Java Backend Developer

Title- Java Backend Developer – Kafka Locations: Dallas, TX | Cleveland, OH | Pittsburgh, PA Work Model: Hybrid – 3 days onsite per week Experience: 10+ Years Employment Type: Full-Time Job Overview We are seeking an experienced Java Backend Developer with strong hands-on experience in Apache Kafka to join our application development team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Core Java, Spring Boot, microservices, REST APIs, and event-driven architecture, along with proven experience building and supporting high-volume Kafka-based applications. The role will focus on developing scalable backend services, designing integrations, and building real-time/event-driven solutions in a highly collaborative enterprise environment. Key Responsibilities Design, develop, and maintain scalable Java backend applications and microservices.Build and enhance applications using Java, Spring Boot, and related Spring frameworks.Develop event-driven applications and data-processing solutions using Apache Kafka.Design and implement Kafka producers, consumers, topics, partitions, consumer groups, and error-handling mechanisms.Develop and integrate REST APIs and web services with enterprise applications.Work with distributed systems and microservices-based architectures.Analyze business and technical requirements and translate them into scalable technical solutions.Participate in application design, development, code reviews, testing, debugging, and deployment activities.Troubleshoot application and integration issues and identify appropriate technical solutions.Optimize application performance, scalability, reliability, and resiliency.Collaborate with architects, business analysts, QA teams, DevOps engineers, and other development teams.Participate in Agile/Scrum ceremonies, sprint planning, estimation, and technical discussions.Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment processes.Required Skills 7+ years of hands-on experience in Java backend development.Strong proficiency in Core Java, Java 8+, OOP, Collections, Multithreading, and Exception Handling.Strong hands-on experience with Spring Boot, Spring Framework, and REST APIs.Extensive experience with Apache Kafka and event-driven architecture.Hands-on experience developing and troubleshooting Kafka producers and consumers.Strong understanding of Kafka topics, partitions, offsets, consumer groups, replication, and message delivery.Experience building microservices and distributed applications.Strong SQL and database development experience.Experience with relational databases such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server.Familiarity with Git, Maven/Gradle, Jenkins, and CI/CD.Strong debugging, problem-solving, and application performance optimization skills.Good understanding of Agile software development methodologies.Preferred Qualifications Experience with Kafka Streams or similar stream-processing technologies.Experience with Docker and Kubernetes.Exposure to cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.Experience with observability and monitoring tools.Experience in banking, financial services, or other enterprise environments is preferred. Location & Work Model Candidates must be able to work in a 3-day hybrid model, with onsite work required three days per week. Preferred locations: Dallas, TXCleveland, OHPittsburgh, PACandidates should be comfortable with the required onsite schedule in one of these locations. Key Requirement The ideal candidate should have strong hands-on Java backend development experience combined with solid Apache Kafka expertise. Candidates should be able to demonstrate practical experience designing and developing Kafka-based, event-driven microservices, rather than having only theoretical or support-level exposure.