Staff Software Engineer (Kafka, Kotlin)

TL;DR

Staff Software Engineer (Kafka, Kotlin): Driving reliability, quality, scalability, and efficiency of services within the Customer Logistics Choice Domain with an accent on identifying architectural blockers, reliability risks, and cost leaks. Focus on solving critical domain problems, mediating technical topics, and owning long-term architecture and technical stack.

Location: Hybrid (Berlin, Germany), requiring office attendance 2 days a week

Company

hirify.global is the world's pioneering local delivery platform, operating in around 70 countries worldwide.

What you will do

• Drive technical improvements with Engineering Managers; identify architectural blockers, reliability risks, and cost leaks; determine effort, risk, and benefit of solutions; prioritize and plan.
• Solve the most critical problems for the domain that are beyond the scope of any squad while building consensus and sharing understanding.
• Serve as the mediator on technical topics inside and outside the organization.
• Be a key contributor to the tribe’s Backend chapter and provide input on tribe-level technical topics.
• Own the long-term architecture of the domain services and technical stack.
• Promote best practices across the teams.

Requirements

• Very deep understanding and proven experience of JVM-based technologies (Kotlin knowledge is a plus).
• Experience with complex distributed systems, microservice architectures, event-driven topologies using Kafka, and their observability.
• Deep understanding of the software stack, cloud infrastructure, and networking, with hands-on capability when needed.
• Ability to contribute completely autonomously, creating transparency of work for Tech Lead, EMs, and teams.
• Excellent communication skills to clearly explain complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Nice to have

• Prior experience with the Python stack (in production) and Machine learning techniques.
• Passion for technology and ability to defend opinions.
• Track record of sharing knowledge through brown-bag sessions, blog posts, or conferences.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid working model in Berlin, requiring 2 days a week on campus.
• 27 days holiday with additional days for longer service.
• Comprehensive career development support including a €1,000 educational budget, language courses, and access to Udemy Business.
• Wellness benefits: health checkups, meditation, gym & bicycle subsidy.
• Financial benefits: Employee Share Purchase Plan, Sabbatical Bank, public transportation ticket discount, life & accident insurance, and corporate pension plan.
• Digital meal vouchers, food vouchers, and corporate discounts.