Open Source Software Engineer - Apache Kafka Committer

About NetApp and the Role

NetApp drives innovation in intelligent data infrastructure, providing unified storage and integrated data services that enable organizations to maximize their data potential across AI and multicloud environments. This position is for an experienced Apache Kafka committer at NetApp's open source engineering team, focused on influencing upstream Kafka development and applying deep technical expertise to enterprise Kafka deployments. The role is based in Ireland (Cork office) with a requirement of three days onsite per week and up to 10% travel.

Responsibilities

• Lead comprehensive upstream Apache Kafka projects, from design proposal (KIP authoring) through implementation, review, and release in critical areas like broker internals, storage management, replication, consumer coordination, Kafka Streams, and release quality.
• Provide authoritative technical reviews on upstream patches and contributions to maintain high quality in the Kafka project.
• Participate actively in Apache Kafka release management processes including planning, triaging, testing, documentation, and post-release activities.
• Translate enterprise user needs into robust upstream proposals and designs, advising internal product and field teams on complex Kafka trade-offs.
• Influence the Kafka community’s project direction through engagement in architectural decisions, compatibility standards, protocol evolution, release policies, and roadmap planning.
• Mentor engineers aiming for committer status by promoting rigorous code review, testing discipline, and engineering best practices.
• Enhance upstream infrastructure focusing on CI stability, test coverage, toolchain improvements, benchmarking, automation, and compatibility validation.

Requirements

• At least twelve years of professional experience in software engineering.
• Recognition as a current Apache Kafka committer with a consistent and verifiable record of contributions, including patches, reviews, KIPs, and community involvement.
• Expertise in Java programming for high-performance, concurrent, distributed systems with deep familiarity in Kafka internals.
• In-depth knowledge in one or more Kafka core areas such as broker storage, log replication, metadata management, consumer group coordination, Streams, Connect, observability, or release engineering.
• Proven ability to lead complex technical efforts through the Apache open-source governance process, including KIP authorship, consensus building, and delivery management.
• Exceptional written communication skills for asynchronous collaboration across global teams in mailing lists, design documents, code reviews, and issue tracking.
• Senior-level technical judgment with independent problem solving, risk identification, and consistent alignment with project objectives.

Preferred Qualifications

• PMC membership in Apache Kafka or related projects.
• Experience contributing to recent Kafka advancements including KRaft maturity, controller reliability, rebalance protocol enhancements, exactly-once semantics, tiered storage, security, Streams APIs, and release stabilization.
• Track record of bridging upstream technical leadership with enterprise customers, driving improvements based on production challenges.
• History of mentoring contributors towards becoming reviewers or committers in open governance projects.
• Familiarity with Kafka ecosystem components like MirrorMaker 2, schema registries, Kubernetes Kafka operations, or adjunct projects such as Strimzi.

Team Culture and Leadership

You will join a globally distributed, high-trust and accountability-oriented team under the leadership of Engineering Manager Tomás Ó hAodha. The group values deep technical expertise, mentoring, and collaborative influence on both the codebase and contributor ecosystem, offering substantial autonomy alongside strong peer cooperation and strategic visibility.

Additional Information

This role involves up to 10% travel, including potential international trips. NetApp supports a hybrid working style emphasizing connection and collaboration, with in-office presence required three days per week at the assigned location.

NetApp is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion, prohibiting discrimination on any legally protected basis. The company promotes a culture that values bold thinking, ownership, and work-life balance.