Distributed Systems Engineering with Apache Kafka ft. Colin McCabe

Colin McCabe shares about what it’s like being a distributed systems engineer on the Core Kafka team at Confluent, where he has worked previously, and how that led to his interest in Apache Kafka®. As an active member of the Apache open source community, he describes that the community is a place that both welcomes newcomers and fosters different ideas that help make the product the best that it can be for everyone.

Being a distributed systems engineer versus a full stack engineer comes with its own unique challenges. Colin offers some advice for those interested in working with Kafka and what the interview process is like at Confluent. It’s not all about what you know, but rather how you collaborate and contribute to the team, and how you get to the answer. Part of finding the answer is getting involved with Apache projects themselves by engaging with others and helping with bug fixes as much as possible, because it’ll help you gain a better grasp on a technology that is ever-changing.