S NEXT? LET’S GET IN MOTION. COME AS YOU ARE 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. PRIVACY STATEMENT Confluent is an IBM subsidiary which has been acquired by IBM and will be integrated into the IBM organization. By proceeding with this application, you understand that Confluent will share your personal information with other IBM affiliates involved in your recruitment process, wherever these are located. More Information on how IBM protects your personal information, including the safeguards in case of cross-border data transfer, are available here http://ibm.com/careers/us-en/privacy-policy/.