Software Engineering Lead - Kafka, Kubernetes, Terraform, Helm, gcp

- Manage and support Kafka platforms and ecosystem components across GCP and on-premises Kubernetes environments.
- Plan platform capacity, scalability, and growth in partnership with application teams.
- Design, implement, and maintain Kafka Disaster Recovery (DR) and business continuity solutions.
- Build and enhance automation using Terraform, Ansible, Git, Jenkins, and related DevOps tools.
- Design, configure, and support Kafka Connect source and sink integrations following best practices.
- Research and implement new messaging platform capabilities, including AI-driven operational improvements.
- Analyze upstream and downstream data dependencies to ensure platform reliability and performance.
- Drive platform architecture, operational excellence, and continuous service improvements.
- Translate complex technical and operational data into actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
- Participate in a 24x7 on-call rotation to support production systems and ensure SLA compliance.
- Monitor platform health, troubleshoot incidents, perform root cause analysis (RCA), and implement corrective actions.
- Coordinate with application, infrastructure, security, and vendor teams to resolve production issues.
- Support platform upgrades, patching, maintenance activities, DR testing, and after-hours operational requirements.
- Maintain operational documentation, runbooks, monitoring, and alerting standards.
- Demonstrate strong analytical skills, a product mindset, and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or similar field
- Hands-on experience managing Kafka clusters in GCP and on-premises Kubernetes environments.
- Experience leveraging AI technologies to drive automation and operational efficiency.
- Strong expertise in designing, deploying, and administering Kafka platforms, including sizing, performance tuning, replication, backup, disaster recovery, and access management.
- Experience with Kafka, Kubernetes, Terraform, Helm, Docker, Jenkins, and CI/CD automation.
- Proficiency in building and automating Kafka infrastructure and data pipelines using Infrastructure-as-Code and scripting tools.
- Strong knowledge of Kafka security, authentication, authorization, Kerberos, SSL/TLS, and access controls.
- Experience with Kafka ecosystem components such as Kafka Connect, Schema Registry, ZooKeeper, KSQL, REST Proxy, Control Center, and MirrorMaker/Replicator.
- Experience designing and supporting highly available, scalable, and resilient Kafka platforms.
- Knowledge of Kafka APIs, producer/consumer architectures, and enterprise messaging patterns.
- Experience implementing monitoring and observability solutions using Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, or similar tools.
- Proficiency in Python or other scripting/programming languages.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively in complex and ambiguous environments.
Careers with Optum. Here's the idea. We built an entire organization around one giant objective; make the health system work better for everyone. So when it comes to how we use the world's large accumulation of health-related information, or guide health and lifestyle choices or manage pharmacy benefits for millions, our first goal is to leap beyond the status quo and uncover new ways to serve. Optum, part of the UnitedHealth Group family of businesses, brings together some of the greatest minds and most advanced ideas on where health care has to go in order to reach its fullest potential. For you, that means working on high performance teams against sophisticated challenges that matter. Optum, incredible ideas in one incredible company and a singular opportunity to do your life's best work.^SM

Diversity creates a healthier atmosphere: UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.


UnitedHealth Group is a drug-free workplace. Candidates are required to pass a drug test before beginning employment.