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Apache Kafka Experts in Cologne

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Hire experts who design event-driven architectures, connect Kafka with cloud services and data platforms, and build reliable streaming pipelines. FRATCH matches you quickly with vetted, available freelancers whose skills fit your Apache Kafka project.

Meet FRATCH Experts in Cologne, who have recently used Apache Kafka

Verified expert

Hooman B.

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Fullstack Developer

Cologne
Hooman B.

Last position:

Fullstack Developer at Möbel Roller GmbH

  • Further development of the existing e-commerce platform based on SAP Commerce (Hybris) to meet the growing demands of digital commerce.
  • Ensuring the scalability and performance of the backend, so the platform remained stable and efficient even under heavy user load.
  • Development and integration of new OCC REST APIs and services for modular extensions and flexible adjustments, to implement new features quickly.
  • Optimization of data flows and interfaces, which significantly improved platform efficiency and system performance.
  • Ensuring a maintainable and scalable code base by using Clean Code principles, proven design patterns, and a future-proof architecture.
  • Reduction of errors through extensive testing with JUnit, Mockito, and load tests with Gatling, supported by the introduction of automated test processes.
  • Improved system performance through targeted refactoring measures and efficient database queries, especially to handle peak loads.
  • Use of modern cloud and monitoring tools such as Kubernetes, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Grafana to ensure a stable and monitored infrastructure.
  • Clear improvement in efficiency, scalability, and reliability of the platform, which now meets the demands of a dynamic and growing e-commerce market.
Verified expert

Burhan D.

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Experienced IT and AI Architect

Niederkassel
Burhan D.

Last position:

Enterprise Architect & Solution Architect at DB Netz AG

With project PRIZMA, DB will modernize its infrastructure on the one hand, and develop a fail-safe IT landscape on the other hand, which can be restored quickly and securely in case of a disaster.

  • Capture current architectures of existing systems as well as methodical consulting and development of target architectures
  • Deepen and maintain the building plan / target IT landscape
  • Implement technical architecture concepts & architecture descriptions
  • Implement migration concepts for updating and further developing the platform and information systems
  • Assess submitted improvement suggestions as part of the project
  • Capability management: identify capability gaps, develop target visions, and support transformation planning within the enterprise architecture.
  • Create a compatibility matrix of the components in use and compare dependencies of specific versions
  • Create an IT concept for extending the platform with the following topics: hardware and software requirements, security, licensing, high availability, load balancing, backup & recovery, update strategy, monitoring integration, etc.
  • Coordinate with business architects as well as technical architects from the cross-functional architecture area of the PRISMA program for the topics (backup, Active Directory, monitoring, Citrix, and business applications ...)
  • Status meetings and alignment of project planning with the Release Train Engineer / Project Manager
  • Advise the Release Train Engineer / Project Manager in identifying project risks
  • Advise the System Architect Engineers in steering the implementation of the concept
  • Implement the IT concept
  • Document the infrastructure

Label: MS Project, LINUX, Windows, ORACLE, Java, REST, SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange, UML, Enterprise Architect, BPMN, AZURE, AWS, V-MODEL, Micro Service, VisualStudio, SAP S/4HANA, SCRUM(SAFE), ESB (TIBCO), Python, Innovator, LeanIX (TOGAF), Ansible, Ansible Tower, Ansible Automation, ROBOT, SpringBoot

Verified expert

Hassan A.

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IT Consultant

Düsseldorf
Hassan A.

Last position:

DevOps & Observability Consultant at ALDI South (Albrecht's Discount)

  • Supporting the DevOps team in Terraform-managed, multi-region AWS infrastructure to achieve environment parity.
  • Developed end-to-end CI/CD pipelines using AWS CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and CodeDeploy, automating the build and deployment.
  • Maintained pre- and post-deployment scripts to automate critical tasks such as database schema migrations and environment sanity checks.
  • Implemented CI/CD flow specifically for hotfixes via separate Git branches, managing back-merge activities from feature branches to release branches to ensure code integrity through automated conflict resolution.
  • Deployed a dedicated, lightweight sanity check application hosted cost-effectively on Azure Container Apps to run automated health and basic functional checks as a post-deployment activity triggered via pipeline.
  • Investigated production incidents through code changes and AWS CloudWatch logs.
  • Coordinated integration of Dynatrace APM and its APIs for monitoring purposes.
  • Full stack QA strategist for a high-traffic e-commerce platform built on a layered architecture for the back-end testing of core platform services, especially the order management system in Zed and Glue layers.
  • Managed automation activities, testing process, and refactoring practices.
  • Responsible for framework migrations, setup, and training for new automation frameworks.
  • Promoted a shift-left approach within the QA team and created the test concept.
  • Participated in meetings with IT managers, business owners, product owners, and team members.
  • Designed and implemented contract testing to validate API schema compatibility between the order management system and the Zed and Glue layers, reducing production-relevant breaking changes by approximately 3%.
  • Led the migration to a multi-environment framework that enabled test execution across 4 country configurations from a single codebase.
  • Integrated automated unit and functional tests directly into the GitLab CI/CD pipeline, reducing pipeline runtime by 32%.
  • Coached and trained 5 QA engineers across Germany and Hungary in test automation, framework architecture, and best practices.
  • Architected a layered backend test automation framework separating business logic, API request builders, and the database layer.
  • Piloted AI-assisted testing with Playwright Agents, the Playwright MCP Server, and GitHub Copilot for automated test generation, execution, and self-healing Playwright scripts.
Verified expert

Pierre G.

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Ansible Automation, Windows Third Level Support

Cologne
Pierre G.

