EOI - Senior Streaming Architect

Synapsewerx is seeking high-calibre Senior Streaming Architects and Engineers for high-visibility residency roles based on-site in Canberra. You will lead the architectural design and hands-on implementation of a mission-critical, event-driven ecosystem for major Australian Government agencies. This role requires a rare blend of deep technical engineering and high-level strategic advisory, and demands the ability to operate with a high degree of independence in secure government environments, exercising sound judgement with minimal day-to-day direction. 

This is a practitioner role for someone who thrives in large, complex enterprise environments and can move seamlessly from a high-level workshop to a deep-dive data mapping session. At Synapsewerx, we don’t just gather requirements; we design, build, and deliver solutions that are technically sound and commercially pragmatic.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES

• Architectural Leadership: Design and optimise multi-tenant Confluent/Kafka clusters across hybrid environments - on-premise/data centre (bare-metal or VM-based) and public cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP) - to support high-throughput, low-latency data streams.
• Streaming Engineering: Build and maintain complex event-driven services using Kafka Connect, KSQL and Apache Flink.
• Governance & Security: Implement enterprise-grade Stream Governance (Schema Registry, Stream Catalog, and Lineage) and ensure Zero Trust security (RBAC, ACLs, Encryption).
• Operational Excellence: Lead the "Residency" function by mentoring client teams on Kafka best practices, performance tuning (JVM/OS) and automated CI/CD pipelines, operating autonomously within a cleared government environment and escalating only where policy or governance genuinely requires it 

Production Support & Reliability

As this is a residency role, you will own the end-to-end reliability of the platform. Requirements include:

• Incident Escalation: Serve as the point of escalation for critical production incidents and lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for cluster instability, consumer lag spikes and schema evolution failures.
• Proactive Monitoring: Build and maintain observability dashboards (Grafana, Datadog or Confluent Control Center) to monitor Under-Replicated Partitions (URPs), ISR shrinkages, and broker disk I/O.
• Performance Tuning: Conduct proactive "deep-dives" into JVM garbage collection (G1GC) and network throughput to prevent production bottlenecks.
  

Technical Requirements

• Confluent/Kafka Mastery: 6+ years of experience with Apache Kafka and 3+ years specifically within the Confluent Platform ecosystem.
• Streaming Stack: Expert-level proficiency in Kafka Streams, ksqlDB and Flink.
• Infrastructure: Deep experience across hybrid infrastructure - on-premise/data centre deployments (bare-metal and VM-based Kafka clusters, storage and network design, OS-level tuning) as well as cloud-native Kubernetes (EKS/AKS/GKE) and Terraform. Experience with air-gapped or hybrid connectivity patterns in secure government environments highly regarded.
• Languages: Strong backend development skills in Java (essential), with Go or Python as a plus.
• Data Modelling: Advanced knowledge of Avro, Protobuf and JSON schema evolution.
  

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• 10+ years in IT/Consulting,  Gained in Software Engineering/Architecture with a focus on distributed systems. 
• Advanced Technical Toolkit: Proficiency in SQL, Python and AI. You must be comfortable querying databases and using modern tools to drive discovery and decision-making.
• Way of Working: On-site in Canberra. This is a high-autonomy engagement - the successful candidate will be trusted to work independently against agreed outcomes, with limited on-the-ground oversight.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Architectural Curiosity: You have a genuine passion for understanding how systems work under the hood.
• Consultative Mindset: You are comfortable navigating political landscape of large-scale transformations and can hold your own with both developers and C-suite executives.
• Pragmatic Problem-Solver: You balance technical rigour with commercial awareness, ensuring solutions are buildable and meet the business requirement.

QUALIFICATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS

• Tertiary Education: A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical discipline is required.
• Desirable Certifications: While not required, professional certifications in the following are highly regarded:
  • Technical: Confluent Certified Developer, Confluent Certified Administrator, Confluent Certified Cloud Operator
  • Cloud Platform: Azure, AWS, IBM or GCP cloud certifications are always welcomed.

 What We Offer

• Senior-level renumeration  | A competitive package commensurate with your experience and market rate.
• Flexible working |Remote-first with client on-site when required. Results and relationships matter, not where you sit. 
• Meaningful, high-profile work | Enterprise-grade programmes where your architecture decisions matter.
• Continuous learning | Certification support, conference attendance, and access to cutting-edge AI technology. 
• Senior team, no politics | Small, experienced team. Direct access to CEO. No layers of middle management. 
• Growth pathway | Real opportunity to grow into a practice leadership position as Synapsewerx scales. 
• Family 1^st company | We support the whole family, not just the employee, with our family first always policy. 

• Pathway to Ownership | A growing company that promotes ownership for key talent via our Employee Share Option Plan.  

About Synapsewerx

Synapsewerx engages at the intersection of real-time data integration, cloud-native architecture, and emerging AI/Agentic technology — helping our clients turn complex technology challenges into competitive advantage. At Synapsewerx, we’re pioneering the future of intelligent transformation, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to empower businesses across the APAC region.

We are a growing, senior-led team. Every person that joins us is a practitioner — someone who designs, builds, and delivers. Our culture is built on family, integrity, openness, honesty, and transparency. We are dedicated to fostering an environment where innovation thrives and where our people’s professional growth is genuinely supported.

Synapsewerx is an equal opportunity employer that promotes pay parity. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, disability, or background.

Apply Now

Ready to embark on this exciting journey with us? Submit your application and join the Synapsewerx family, where your contributions will pave the way for a brighter, more connected future.

To apply, please submit your CV, a cover letter highlighting relevant experience and your preferred engagement terms, plus any additional information you believe demonstrates your fit for this role. We're eager to learn more about you!

Embark on a career that matters. Apply now and join us on this transformative journey!

For further information, please contact:

Richard Neeson via careers@synapsewerx.com