Platforms
Apache KafkaConfluent PlatformConfluent CloudAmazon MSKStrimziRedpanda
Messaging and streaming · screened by AceMQ
Hire Kafka developers vetted by a Kafka practitioner
Conntal places Apache Kafka engineers who have run production clusters, not just produced to a topic. Every candidate is screened by an AceMQ practitioner who operates Kafka and Confluent estates for enterprise clients, using a real consumer-group incident. Available on contract, contract-to-hire or direct hire, onshore, nearshore or offshore.
Indicative rate: from $80/hr nearshore or offshore and $120/hr onshore. See what moves it.
Contract, contract-to-hire or direct · onshore, nearshore, offshore · reviewed 31 October 2026
- Screen owner
- Messaging practice lead · AceMQRuns production RabbitMQ and Kafka estates for regulated enterprises.
- Titles we place
- Kafka engineer · Kafka developer · Kafka administrator · Streaming platform engineer · Confluent engineer
- Platforms we screen on
- Apache KafkaConfluent PlatformConfluent CloudAmazon MSKStrimziRedpanda
Rates
What a contract Kafka engineer costs
Senior contract Kafka engineer rates start at $80/hr nearshore or offshore and $120/hr onshore. These are indicative from-rates, last reviewed 31 October 2026.
| Location model | From (USD per hour) | Where engineers are based |
|---|---|---|
| OnshoreHighest rate | $120/hr | US-based, on client time zones, cleared where the engagement requires it. |
| NearshoreOur default recommendation | $80/hr | Latin America and Canada, four hours or less of overlap loss, same working day. |
| OffshoreLowest rate | $80/hr | Europe, India and South East Asia. |
What moves the number
- Platform scarcity. The fewer engineers who have run Kafka in production, the higher the rate.
- Seniority. The figures are for senior engineers; staff and principal levels cost more.
- Clearance and residency. Cleared or on-site work narrows the pool and sits in the onshore column.
- Term. Length, hours and the engagement model change the rate; contract-to-hire and direct placement are priced differently.
Indicative from-rates for senior contract engineers, USD per hour. The final rate depends on platform scarcity, seniority, clearance and term.
The screen
How we vet Kafka engineers: the published screen
Every Kafka engineer is screened on the scenario below by the Messaging practice lead at AceMQ. The senior and mid answers are published so you can judge our bar before you engage us, and candidates know what they are walking into.
The screen · Kafka engineer
Conntal Vetting Standard
Scenario put to the candidate
After a deploy, a consumer group processing payment events starts rebalancing every few minutes. Lag is climbing on three partitions, and someone proposes doubling the partition count to catch up. What do you check, and what do you say about the proposal?
Vetted by
Messaging practice lead · AceMQ
A senior answer contains
- Checks whether processing time now exceeds max.poll.interval.ms, which makes consumers leave and rejoin the group.
- Asks why only three partitions lag, and looks for hot keys before blaming capacity.
- Points out that adding partitions changes which partition a key maps to, breaking per-key ordering for keyed payment events.
- Asks which rebalance protocol and whether static membership is in use, because both change how disruptive a restart is.
Where a mid answer stops
- Agrees to add partitions without asking about keys or ordering.
- Raises every timeout until the rebalancing stops, without finding the cause.
- Restarts the consumers and treats the incident as resolved when lag drops.
What we screen on
Kafka skills we screen for
Kafka candidates are screened on platforms, operations and consumption, among others, against the stack you actually run rather than a generic checklist.
Operations
KRaftZooKeeper migrationtiered storagepartition reassignmentMirrorMaker 2
Consumption
consumer groupsshare groupsrebalance protocolsexactly-once semantics
Ecosystem
Kafka ConnectKafka StreamsSchema RegistryDebeziumksqlDB
Security
SASLmTLSACLsRBAC
Observability
consumer lagJMXPrometheusGrafana
Titles this covers
Kafka job titles we place
We place 6 titles in this area, from Kafka engineer to Event streaming architect. They overlap and are used inconsistently between companies, so tell us the outcome you need and we will tell you which title actually fits it.
- Kafka engineer
- Kafka developer
- Kafka administrator
- Streaming platform engineer
- Confluent engineer
- Event streaming architect
The platforms, run in production by our network
Engagement
Ways to hire Kafka engineers
Platform work usually starts with a defined piece of change and becomes ongoing ownership, which is why most Kafka engineers engagements begin on contract. All three models are available, in any location model.
