Staff Software Engineer - Flink Control Plane
Staff Engineer · Staff · Full Time · Remote
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Role
What you'll do.
Confluent is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to build the control plane for their Flink product, focusing on orchestrating stream processing workloads at scale. This role involves designing and implementing Kubernetes-based infrastructure, control loops, and APIs for managing Apache Flink job lifecycles in a cloud-native environment.
Responsibilities
- Control Plane Development: Develop control plane services that orchestrate Flink job lifecycles including submission, scaling, and recovery operations
- Kubernetes Infrastructure: Build Kubernetes operators and orchestrators for serverless resource management and container orchestration
- API Design: Design and implement APIs for job management, multi-tenancy, and workload isolation in distributed environments
- Code Quality Assurance: Maintain high standards for code quality, test coverage, documentation, and component maintainability
- System Architecture: Draft technical designs, facilitate stakeholder discussions, and moderate architectural decisions for control plane components
- Team Leadership: Lead team meetings, drive process improvements, and participate in on-call rotations for production systems
- Technical Mentorship: Mentor engineers on control plane architecture and guide junior developers in serverless Apache Flink development
- Infrastructure Scaling: Design and implement solutions for high-scale distributed systems orchestration and resource management
Qualifications
What we look for.
Technical
Distributed Systems Expertise
Deep knowledge of distributed systems orchestration, particularly with Kubernetes and control loops
Control Plane Experience
Proven experience building high-scale control planes, API servers, or cloud-native infrastructure
Containerization Knowledge
Strong understanding of containerization technologies, networking protocols, and resource isolation mechanisms
Stream Processing
Experience with Apache Flink, Apache Kafka, or similar stream processing frameworks
Cloud-Native Architecture
Expertise in designing and implementing cloud-native applications and microservices architectures
Education
Bachelor's Degree
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field preferred
Advanced Degree
Master's degree in distributed systems, computer science, or equivalent practical experience
Experience
Software Development
Minimum 10+ years of relevant software development experience in distributed systems
Infrastructure Engineering
5+ years of experience building and operating large-scale infrastructure systems
Team Leadership
Experience leading technical teams and mentoring junior engineers in complex software projects
Production Systems
Hands-on experience with production systems monitoring, debugging, and incident response
Skills
Required
Distributed Systems
Expert-level knowledge of distributed systems design, orchestration, and scaling patterns
Kubernetes
Advanced proficiency with Kubernetes, including custom controllers, operators, and CRDs
Control Plane Architecture
Deep understanding of control plane design patterns, API servers, and orchestration systems
Problem Solving
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills for complex technical challenges
Communication
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for cross-team collaboration
Software Engineering
10+ years of professional software development experience with production systems
Preferred
Apache Flink
Nice to haveHands-on experience with Apache Flink stream processing framework and ecosystem
Apache Kafka
Nice to haveExperience with Kafka streaming platform and event-driven architectures
Cloud Platforms
Nice to haveFamiliarity with AWS, GCP, or Azure cloud infrastructure and services
Service Mesh
Nice to haveExperience with service mesh technologies like Istio, Linkerd, or Consul Connect
Monitoring
Nice to haveProficiency with observability tools including Prometheus, Grafana, and distributed tracing
Infrastructure as Code
Nice to haveExperience with Terraform, Ansible, or similar infrastructure automation tools
Tech stack
Languages
Frameworks
Databases
Tools
Other
Compensation
Pay and benefits.
Base·USD 235,700 – 277,000
Equity·Stock options
Benefits
Equity Compensation
Stock options and equity participation in company growth and success
Remote Work
Flexible remote work arrangement with distributed team collaboration
Professional Development
Opportunities for technical growth, conference attendance, and skill development
Inclusive Culture
Equal opportunity workplace with focus on diversity, belonging, and professional growth
Health Benefits
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance coverage
Retirement Planning
401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching contributions
Process
Interview steps.
- 01
Initial Screen
30-minute phone/video call with recruiting team to discuss background, experience, and role alignment
- 02
Technical Phone Screen
60-minute technical interview covering distributed systems concepts, Kubernetes, and control plane architecture
- 03
System Design Interview
90-minute session designing a large-scale control plane system with focus on scalability and reliability
- 04
Coding Interview
60-minute coding session focusing on algorithms, data structures, and software engineering best practices
- 05
Team Match Interview
45-minute behavioral interview with hiring manager discussing leadership, mentoring, and team collaboration
- 06
Final Round
Virtual onsite with multiple team members covering technical depth, cultural fit, and domain expertise
Full posting
Original listing.
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.
One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform.
About the Role:
The Flink Platform team is at the forefront of building a robust control plane for the Flink product, leveraging advanced database storage to ensure high reliability and efficiency. With a vision centered on innovation and excellence, this team is critical to advancing Confluent's Data in Motion initiative and is committed to supplying the industry with solutions that cater to evolving stream processing demands.
What You Will Do:
Developing the control plane services that orchestrate Flink job lifecycles (submission, scaling, recovery). Building Kubernetes operators and orchestrators for serverless resource management. Designing APIs for job management, multi-tenancy, and isolation.
Following a holistic development approach you will be responsible for the code quality, test coverage, documentation and maintainability of the components you and your team work on.
Designing Components: You will not only implement aspects of Flink Control Plane but also draft designs, discuss them and curate and moderate a decision with involved stakeholders.
Team: As part of the team you will help to follow and maintain processes, by being an active part of the team, leading meetings and taking initiatives where feasible and participating in on-call rotations.
Mentoring: You will mentor other engineers with less experience in Control plane architecture to get started in the community and more junior developers to get into the area of serverless Apache Flink.
What You Will Bring:
10+ years of relevant software development experience.
Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of distributed systems orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes, control loops). Experience building high-scale control planes, API servers, or cloud-native infrastructure. Knowledge of containerization, networking, and resource isolation.
Problem Solving: Strong problem-solving skills, capable of translating complex requirements into effective solutions.
Communication: Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate across teams.
Ready to build what's next? Let’s get in motion.
Come As You Are
Belonging isn’t a perk here. It’s the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what’s possible.
We’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by law.
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