Java/Kafka Developer

C. Mack Solutions is in search of a Java/Kafka Developer to design, build, and deploy custom software and database application features across both legacy and modernized systems, operating with minimal supervision. As part of a product team, you will contribute alongside teammates, embracing a do-what-it-takes mindset to drive both product excellence and team success. The Java/Kafka Developer will Serve as an Agile Scrum team member providing software development and maintenance for the delivery of releasable software in short sprint cycles. Responsible for activities associated with delivery of software solutions associated with customer-defined systems and software projects by working in close collaboration with software?developers/engineers,?stakeholders, and end users within Agile processes.

As a Java/Kafka Developer, you'll be:

• Designing, developing, and implementing custom software and database application capabilities for a variety of legacy and modernized systems with limited oversight
• Acting as a member of a product team supporting teammates and collaborating with a do what it takes attitude to ensure product and team success
• Providing improvements to the product(s) being supported
• Actively participate in release and sprint planning, artifact creation, sprint testing, regression testing, demonstrations and retrospectives and solution releases
• Supporting release planning with conceptual design and development / refinement of software engineering guidelines
• Analyzing complex project-related problems and creating innovative solutions involving, scheduling, technology, methodology, tools and solution components
• Ensuring product quality and timeliness of work, providing advice and guidance, resolving problems to meet objectives, and providing periodic performance reports
• Providing mentoring to junior members of the team

You must live within the DC, MD, VA area.

U.S. Citizenship is required. Candidate must be able to obtain CBP Public Trust clearance.

• 5+ years of professional experience in Java backend development.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience building and deploying applications with Spring Boot.
• Deep, proven expertise with Apache Kafka, including both the Producer and Consumer APIs, Kafka Streams, and related concepts (e.g., topics, partitions, consumer groups, offsets).
• Strong experience implementing Kafka solutions using Spring framework. Proficiency with Kafka Schema Registry for schema management and evolution.
• Solid understanding of event-driven architectures, distributed systems, and microservices design patterns.
• Experience with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle) and ORM frameworks (e.g., Spring Data JPA, Hibernate).
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and teamwork abilities.
• Professional Experience: at least seven (7) years related technical experience, with software design, development and implementation
• College degree (B.S.) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Management Systems or a related discipline.
• Equivalent professional experience will be considered in lieu of degree

Preferred Skills and Experience:

• Direct experience with Confluent Kafka.
• Experience with other NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra) or in-memory data stores (e.g., Redis).
• A strong understanding of data governance and data quality principles in an event-driven context.
• DevOps experience/CI/CD pipeline.

Pulled from the full job description

• Health insurance
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance, Work Location: This position is limited to candidates residing in U.S. states where the company is currently registered to employ team members.

Salary Range: $75,000 - $155,000 annually

This position may be filled at the Entry, Mid, Senior, or SME level based on the selected candidate's qualifications and experience. Final compensation will be determined based on level alignment, experience, education, and internal equity.

Benefits: In addition to base compensation, this position is eligible for company-sponsored benefits, which may include medical, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans, paid time off, and other supplemental programs.