Contract
A vetted engineer embedded in your team for a defined term.
Hourly, billed against an approved SOW. Most common for migrations, upgrades and capacity surges where the work has an end date.
Contract staffingContract-to-hire
Work together first, convert when it is obviously working.
A defined conversion window and a pre-agreed fee, so the decision to hire is a business decision rather than a negotiation.
Contract-to-hire staffingDirect placement
A permanent hire, screened to the same standard.
One-time fee against first-year base. Used where the role is a long-term platform owner rather than project capacity.
Direct placement staffingNot a fit if
When to look elsewhere for Kafka engineers
We are the wrong choice if any of these describe your role, and we would rather say so on the first call.
- You want a Kafka platform designed and delivered as a project; AceMQ does that, we place engineers.
- The work is application code that only produces to a topic, with no platform ownership.
- You need a junior or mid-level engineer; the screen is written for senior candidates.
How it works
How hiring Kafka engineers through Conntal works
- 01
Scope
A practitioner scopes the role
An engineer who runs this technology reads your brief and tells you what is missing from it. Most briefs we receive ask for the wrong seniority or the wrong title. - 02
Screen
We screen, then shortlist
Sourcing is ours; the technical decision belongs to the vetting practitioner. You only see candidates who passed the scenario on this page. - 03
Start
Start, convert or replace
Contract, contract-to-hire or direct. If the fit is wrong we say so first and replace rather than defend the placement.
Screen owner
Who vets our Kafka engineers: Messaging practice lead, AceMQ
Runs production RabbitMQ and Kafka estates for regulated enterprises, including quorum-queue migrations and Tanzu/Broadcom licensing transitions.
FAQ
Kafka engineers: what buyers ask
Something not covered here? Send the requirement and a practitioner answers it, not a sales queue.
How much does a contract Kafka engineer cost per hour?
Indicative senior contract from-rates are $80/hr nearshore or offshore and $120/hr onshore (USD, reviewed 31 October 2026). The final rate depends on platform scarcity, seniority, clearance and term. Contract-to-hire and direct placement are priced differently, and the delivery models page sets out how.
How fast can a Kafka engineer start?
We do not promise a start date before we have seen the brief. A practitioner reads it, usually within one business day, and tells you whether we can staff it. Timing after that depends on the stack, the seniority and the location model.
Do your Kafka engineers know Confluent as well as Apache Kafka?
Yes. AceMQ supports both Apache Kafka and Confluent Platform, and candidates are screened against the one you run, including Confluent-specific components such as Schema Registry and RBAC.
Can you staff a ZooKeeper-to-KRaft migration?
Yes. Kafka 4.0 removed ZooKeeper entirely, so the move to KRaft is a common bounded contract. Candidates are screened on the migration path, not just on running KRaft from scratch.
What is the difference between a Kafka developer and a Kafka engineer?
A Kafka developer usually builds producers, consumers and stream processing in application code. A Kafka engineer or administrator operates the platform: brokers, upgrades, capacity and security. We screen each role separately.
Do you place Kafka engineers for Amazon MSK?
Yes. MSK removes broker hosting but not partitioning, consumer-group behaviour or client tuning, which is where most production incidents start.
How are Kafka engineers vetted?
By an AceMQ practitioner who runs Kafka in production, using a consumer-group incident scenario published on this page, with a rubric separating senior from mid-level answers.
Can we convert a contractor to full time, and what does it cost?
Yes. Contract-to-hire sets a conversion window and a pre-agreed fee at the start, so converting is a business decision rather than a negotiation. The fee is agreed per engagement; ask for it with your brief.
What if the placement does not work out?
If the fit is wrong we say so first and replace the engineer rather than defend the placement. Replacement terms are agreed per engagement, so ask for them with your brief.
Do you also deliver Kafka consulting or support?
Not through Conntal. We place individual engineers into your team on contract, contract-to-hire or direct hire. If you want a project delivered or the platform supported as a service, AceMQ does that directly at acemq.com.
Related
Related roles
Need Kafka delivered as a project or supported as a service instead of staffed? AceMQ does that directly.
Need Kafka engineers? Start with the brief.
Send the requirement and an engineer who runs this technology will tell you what is missing before we source anyone.