> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/3824331-confluent-senior-software-engineer-kafka](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/3824331-confluent-senior-software-engineer-kafka). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Confluent - Senior Software Engineer - Kafka - **Company:** IBM - **Location:** Poughkeepsie, NY, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Amazon Web Services, Apache HTTP Server, Microsoft Azure, C++ (Programming Language), Databases, Distributed Systems, Google Cloud, System Availability, Caching, Information Technology, Apache Kafka, Confluent - **Published:** October 18, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.dice.com/job-detail/e700707d-14c3-452f-8df6-c765107ac544 ## About the Role Bachelor's Degree Preferred education Master's Degree Required technical and professional expertise * Expertise in C++ and/or Rust * 3-5 years of demonstrated professional work experience building database technologies * Experience in building and operating large-scale database systems * Distributed Systems domain experience * Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence and guide stakeholders at all levels. Preferred technical and professional experience * Familiarity with or has experience contributing to the following open-source technologies: Apache Iceberg, Velox, Substrait * Experience/knowledge with public clouds (AWS, Azure or Google Cloud Platform) * Computer Science Degree with Specialization in Database Technologies, Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background. Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do. Are you ready to be an IBMer?, IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship. ## Description As a Senior Software Engineer on the team, you will focus on advancing key layers of the Realtime Context Engine project, including its multi-tenant, highly available compute infrastructure, and the core components responsible for query execution and background materialization. You will tackle challenges such as developing strategies for efficient execution and at massive scale across all of Confluent Cloud, ensuring high availability and scalability. What You Will Do: Query Engine Development: Design and implement innovative strategies for query execution, planning, and caching at massive scale. Platform Engineering: Build and maintain multi-tenant, highly available infrastructure that powers computational tasks for Lightning tables and the realtime context engine. Ensure that the platform is optimized for scalability, reliability, and resilience, in alignment with organizational objectives. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with product management, design, and other engineering teams to ensure seamless integration of storage features and infrastructure with the broader organization.