Senior Software Engineer II - Confluent Cloud Platform (Remote)

IBM Software transforms client challenges into solutions by building AI-powered, cloud-native products. The Senior Software Engineer II will lead the design and delivery of large-scale backend systems for the Confluent Cloud Platform, ensuring they are secure, highly available, and easy to operate across various environments.

Responsibilities:

• Own and lead the design and implementation of complex backend services and systems in a cloud-native, microservices-based environment
• Make architecture and technical decisions that balance reliability, scalability, performance, and operability, and clearly communicate the tradeoffs
• Drive projects end to end: from requirements and design through implementation, rollout, and ongoing operation in production
• Improve service reliability and operations by defining SLOs/SLAs, strengthening observability, and participating in on-call as needed
• Collaborate across teams to define APIs, integration points, and data models that keep the platform coherent and evolvable
• Identify and drive platform and productivity improvements (tooling, automation, process) that raise the bar for the broader engineering organization
• Mentor and support other engineers through code reviews, design reviews, and technical guidance, helping grow the team’s capabilities
• Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement, inclusive collaboration, and high technical standards

Requirements:

• 7+ years of experience building, scaling, and operating production-grade backend systems
• Strong proficiency in at least one backend language (Java, Go, C/C++, or Python) with solid fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and system design
• Hands-on experience with distributed systems, including event-driven architectures and large-scale services, with an understanding of consistency, fault tolerance, and performance tradeoffs
• Experience operating in cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure), including containers (Docker, Kubernetes) and modern deployment practices
• Proven technical leadership and strong communication skills, with the ability to drive projects, influence architecture, and collaborate effectively across teams
• Master's Degree
• Experience building or operating mission-critical, multi-tenant, or multi-region services with strict availability and latency requirements
• Familiarity with data streaming technologies such as Apache Kafka, Flink, or similar systems
• Previous work in security, governance, or compliance-sensitive backend domains