Skillenai

Apache Kafka jobs in 2026 — demand, top roles hiring, and related skills

As of 2026-10-29, Apache Kafka appears in 1,080 job postings indexed by Skillenai over the past 90 days — Software Engineer has the most postings mentioning Apache Kafka, with demand share up 9.4% vs the prior 4 weeks.

Last updated · 90d ending 2026-10-29

Postings · last 90 days
1,080
Demand vs prior month
up 9.4% vs the prior 4 weeks
Top role · 39.2% of skill postings
Software Engineer
Top hiring metro
Bengaluru

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Frequently asked questions about Apache Kafka

+Is Apache Kafka in demand in 2026?

Yes. Apache Kafka appears in 1,080 job postings indexed by Skillenai over the 90 days ending 2026-10-29. Software Engineer accounts for the most postings mentioning Apache Kafka (39.2% of all postings mentioning Apache Kafka).

+What jobs require Apache Kafka?

According to the Skillenai jobs index over the 90 days ending 2026-10-29, among roles with at least 20 postings, the highest shares mentioning Apache Kafka are Java Backend Developer (10.7% of that role’s postings mention Apache Kafka), Systems/Software Engineer (8.3% of that role’s postings mention Apache Kafka), Java Software Engineer (7.5% of that role’s postings mention Apache Kafka).

+What skills are commonly paired with Apache Kafka?

Across job postings indexed by Skillenai (90 days ending 2026-10-29), Apache Kafka most often appears alongside Java, Kubernetes, Python, SQL, AWS.

+Where is Apache Kafka most in demand?

As of 2026-10-29, the metro areas posting the most jobs requiring Apache Kafka are Bengaluru, Pune, London, Singapore, Toronto, according to the Skillenai jobs index.

+How can I keep up with new Apache Kafka content and jobs?

Skillenai indexes news, blog posts, and research papers mentioning Apache Kafka alongside the jobs index. You can subscribe to a daily email digest of new Apache Kafka content from your Skillenai account.

+Which skills come before and after Apache Kafka?

The skill-flow chart shows skills documented in adjacent positions across observed employer changes. An outgoing skill is documented in the following position but not the preceding one. These are ideas to explore, not proven prerequisites, acquisition dates, or levels of mastery. Each ribbon counts employer moves with that skill pair; one move can contribute several pairs.

Weekly indexed postings requiring Apache Kafka — last 90 days

Salary distribution

Box = 25th–75th percentile · tick = median · whisker = 10th–90th · USD, annualized

Career paths around Apache Kafka

Skills documented before and after this skill across employer changes.

Historical career profiles · all locations

Skills before Apache Kafka

Before Apache Kafkapython → Apache Kafka: 93 observed employer moves with this skill pairsql → Apache Kafka: 63 observed employer moves with this skill pairJenkins → Apache Kafka: 53 observed employer moves with this skill pairSpring Boot → Apache Kafka: 52 observed employer moves with this skill pairdocker → Apache Kafka: 49 observed employer moves with this skill pairJava → Apache Kafka: 41 observed employer moves with this skill pairPower BI → Apache Kafka: 39 observed employer moves with this skill pairRESTful APIs → Apache Kafka: 35 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafkapython: 93 movespython93 movessql: 63 movessql63 movesJenkins: 53 movesJenkins53 movesSpring Boot: 52 movesSpring Boot52 movesdocker: 49 movesdocker49 movesJava: 41 movesJava41 movesPower BI: 39 movesPower BI39 movesRESTful APIs: 35 movesRESTful APIs35 moves

Skills after Apache Kafka

After Apache KafkaApache Kafka → Kafka: 34 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafka → python: 33 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafka → snowflake: 31 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafka → sql: 30 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafka → docker: 27 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafka → Jenkins: 25 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafka → kubernetes: 24 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache Kafka → Tableau: 24 observed employer moves with this skill pairApache KafkaKafka: 34 movesKafka34 movespython: 33 movespython33 movessnowflake: 31 movessnowflake31 movessql: 30 movessql30 movesdocker: 27 movesdocker27 movesJenkins: 25 movesJenkins25 moveskubernetes: 24 moveskubernetes24 movesTableau: 24 movesTableau24 moves
How to read this chart · view counts

Each side is an independent set of observed employer moves, not the same people followed through three stages. Ribbon widths compare move counts within that side. Internal moves are not included.

