Engineering Manager - CC UI Apps (Kafka, Governance, and Tableflow)

We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them. It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together. One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform. ABOUT THE ROLE: Confluent Cloud UI Apps owns the core cloud experiences that data engineers, platform operators, and governance stakeholders use every day to discover, understand, and safely operate streaming data. As an Engineering Manager for Kafka UI, Tableflow UI, and Governance UI, you will lead the team that stitches these experiences together in Confluent Cloud — from Kafka-centric workflows and Data Portal to governance-aware views and Tableflow integrations. You will be responsible for a team that operates at the intersection of product, platform, and governance: evolving the Governance/Data Portal experience, completing the Tableflow story in the UI, and driving schema and catalog experiences (e.g., search, RBAC-aware editing, subject lifecycle) that sit on top of complex backend systems. You will run several initiatives in parallel, know when to lean in technically on architecture, backend contracts, and platform UX, and when to focus on building, coaching, and scaling a healthy, high-performing team. WHAT YOU WILL DO: - Own the overall vision and execution for Kafka UI, Tableflow UI, and Governance UI — including, but not limited to, Data Portal, Governance-aware Kafka experiences, and Tableflow integrations in lineage and catalog — to deliver cohesive, intuitive user journeys for data engineers, platform operators, and governance stakeholders in Confluent Cloud. - Work closely with product management, design, and TPMs to build and drive the roadmap for these experiences, enabling seamless adoption and operation of capabilities like stream governance, schema management, catalog search and discovery, and Tableflow, while balancing net‑new features with migrations, deprecations, and UX improvements. - Partner with backend and platform teams (e.g., Kafka, Schema Registry, Data Catalog/RBAC, Search, Tableflow/Unified Storage, Observability) to define clear API contracts and sequencing, de‑risk cross-team dependencies, and ensure UI flows remain robust as services evolve (including upgrades to new APIs and retirement of deprecated ones). - Raise the operational bar for this team by instilling strong execution practices — including effective retrospectives, clear ownership and accountability, and a predictable approach to managing capacity across “big rocks” and papercuts — while giving the team room to choose the day‑to‑day execution model that works best (e.g., sprints vs. Kanban). - Build, grow, and lead a team of engineers working on cloud UI applications: hire and retain top talent, provide coaching and feedback, create structured onboarding in a complex domain (Kafka, governance, catalog, Tableflow), and develop engineers into senior technical and leadership roles. - Lean in technically where it matters most — participating in design and architecture reviews, shaping cross-surface UX patterns with design, guiding decisions around performance and reliability, and unblocking the team when backend contracts, deprecations, or ambiguous requirements threaten delivery. WHAT YOU WILL BRING: - Minimum of 8+ years of software development experience with 3+ years of engineering management experience, including leading teams that deliver complex, customer-facing cloud experiences. - Strong experience with Kafka, data streaming platforms, or data governance/catalog products (e.g., Schema Registry, data catalogs, lineage, or table/warehouse integrations), and a track record of shipping features that sit on top of such systems. - Technical expertise in large scale systems engineering or distributed systems, with hands-on experience building or integrating with cloud-native services (for example, APIs powering search, catalog, permissions/RBAC, governance workflows, or storage/table systems). - A strong track record of driving execution across multiple concurrent initiatives — from net-new feature development (such as UX revamps, new workflows, and integrations) to operational work like API migrations, deprecation-driven changes, quality improvements, and papercuts — while maintaining clear priorities and predictable delivery. - Demonstrated ability to influence and align cross-functional partners (product management, design, TPMs, and partner backend teams) through clear communication, structured status and risk narratives, and data-informed decision making. - Experience hiring while maintaining a high talent bar, keeping engineers engaged and motivated, providing effective coaching and feedback, and handling performance management in a fair and transparent way. - BS Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience; an advanced degree in computer science or a related discipline is a plus. WHAT GIVES YOU AN EDGE: - Experience building or leading teams that work on governance and platform UX (for example, catalog or lineage UIs, schema lifecycle workflows, or table/warehouse integrations such as Tableflow, Iceberg, or similar) in a cloud environment. READY TO BUILD WHAT'S NEXT? LET’S GET IN MOTION. COME AS YOU ARE Belonging isn’t a perk here. It’s the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what’s possible. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by law. PRIVACY STATEMENT Confluent is an IBM subsidiary which has been acquired by IBM and will be integrated into the IBM organization. By proceeding with this application, you understand that Confluent will share your personal information with other IBM affiliates involved in your recruitment process, wherever these are located. More Information on how IBM protects your personal information, including the safeguards in case of cross-border data transfer, are available here http://ibm.com/careers/us-en/privacy-policy/.