# Staff Engineer - Kafka Specialist at PayPal

PayPal is hiring a Staff Engineer - Kafka Specialist in San Jose, United States. It pays $177k-$262k a year and Level rates it Little AI ●○○○; you can [apply on Level](https://jobsbylevel.com/go/4007a123-ba92-4d4a-8cc2-0fc72c82b454).

AI Level 1, AI centrality 32 out of 100. San Jose, California, United States of America.

## Details

- Company: [PayPal](https://jobsbylevel.com/companies/paypal)
- AI level: AI Level 1 (score 32 out of 100)
- Location: San Jose, California, United States of America
- Salary: $177k-$262k
- Posted: October 9, 2026
- Apply: https://jobsbylevel.com/go/4007a123-ba92-4d4a-8cc2-0fc72c82b454

## Description

The Company PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers. We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards. Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade. Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day. We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities. Job Summary: The Venmo Data Infrastructure team supports Venmo's internal and customer-impacting data movement and message streaming infrastructure. We are actively engaged in partnering with development groups, platform, and infrastructure teams — providing deep subject matter expertise on Kafka-based streaming architecture, and acting as the escalation point for analyzing and resolving complex, large-scale streaming and performance issues. Job Description: Essential Responsibilities: Implements tasks within the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), receiving structure and oversight from more experienced staff Follows well-established internal conventions and standard procedures Understands internal standards & processes an applies them to make technical decisions Collaborates with peers, manager, and project lead to gain understanding of tasks and review solutions May contribute to code & design reviews Expected Qualifications: 1+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience. Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications : Job Summary This is a senior technical leadership role for an engineer who will serve as the Kafka subject matter expert and technical authority for Venmo's real-time data and message streaming platform. You will act as a project or system lead, setting technical direction for other engineers, driving Kafka architecture and operational excellence at scale, and representing the team's engineering standards both internally and externally. This role goes beyond hands-on Kafka operations — it requires shaping how the broader organization designs, scales, and reasons about streaming infrastructure. What You'll Do Own the technical roadmap and architecture for Venmo's

The description is cut here. Read the full offer: https://jobsbylevel.com/jobs/staff-engineer-kafka-specialist-at-paypal-718036

Source: https://jobsbylevel.com/jobs/staff-engineer-kafka-specialist-at-paypal-718036

## Cite this page

Level. https://jobsbylevel.com/jobs/staff-engineer-kafka-specialist-at-paypal-718036.

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