The following position documents a skill that the preceding position does not. Skills must be linked to both positions, with clear dates and no overlap. One move can connect several skill pairs. These patterns suggest skills to explore; they do not establish prerequisites, when a skill was learned, or a higher skill level.

Source: Skillenai talent graph, historical career profiles. Historical descriptions and coverage can change. Only the leading published connections are shown.

Observed connections and move counts
ConnectionMoves
Before: python93
Before: sql63
Before: Jenkins53
Before: Spring Boot52
Before: docker49
Before: Java41
Before: Power BI39
Before: RESTful APIs35
After: Kafka34
After: python33
After: snowflake31
After: sql30
After: docker27
After: Jenkins25
After: kubernetes24
After: Tableau24

Roles most likely to require Apache Kafka

Among roles with at least 20 postings in the same period.

RolePostings mentioning skill% of role postings mentioning skill
Java Backend Developer310.7%
Systems/Software Engineer28.3%
Java Software Engineer67.5%
Cloud Data Engineer36.1%
Product Software Engineer25.7%
Ruby on Rails Developer15.0%
Machine Learning Systems Engineer14.8%
Data Engineering Intern24.5%
Java Engineer24.4%
Data Platform Engineer134.4%

Roles with the most Apache Kafka postings

RolePostings mentioning skillShare of skill postings
Software Engineer42339.2%
Data Engineer13512.5%
Solutions Architect383.5%
Backend Engineer282.6%
DevOps Engineer252.3%
Software Developer181.7%
Backend Developer151.4%
Site Reliability Engineer151.4%
Engineering Manager141.3%
Platform Engineer141.3%

Top companies posting jobs requiring Apache Kafka

Employers ranked by indexed job postings in the last 90 days.

Top companies posting jobs requiring Apache Kafka
CompanyPostings · 90 days
Mastercard34
MongoDB33
Cisco28
Wise26
Encora16
Barclays15
SpaceX15
LinkedIn13
Disney9
Mercury Insurance9

Job postings indexed over the past 90 days, grouped by resolved employer. Counts are postings, not hires. Companies without a published page appear without a link.

Top metros hiring for Apache Kafka

NamePostingsShare
Bengaluru423.9%
Pune423.9%
London242.2%
Singapore161.5%
Toronto151.4%
Hyderabad111.0%
Redmond111.0%
Topeka100.9%
Austin90.8%

Skills commonly paired with Apache Kafka

Java (576)Kubernetes (486)Python (457)SQL (385)AWS (344)CI/CD (315)Docker (312)Spring Boot (286)microservices (272)PostgreSQL (224)

Explore related pages

How this was computed

Weekly job-count charts omit the incomplete current week (weeks start Monday, UTC). Totals include all postings in the stated window. Counts derive from the Skillenai jobs index over the 90 days ending 2026-10-29. Skills are resolved against the Skillenai canonical taxonomy, so the same entity is counted whether a posting writes 'Python', 'Python 3', or 'python'. Role prevalence divides postings mentioning Apache Kafka by all postings for each role in the same window, ranking roles with at least 20 postings. Role distribution divides each role’s Apache Kafka postings by all Apache Kafka postings, including postings without a role. Shares need not sum to 100% for the displayed roles. Pages refresh weekly (or daily for the top-50 most-requested skills). Adjusted posting share: 0.4% to 0.5%. Demand share change is the relative percentage change between these adjusted shares. Each employer-and-ATS group has at least 10 postings in each 90-day window; its earlier posting count supplies the same weight in both windows. The panel includes 2,482 identified employers and covers 71% of earlier and 70% of latest indexed postings. Windows: 2026-06-30 to 2026-09-28 and 2026-07-28 to 2026-10-26 (UTC; end dates excluded). The windows overlap by 62 days. Dates reflect indexing, not the employer’s posting date. This measures posting mix, not total hiring or market-wide demand. Matching excludes entrants and exits; changes in crawl completeness within an employer or ATS can still affect the result.

source
Skillenai jobs index, deduplicated daily
entity_id
21a17e15b5475e88
data_as_of
2026-10-29
window_days
90
Compiled by Jared Rand · Data sourced from the Skillenai labor market index