Data Platform / Streaming Engineer (ARE Infrastructure)

Job Title: Data Platform / Streaming Engineer (ARE Infrastructure)
Location: Austin, TX 78753 (Hybrid – 3 Days Onsite per Week)
Employment Type: Contract (Potential for Full-Time Conversion)
Experience Required: 12+ Years

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Data Platform / Streaming Engineer to support and manage mission-critical data infrastructure and streaming platforms within Apple''s ARE Infrastructure team. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in Apache Spark, Apache Kafka, and DevOps, along with experience supporting production-grade data platforms, infrastructure operations, and stakeholder communication. This role requires hands-on troubleshooting, deployment support, production monitoring, and collaboration with cross-functional teams in a hybrid onsite environment.

Key Responsibilities

Data Platform & Streaming Engineering

·  Manage, monitor, and support enterprise-scale streaming and data processing platforms.

·  Develop, maintain, and optimize real-time data pipelines using Apache Kafka and Apache Spark/Flink.

·  Ensure high availability, scalability, and reliability of streaming infrastructure.

·  Perform troubleshooting and root cause analysis for production incidents affecting data platforms.

·  Optimize data processing performance and system efficiency.

Database & Data Processing

·  Work extensively with Vertica and SQL-based systems for querying, performance tuning, and troubleshooting.

·  Optimize SQL queries and improve database performance.

·  Support large-scale analytical workloads and data processing operations.

DevOps & Production Support

·  Participate in deployment planning and release management activities.

·  Support CI/CD processes and production deployments.

·  Coordinate maintenance windows, environment management, and infrastructure upgrades.

·  Assist in onboarding new technologies into production environments.

·  Drive automation and operational improvements to enhance platform reliability.

Infrastructure Operations

·  Monitor production systems and ensure platform stability.

·  Perform health checks, incident management, and system diagnostics.

·  Maintain code repositories using Git and follow version control best practices.

·  Collaborate with infrastructure and platform engineering teams to resolve operational issues.

Stakeholder Management

·  Serve as a primary point of contact for business users and technical stakeholders.

·  Facilitate technical discussions, status meetings, and issue resolution calls.

·  Communicate project updates, production incidents, and deployment activities.

·  Translate business requirements into technical solutions and operational tasks.

Required Skills & Qualifications

·  10+ years of experience in Data Engineering, Streaming Platforms, or Data Infrastructure.

·  Strong hands-on experience with:

o Apache Spark

o Apache Kafka

o DevOps practices

·  Experience with Apache Flink.

·  Strong SQL programming and database optimization skills.

·  Experience working with Vertica or similar analytical databases.

·  Hands-on experience supporting production data pipelines.

·  Experience with Git for source code management.

·  Strong troubleshooting and production support experience.

·  Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, deployment processes, and release management.

·  Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

·  Experience supporting enterprise-scale streaming platforms.

·  Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code and automation tools.

·  Experience with monitoring and observability platforms.

·  Knowledge of cloud-based data platforms.

·  Experience in incident management and production operations.

·  Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

·  Ability to work in a fast-paced Agile environment.

Technical Skills

Streaming Technologies

·  Apache Kafka

·  Apache Spark

·  Apache Flink

Databases

·  Vertica

·  SQL

DevOps & Infrastructure

·  DevOps

·  CI/CD

·  Git

·  Release Management

·  Deployment Support

·  Environment Management

Operations

·  Production Support

·  Monitoring

·  Troubleshooting

·  Incident Management

·  Performance Optimization

Top Must-Have Skills

Nice-to-Have Skills

·  Apache Flink

·  Vertica Database

·  SQL Performance Tuning

·  Git Version Control

·  CI/CD Pipelines

·  Production Support

·  Infrastructure Monitoring

·  Stakeholder Management

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will have 10 years of experience managing enterprise data platforms with strong expertise in Apache Spark, Apache Kafka, and DevOps. They should possess hands-on experience supporting production streaming infrastructure, optimizing SQL-based systems, coordinating deployments, and collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure reliable and scalable data platform operations.