Amazon.com Services LLC

Technology

PrincipalEngineer,AmazonManagedStreamingforApacheKafka(MSK)

$100–271k Seattle, Washington, United States FULL TIME
Market Sentiment
HIGH DEMAND

Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Principal candidates.

The Brief

“Principal Engineer, Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) at Amazon.com Services LLC. Skills: Apache Kafka, Distributed systems, Cloud architecture. Define multi-year technical roadmap. Drive architectural decisions”

Industry & Context.

Technology
Problems you'll solve

Root cause analysis

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science or related field

Nice to Have

Open-source leadership, Stream processing expertise, Mission-critical systems experience, AWS experience, Technical evangelism, Customer engagement experience, Operational excellence at scale, Cross-functional leadership experience

What You'll Do.

Define multi-year technical roadmap

Drive architectural decisions

Lead cross-service integration initiatives

Represent MSK in Apache Kafka community

Contribute to core project

Participate in governance

Evangelize technically

Mentor senior engineers

Provide technical guidance

Raise bar on system design

Raise bar on operational excellence

Work with strategic customers

Understand customer requirements

Validate technical approaches

Ensure MSK meets use cases

Establish engineering standards

Establish operational excellence practices

Establish testing strategies

Establish performance benchmarking

Drive innovation in streaming data infrastructure

Identify emerging customer needs

Translate needs into technical solutions

How You'll Work.

Team & Collaboration

Cross-service integration; Engineering teams; Product managers; Business stakeholders

Communication Scope

Technical evangelism

Process & Methodology

Technical roadmap

Full Job Description

As a Principal Engineer on the MSK team, you will define the technical vision for MSK across its full stack — from core Kafka broker internals and tiered storage architecture to MSK Serverless, MSK Connect, MSK Replicator, and deep integrations across the AWS ecosystem. You will work backwards from customers to translate their requirements into durable technical direction that benefits every MSK customer. This role requires both the technical depth to redefine what Apache Kafka can do at hyperscale and the organizational breadth to shape how Amazon builds distributed systems. You will set technical strategy, raise the engineering bar across the team, and drive innovation in the open-source Apache Kafka community. Key job responsibilities * Define multi-year technical roadmap for MSK service portfolio (Provisioned, Serverless, Connect, Replicator) aligned with customer needs and AWS strategy * Drive architectural decisions for distributed systems operating at hyperscale, including durability, availability, performance, and cost optimization * Lead cross-service integration initiatives to make MSK a first-class citizen across AWS analytics, AI/ML, and data services * Represent MSK in the Apache Kafka community through contributions to core project, participation in governance, and technical evangelism * Mentor and develop senior engineers through design reviews, technical guidance, and raising the bar on system design and operational excellence * Work directly with strategic customers to understand requirements, validate technical approaches, and ensure MSK meets mission-critical use cases * Establish engineering standards for the team including operational excellence practices, testing strategies, and performance benchmarking * Drive innovation in streaming data infrastructure, identifying emerging customer needs and translating them into technical solutions About the team Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK) is one of AWS's fastest-growing analytics servi

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