Staff Engineer, Cloud Platform (Kafka)
Calix · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $170,000 / year
- United States
Job highlights
- Design and build scalable Kafka solutions.
- Automate platform component lifecycles.
- Build cloud-native CI/CD pipelines.
- Provide technical leadership and mentorship.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams.
About the role
Staff Engineer, Cloud Platform (Kafka)
The Cloud Platform Engineering team at Calix is responsible for the Platforms, Tools, and CI/CD pipelines at Calix. Our mission is to enable Calix engineers to accelerate the delivery of world-class products while ensuring the high availability, reliability, security, and performance expected by our customers.
We are seeking Cloud Platform Engineers with proven expertise in the design and building of large-scale Cloud Infrastructure Platforms and managing the Kafka Infrastructure to join our team and help us deliver the foundation on which Calix products can thrive. You will help us achieve our mission through innovative solutions.
Responsibilities:
- Design, build, and maintain a scalable and reliable Kafka solution using KRaft, Strimzi, Zookeeper, etc.
- Implement integration with KRaft and Strimzi for coordination and leader election.
- Automate the entire lifecycle of platform components from provisioning through decommissioning.
- Help solve problems related to building a global Kafka architecture considering scalability, replication, schema registries and self-service IaC workflows to solve for different use cases such as high traffic telemetry (logs & metrics), business critical events and data processing.
- Ensure Observability is an integral part of the infrastructure platforms and provides adequate visibility about their health, utilization, and cost.
- Build Cloud native CI/CD pipelines, tools and automation that enables developer autonomy and improves their productivity.
- Build tools that predict saturations/failures and take preventive actions through automation.
- Collaborate extensively with cross functional teams to understand their requirements; educate them through documentation/training and improve the adoption of the platforms/tools.
- Provide technical leadership for your peers and help them deliver the best solutions to the rest of Calix.
- As an expert in your area, set the tone for how your team operates, emphasizing modern, rigorous software development practices that emphasize testability, repeatability, and self-service automation.
- Conduct code reviews and mentor more junior developers.
- Openly collaborate with other teams’ leads and help raise the bar of engineering excellence across the entire organization.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; or equivalent work experience.
- 10+ years of experience in building large scale distributed systems in an always available production environment.
- 5+ years of experience in building Infrastructure Platforms and CI/CD pipelines in a major public cloud provider – GCP preferred.
- Strong hands-on experience designing integration solutions using Kafka and awareness of integration best practices for data streaming solutions.
- Strong skills in In-memory applications, Data Integration.
- Strong awareness of Kafka ecosystem, KRaft, Strimzi, Zookeeper, Kafka cluster, Kafka broker, producer, consumer, Connectors, different APIs, Kafka Topic etc.
- Strong hands-on SQL connector, HTTP connector etc.
- Strong knowledge on different APIs exposed by Kafka to handle the integration, data streaming and for data management.
- Strong awareness on designing deployment architecture for Kafka solutions.
- Solid hands-on Kafka deployment and configuration.
- Experience on production deployment, invoking Kafka components as background processes, configuration, troubleshooting and environment maintenance.
- In-depth knowledge of Kubernetes and its ecosystem – Containerd/Docker, Helm/Plulumi, ServiceMesh, Terraform/Terragrunt, Ansible, ArgoCD/Workflow, Tekton, etc.
- Hands-on experience with observability platforms/tools like ELK/Fluentd/Fluenbit, Grafana/Prometheus/OpenTelemetry, Cortex/InfluxDB etc.
- Experience in Python, Golang or a similar language.
- Proven experience in leading major initiatives from requirements, design, and implementation to ongoing lifecycle management.
- Experience in coaching and mentoring junior engineers; strong verbal and written communications.
- Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot complex issues and implement effective solutions.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team environment.
Location:
- India – (Flexible hybrid work model - work from Bangalore office for 20 days in a quarter)
The base pay range for this position varies based on the geographic location. More information about the pay range specific to candidate location and other factors will be shared during the recruitment process. Individual pay is determined based on location of residence and multiple factors, including job-related knowledge, skills and experience.
San Francisco Bay Area: 156,400 - 265,700 USD Annual
All Other US Locations: 136,000 - 231,000 USD Annual
As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for a bonus. For information on our benefits click here.
Key skills/competency
- Staff Engineer Cloud Platform Kafka
- Kafka
- Cloud Infrastructure
- CI/CD Pipelines
- Kubernetes
- Observability
- Python
- Golang
- Distributed Systems
- Technical Leadership
Skills & topics
- Staff Engineer
- Cloud Platform
- Kafka
- GCP
- Kubernetes
- CI/CD
- Distributed Systems
- Observability
- Python
- Golang
- Infrastructure Engineering
- Technical Leadership
- Data Streaming
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight your 10+ years in distributed systems and 5+ years in cloud infrastructure and CI/CD, emphasizing GCP and Kafka expertise.
- Showcase leadership: Detail your experience leading major initiatives, mentoring junior engineers, and driving engineering excellence.
- Prepare for technical deep-dives: Be ready to discuss Kafka ecosystem components (KRaft, Strimzi, Zookeeper), Kubernetes, and observability tools.
- Demonstrate problem-solving: Articulate your approach to troubleshooting complex distributed systems issues and implementing solutions.
- Research Calix: Understand their mission, products, and culture to align your application and interview responses.
Technical preparation
Master Kafka components: KRaft, Strimzi, Zookeeper.,Deepen Kubernetes and cloud native expertise.,Practice Python or Golang for automation.,Familiarize with observability tools.
Behavioral questions
Describe a complex distributed system issue you resolved.,How do you mentor junior engineers effectively?,How do you drive adoption of new platforms?,Explain your approach to cross-functional collaboration.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the key responsibilities for a Staff Engineer, Cloud Platform (Kafka) at Calix?
- As a Staff Engineer, Cloud Platform (Kafka) at Calix, you will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining scalable Kafka solutions, implementing CI/CD pipelines, providing technical leadership, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure the reliability and performance of Calix's cloud infrastructure.
- What technical skills are most important for this Staff Engineer role at Calix?
- The most critical technical skills include deep expertise in Kafka (KRaft, Strimzi, Zookeeper), cloud platforms (GCP preferred), Kubernetes and its ecosystem, CI/CD tools, observability platforms, and programming languages like Python or Golang.
- What is the expected experience level for a Staff Engineer, Cloud Platform (Kafka) at Calix?
- Calix is looking for candidates with at least 10 years of experience in building large-scale distributed systems and a minimum of 5 years of experience in building infrastructure platforms and CI/CD pipelines within a major public cloud provider.
- How does Calix approach hybrid work for this role in Bangalore, India?
- The role in Bangalore, India, offers a flexible hybrid work model, requiring employees to work from the Bangalore office for 20 days per quarter, allowing for a balance between remote and in-office collaboration.
- What opportunities are there for technical leadership and mentorship in this position?
- This Staff Engineer role offers significant opportunities to provide technical leadership to peers, mentor junior engineers through code reviews and guidance, and help set the engineering standards and practices for the team.
- How does Calix ensure observability within its cloud platform infrastructure?
- Observability is a core component of the infrastructure platforms at Calix. The team utilizes tools like ELK, Grafana, Prometheus, and OpenTelemetry to provide deep visibility into the health, utilization, and cost of the systems.
- What is the expected career growth for a Staff Engineer at Calix?
- As a Staff Engineer, you are expected to provide technical leadership, influence engineering best practices, and drive major initiatives. Career growth can involve deepening expertise, leading larger projects, or moving into broader architectural roles within the organization.