Principal Kafka Software Developer

Leidos is seeking a Principal Kafka Software Developer to join a high performing team, leading the digital modernization of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) platform. TFDM is a critical FAA NextGen program that improves aircraft surface and terminal operations by enabling more efficient runway and airspace management, helping reduce congestion across the National Airspace System (NAS).

We are a team of forward-looking professionals in need of a strong candidate with these key required skills: Software Development (Java/C++/Python), Kafka, Containerization, , AI/AI Assisted Development.

This position can be remote, however, preference will be given to those who are local to and can work 3 days a week in one of the following locations: Gaithersburg, MD; Atlantic City, NJ; or Eagan, MN.

Responsibilities:

• Architect, design, develop, and implement next-generation application using software engineering best practices in the latest technologies:

  • AI-Leveraged Development (agentic coding tools like Claude Code, multi-agent orchestration, MCP-based tool integration, RAG, context engineering, AI evals/guardrails) 

  • Data Streaming (Apache Flink, Kafka Streams, ksqlDB, Kafka Connect, real-time data processing)

  • Infrastructure-as-Code (CloudFormation / Terraform, Ansible)

  • Containerization and Platform-as-a-Service (Docker, OpenShift/Kubernetes)

• Use extensive knowledge in multiple development languages, software development and system design best practices, Kafka/data streaming, automation and configuration tools, testing, tool integrations, AI, and communication to modernize TFDM platform.

• Provide architectural oversight to support the development team’s software development, Kafka/data streaming, integration, test automation, security testing, and deployments.

• Provide architectural oversight, hands-on software expertise, and mentoring in these areas: modern application integration, Kafka/data streaming, service oriented architectures (SOA), security, business process management/business rules processing, CI/CD pipeline and containerization, reporting, and user experience (UX).

• Investigate and repair application defects regardless of component: Kafka/data streaming, CI/CD pipeline, front-end, business logic, middleware or backend.

• Brief executive leadership (internally or client) regarding matters of significant importance to the organization/project using written or oral skills at appropriate technical level for audience.

• All other duties as assigned or directed.

FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, mathematics, engineering, or related technical discipline. Master’s or Doctorate degree may substitute for required experience.

• 12+ years of experience with full lifecycle development

• 3+ years of combined hands-on experience designing, developing, and supporting Apache Kafka or other streaming data solutions in production environments, including event-driven architectures, topic design, scalability, reliability, and performance optimization.

• 7+ years of combined experience of software development (Java, C++, or Python)

• Experience with AI-Leveraged Development (agentic coding tools like Claude Code, multi-agent orchestration, MCP-based tool integration, RAG, context engineering, AI evals/guardrails)

• Experience working in Agile software development environments.

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.

• Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident

• Willingness to travel up to 25% as needed

FACTORS TO HELP YOU SHINE (Required Skills)

These skills will help you succeed in this position:

• Extensive understanding and experience with designing and developing software with Java and at least one additional language such as C++, or Python

• Strong understanding of object-oriented design, software architecture, design patterns, distributed systems, and modern software engineering best practices.

• Experience modernizing legacy applications using containerized solutions on OpenShift / Kubernetes

• Hands-on experience developing event-driven applications and at least one event processing framework, such as Kafka Streams, Apache Flink, or ksqlDB.

• Expert-level hands-on production experience designing, deploying, tuning, and troubleshooting Apache Kafka or other Kafka platforms.

• Experience designing high-volume event-driven systems with low latency and high availability.

• Strong knowledge and experience with Event Driven Architecture (EDA), including designing and implementing EDA solutions for large-scale systems.

• Experience applying AI-assisted software development practices to improve developer productivity, code quality, test automation, and delivery predictability using tools such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, or equivalent AI development platforms.

• Proven expertise in architecting, designing, and implementing solutions adhering to best practices for operational excellence, security, reliability, performance, cost optimization, and sustainability.

• Experience identifying requirements, evaluating technical alternatives, and leading solution design and implementation for complex enterprise systems.

• Experience architecting and deploying cloud-native applications to a cloud service such as Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• Experience identifying requirements, researching options, designing and implementing solutions at a leadership level

• Experience with monitoring, scalability, application reliability tools

• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate technical strategy and architectural decisions with technical teams, executive management, and customers.

HOW TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD (Desired Skills)

Showcase your knowledge of modern development through the following experience or skills:

• An in-depth knowledge of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) development environment

• Preferred experience with AI spec-driven development.

• Preferred experience in Secrets/Configuration Management/Scripting

• Preferred experience with network engineering and security engineering

• Preferred experience in Service Mesh technologies such as Istio or OpenShift Service Mesh.

• Preferred experience with automated unit testing, TDD, BDD, and associated technologies (Junit, Mockito, Cucumber, Selenium, Sikuli)

• Preferred experience with PaaS using Red Hat OpenShift (or other Kubernetes platforms), Docker/Podman containers, and Helm

• Preferred experience in architecting and developing DevOps/GitOps solutions at an enterprise level using CI/CD tools such as GitLab, Argo CD, Argo Workflow Argo Rollout, Argo Events, and Git

• Preferred experience with configuration management tools (Ansible, CloudFormation / Terraform)

• AWS Cloud certifications.

ATMC

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.