Java Software Engineer

**Job Title: Software Engineer – Java \& Kafka** **Location:** Remote – LATAM **Employment Type:** Contract **Job Summary** We are seeking a highly skilled **Software Engineer** with strong expertise in **Java distributed systems** and **stream\-based processing** to join our engineering team supporting Pluto TV. This role involves designing, building, and operating high\-throughput backend services that integrate with cloud platforms and support business\-critical applications. The ideal candidate will have hands\-on experience with **Apache Kafka** , **Node.js services** , CI/CD pipelines, and modern infrastructure tooling, including **Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, AWS, and GCP** . **Key Responsibilities** * Design, implement, and maintain distributed backend services using **Java and Node.js** * Build and optimize message\-driven architectures and real\-time data pipelines using **Apache Kafka** * Develop scalable, resilient APIs and backend services * Write clean, maintainable, and well\-tested code following industry best practices * Deploy, monitor, and support applications running on **Kubernetes** across cloud environments * Collaborate with architects and product teams to design system components and integrations * Participate in code reviews, system design discussions, and operational readiness efforts * Troubleshoot production issues across services and infrastructure * Prototype new technologies to reduce cost and increase engineering velocity **Required Qualifications** * Bachelor’s degree (BS) or higher in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field * 5\+ years of software engineering experience * Strong **Java** experience in backend or distributed systems environments * Hands\-on experience with **Apache Kafka** (producers, consumers, partitions, topics, offsets, stream processing) * Proficiency in **Node.js** for backend development * Experience deploying and maintaining services in **Kubernetes** * Experience with **GitHub Actions** for CI/CD * Hands\-on experience with **AWS and/or GCP** * Strong understanding of software design patterns, system architecture, and microservices principles * Experience with **MongoDB and PostgreSQL** (schema design, migrations, performance optimization) * Strong debugging, problem\-solving, and communication skills * Ability to work effectively within a distributed team environment **Nice to Have** * VOD / Streaming platform experience * Experience with React (basic frontend integration, UI components, context management) * Exposure to Infrastructure as Code tools (Terraform, Helm) * Experience with monitoring/observability tools such as Datadog or New Relic