# Staff Software Engineer I - Internal Access Management
**Company:** [Confluent](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/confluent)
**Location:** Remote
**Salary:** $225K-$265K
**Experience:** 10+ years
**Skills:** Kubernetes, Opa, IAM, Oauth2, OIDC, AWS, GCP, Azure, Zero-Trust, Workload Identity
**Posted:** 2026-01-16
> Leads architecture and execution of Internal Access Management, enforcing least privilege, zero-trust, and secure authorization across Kubernetes and multi-cloud environments. Requires 10+ years experience with deep expertise in IAM, cloud security, and distributed systems.
## Job Description
## What You Will Do
- Define and drive the long-term architecture and roadmap for Internal Access Management across Kubernetes and multi-cloud environments.
- Architect and implement **least privilege**, **just-in-time access**, and **zero-trust** models across Confluent services.
- Build and evolve scalable access-authorization workflows and lifecycle management systems using technologies such as **OPA**, **cloud IAM policies**, **workload identity**, and internal enforcement engines.
- Strengthen security boundaries through threat modeling, defense-in-depth practices, and comprehensive access-auditing capabilities.
- Partner with cross-functional teams—including Platform, Kafka, Observability, Developer Productivity, Release Engineering, and SRE—to drive adoption of secure identity and access patterns.
- Mentor senior engineers, elevate engineering standards, and influence architectural decisions across the organization.
- Communicate complex technical decisions clearly and align stakeholders across engineering and security.

## What You Will Bring
- 10+ years of engineering experience, with 4+ years in security, IAM, or distributed systems.
- Deep expertise in **Kubernetes**, **workload identity**, **cloud IAM** (AWS, GCP, Azure), and **zero-trust architectures**.
- Strong understanding of authentication technologies: **IAM**, **OAuth2**, **OIDC**, **policy engines**, and modern zero-trust principles.
- Proven track record leading multi-team technical initiatives at a Staff or Senior Staff level.
- Strong knowledge of distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, container orchestration, and service mesh.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder-influence skills across engineering and security domains.

## What Gives You an Edge
- Experience leading cross-org security platform architecture initiatives.
- Background in building developer-focused authentication and authorization platforms.
**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/staff-software-engineer-i-internal-access-management-at-confluent-75979ee8-af28-4c30-affe-84013760190c
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/staff-software-engineer-i-internal-access-management-at-confluent-75979ee8-af28-4c30-affe-84013760190c