Staff Software Engineer (Kafka)

TL;DR

Staff Software Engineer (Kafka): Leading architectural improvements and scaling critical logistics services with an accent on distributed systems, high-volume event processing, and system reliability. Focus on driving technical strategy across domain squads, optimizing complex Kafka-based topologies, and ensuring system performance in real-time environments.

Location: Hybrid (must be able to work from the Berlin campus 2 days a week)

Company

A pioneering global local delivery platform operating in 70 countries, dedicated to providing fast and convenient delivery experiences.

What you will do

• Drive technical improvements, identifying architectural blockers and reliability risks while balancing effort and benefit.
• Solve complex problems beyond the scope of individual squads, facilitating technical consensus across the organization.
• Own the long-term architecture and technical stack for the domain services.
• Act as a key contributor and mentor within the backend chapter, promoting best practices and design standards.
• Mediate technical discussions between squads, platforms, and brands to ensure alignment.

Requirements

• Deep expertise in JVM-based technologies and experience with Kotlin.
• Proven experience building and maintaining complex distributed systems and event-driven microservices architectures.
• Practical knowledge of Kafka, cloud infrastructure, and networking.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Must be available for regular onsite collaboration in Berlin.

Nice to have

• Experience with the Python stack and Machine learning techniques.
• Track record of sharing knowledge through blogging, conferences, or internal sessions.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work model with a beautiful office campus in Berlin.
• 27 days of holiday with seniority-based increases.
• Comprehensive development support including a 1,000 € educational budget and access to Udemy Business.
• Financial perks including employee share purchase plans, meal vouchers, and corporate pension schemes.
• Health and wellbeing support including gym subsidies, health checkups, and insurance coverage.