Lead Software Developer - Hybrid Enterprise Connect

Introduction

At IBM Software, we transform client challenges into solutions. Building the world’s leading AI-powered, cloud-native products that shape the future of business and society. Our legacy of innovation creates endless opportunities for IBMers to learn, grow, and make an impact on a global scale. Working in Software means joining a team fueled by curiosity and collaboration. You’ll work with diverse technologies, partners, and industries to design, develop, and deliver solutions that power digital transformation. With a culture that values innovation, growth, and continuous learning, IBM Software places you at the heart of IBM’s product and technology landscape. Here, you’ll have the tools and opportunities to advance your career while creating software that changes the world.

Your role and responsibilities

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

About The Role

As a Senior Software Developer/Architect, you will contribute to several key initiatives for the Connect Platform Team at Confluent. The Connect Platform team's mission is to design, build, and operate critical components that bridge Apache Kafka with the wider ecosystem - making it seamless, secure, and scalable for enterprises to move data between Kafka and external systems, both on-premises and in Confluent Cloud. The team is responsible for both self-managed (on-prem) and fully managed (cloud) connectors, ensuring organizations can confidently integrate, govern, and manage streaming data flows to power event-driven architectures.

Confluent Connect is the industry-standard integration and ingestion framework for Kafka, enabling organizations to stream data between Kafka and hundreds of external systems (databases, SaaS, storage, legacy apps).

The Team Delivers Key Primitives Such As

• Single Message Transforms (SMTs)
• Authentication, security, tenant isolation, role-based access, and network controls
• Support for both self-managed and fully managed connectors

What You Will Do

• Work with distributed systems, cloud-native development, and secure, scalable data integration
• Architect a complex engineering system from end to end
• Partner across engineering and other key stakeholders to create and execute the overall roadmap for delivering a top-notch Data Streaming Platform for our customers
• Evaluate and enhance the efficiency of our platform's technology stack, keeping pace with industry trends and adopting state-of-the-art solutions
• Solve complicated technical projects with high quality and provide technical guidance to the team in specialized areas
• Enhance the stability, performance, scalability, and operational excellence across multiple critical systems
• Lead and mentor a team of developers

Required technical and professional expertise

• 7+ years of relevant software development experience
• Proven track record of leading the delivery of large-scale, secure, highly available, low latency, high quality systems
• Proven experience in leading and mentoring technical teams
• Deep hands-on technical expertise in hyper-scale distributed systems engineering
• Experience running production services in the cloud and being part of on call rotation
• Expertise in cloud-native technology, including networking & security
• Experience with Java, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms is highly valued
• Strong collaboration skills and a growth mindset are essential, given the team's cross-functional nature and focus on mentorship and operational excellence
• Prior experience working on AWS, GCP, or Azure and a deep understanding of cloud best practices
• Ability to influence the team, peers, and management using effective communication and collaborative techniques
• Drive results by removing friction and improving the development stack with urgency and prioritization skills
• BS Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience. An advanced degree in computer science is preferred

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Leading-Edge Technologies: Experience with designing, developing, and delivering software solutions using leading-edge technologies, including back-end and front-end development, and DevOps engineering.
• Agile Collaboration: Experience working in an Agile environment, collaborating with stakeholders to understand requirements and deliver high-quality software solutions.
• Automated CI/CD Pipelines: Experience contributing to automated CI/CD pipelines, ensuring seamless integration and delivery of software solutions.

IBM is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, caste, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, veteran status, or other characteristics. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.