Senior Software Engineer II - Observability (Remote - Canada)

Role Overview

Confluent is seeking a Senior Software Engineer II with a passion for observability to join our team and contribute to our mission-critical observability platform. This platform operates at a global scale, spanning across major cloud providers, numerous regions, thousands of clusters, and tens of thousands of nodes. In this role, you will have a significant impact on how we develop and operate our global data streaming platform.

As a Senior Software Engineer II, you will be responsible for architecting, designing, building, and operating end-to-end solutions for collecting, shipping, storing, and querying OpenTelemetry signals from infrastructure, application containers, and Kubernetes clusters. A strong focus will be placed on self-service capabilities, multitenancy, reliability, and developer velocity. You will also operate global and regional storage and query backends for metrics, traces, and logs, ensuring the platform can handle the demands of our growing data streaming ecosystem.

A Day in the Life

Here’s what a typical day might look like for a Senior Software Engineer II in Observability at Confluent:

• Morning: Start your day by reviewing the current status of the observability platform. Check dashboards for any anomalies or critical alerts that need immediate attention. Participate in a team stand-up to discuss ongoing projects, challenges, and priorities for the day.
• Mid-day: Spend time designing and implementing new features for the observability platform. This could involve writing code in Java, Golang, or Python to enhance the collection, processing, and storage of OpenTelemetry signals. Collaborate with other engineers to review code and ensure quality.
• Afternoon: Work with product engineering teams to understand their observability needs and provide guidance on how to best leverage the platform. Help them troubleshoot performance issues and identify areas for improvement. Participate in incident response activities, using the observability platform to diagnose and resolve critical issues.
• Evening: Monitor the performance and stability of the observability platform. Participate in on-call rotations, responding to alerts and resolving incidents as needed. Stay up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies in the observability space.

Why Remote, Ontario, Canada?

This role is based remotely in Ontario, Canada, offering the flexibility to work from home while contributing to a global team. Ontario boasts a thriving tech industry and a high quality of life, with access to world-class education, healthcare, and recreational opportunities. Being located in Canada also provides access to a diverse talent pool and a strong engineering community.

Career Path

At Confluent, we are committed to the growth and development of our employees. As a Senior Software Engineer II, you will have the opportunity to advance your career in several directions. You could become a Staff Engineer, taking on more responsibility for the architecture and design of the observability platform. Alternatively, you could move into a leadership role, managing a team of engineers and guiding the overall direction of the platform. We also support individuals who want to specialize in a particular area, such as performance optimization or security.

Salary & Benefits

Confluent offers competitive salaries and benefits packages to attract and retain top talent. The estimated salary range for a Senior Software Engineer II in Observability in the Ontario, Canada area is $140,000 - $210,000 USD per year. In addition to salary, Confluent provides a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Comprehensive health insurance plans (medical, dental, vision).
• Generous paid time off (PTO) and holiday policy.
• Paid parental leave for eligible employees.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match.
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP).
• Professional development opportunities, including training and conferences.
• Wellness programs and resources to support employee well-being.
• Flexible spending accounts (FSA) for healthcare and dependent care expenses.
• Life insurance and disability coverage.
• Employee assistance program (EAP) for confidential counseling and support.
• Remote work options and flexible work arrangements.
• Home office setup stipend.
• Company-sponsored social events and team-building activities.
• Employee referral bonus program.

Confluent Culture

Confluent is a company built on the values of innovation, collaboration, and customer success. We foster a culture of continuous learning and encourage employees to take risks and challenge the status quo. We believe that the best ideas come from diverse perspectives, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and respected. Our teams are composed of smart, curious individuals who are passionate about data streaming and making a difference in the world.

How to Apply

If you are a passionate and talented software engineer with a strong background in observability, we encourage you to apply for the Senior Software Engineer II position at Confluent. To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter through our online application portal. Be sure to highlight your relevant experience and skills, and explain why you are interested in working at Confluent.

FAQ

1. What is Confluent?

   Confluent is a data streaming platform built upon Apache Kafka. It enables companies to harness real-time data to drive business innovation.

2. What is observability?

   Observability is the ability to understand the internal state of a system based on its external outputs. In software engineering, this involves collecting and analyzing metrics, logs, and traces to monitor the health and performance of applications and infrastructure.

3. What is OpenTelemetry?

   OpenTelemetry is an open-source observability framework that provides a standardized way to collect and export telemetry data, such as metrics, logs, and traces.

4. What is Kubernetes (k8s)?

   Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

5. What is Prometheus?

   Prometheus is an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit commonly used for collecting and analyzing time-series data.

6. What is Grafana?

   Grafana is an open-source data visualization and monitoring platform that allows users to create dashboards and visualizations from various data sources.

7. What is AlertManager?

   AlertManager is an open-source tool for handling alerts generated by Prometheus. It allows users to configure routing, deduplication, and silencing of alerts.

8. What are the key skills for this role?

   The key skills for this role include experience with distributed systems, Java, Golang, Python, Kubernetes, SRE, DevOps, observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, AlertManager), and cloud computing platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure).

9. What are the benefits of working at Confluent?

   Confluent offers competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits packages, and opportunities for professional growth and development. We also foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment.

10. What is the interview process like?

    The interview process typically involves a phone screening, a technical interview, and a final interview with the hiring manager. Be prepared to discuss your experience with observability, distributed systems, and related technologies.