Last position:

Ansible Automation, Windows Third Level Support at DB InfraGO AG

  • PRISMA project
  • Ansible automation
  • Windows third-level support for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 2013, Windows 2016, Windows 2019
Verified expert

Maurice K.

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Senior Solution Architect

Cologne
Maurice K.

Last position:

Solution Architect – Cloud-Native Transformation of IoT Monitoring Platform at NDA / Wind Energy Sector

  • Led the end-to-end architecture and migration of a legacy on- premise IoT monitoring system to a cloud-native Azure platform within a 17-member development team
  • Designed and implemented a scalable microservices architecture (Java 21, Spring Boot, Kubernetes, Azure Services), decoupling IoT data streams and eliminating legacy system bottlenecks
  • Defined technology stack, mentored developers, and orchestrated cross-functional teams in 4 countries to ensure high-quality delivery and alignment with architectural standards
  • Drove requirements engineering and system redesign, removing years of technical debt and introducing event-driven processing and automated workflows
  • Key Achievements
  • Increased system stability and uptime by ~10x, eliminating need for 24/7 DevOps intervention
  • Reduced hosting costs by ~80% (5x savings) through cloud optimization
  • Improved performance and scalability, enabling stable handling of high-volume IoT data streams
  • Delivered successful zero-disruption migration from on-prem to cloud, with strong user satisfaction and reliability from day one
Verified expert

Stefan M.

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Installation Portal Server and Content Management Integration

Köln
Stefan M.

Last position:

Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer

  • Design, planning and execution of complex acceptance tests for a document exchange platform for the German justice authorities.
  • Validation of decrypted and certificate-based message exchange via web platform, mobile app, and Java API.
  • Documentation of test cases, execution steps, and test results.
  • Technologies: Windows 11/10, Ubuntu, iOS, Android, Bash for Windows, Java 17, IntelliJ, Git, Jira, Confluence, Citrix Server, xJustiz standard implementation, specific justice software.
Verified expert

Hamdi R.

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Lead Full-Stack Developer & Solution Architect

Bonn
Hamdi R.

Last position:

Full-Stack AI Developer at Karray-Pflege GmbH

PFS-Matching-App

  • Integrated an intelligent LLM chatbot using LangChain4j, enabling conversational AI, context-aware question answering, document summarization, and autonomous tool execution.
  • Implemented Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), prompt engineering, and AI agent workflows to connect large language models with enterprise data and backend services.
  • Developed RESTful APIs and secure backend services to support AI-driven interactions and business processes
Verified expert

Markus G.

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Full Stack Developer

Frechen
Markus G.

Last position:

Full Stack Developer at REWE Digital

  • A warehouse valuation system was reimplemented using Java, Spring Boot, and Camunda. The backend solution focuses on integration and batch calculations, the frontend on managing formulas and reviewing results.
  • Java 21
  • Spring Boot
  • JPA
  • Maven
  • REST
  • Kafka
  • PostgreSQL
  • DB2
  • Liquibase
  • Google Cloud Storage
  • Keycloak
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • Helm
  • Terragrunt
  • SonarQube
  • Angular
  • IntelliJ
  • JUnit 5
  • Mockito
  • Open API
Verified expert

Christian H.

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Developer

Bonn
Christian H.

Last position:

Developer at Opereon Consulting GmbH

  • Developed a shop website
  • Integrated an AI language model
  • Developed tools for AI-powered webhooks
  • Technical tools: REACT.js; Elevenlabs; MCP; n8n; HTTP
Verified expert

Jens H.

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#52 Test Manager in Safety-Critical Infrastructure

Köln
Jens H.

Last position:

#52 Test Manager in Safety-Critical Infrastructure at Telecommunications Company

  • Network elements, network, operational and operator-related systems
  • Supporting around 20 different products (managed agile)
  • Requirements analysis and management (functional and non-functional)
  • Test concept and planning (scope, test phases, effort, schedule, resources, organization, etc.)
  • Aligning approach with clients and service providers
  • Managing and assisting in creation of test cases for system, integration and end-to-end tests
  • Guiding and supporting test execution
  • Defect management and planning bug fixes with external providers
  • Preparing and facilitating workshops
  • Regular reporting and creating automated test reports
  • Further development of agile testing methodology and configuration of supporting tools
  • Conceptual support in developing a quality seal for rating product and service quality of internal and external providers
  • Requirements engineering based on ISO/IEC 25010, Scrum, SaFE
  • BMC Remedy, Atlassian Confluence, Atlassian Jira (including plugins Xray, Structure), Microsoft Office (incl. Visio), Obsidian, doxis document management system, Gitlab, Obsidian
Verified expert

Armen M.

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Interim CTO | Transformation Leader

Odenthal
Armen M.

Last position:

CTO/CPO Platform & Technology at Green Mobility Holding

  • Overall responsibility for platform transformation across ERP, CRM, PIM, and AI-driven process automation
  • ERP transformation: Implementing and migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
  • CRM & growth stack: Implementing HubSpot as the central CRM and a platform for lead and marketing automation
  • Product data & commerce enablement: Introducing an ePIM to scale category management and digital commerce processes
  • AI-driven process automation: Designing and implementing agent-based AI workflows to automate processes in business services, accounting, tender management, and marketing
  • Building a scalable platform organization including product development, DevOps, UX, cloud engineering, and corporate IT
  • Implementing modern product and portfolio governance (e.g., OKRs, portfolio boards, value-based roadmaps) to manage technology-driven initiatives
  • Harmonizing heterogeneous system landscapes and transforming them into a modular, scalable platform architecture (ERP, CRM, PIM, integrated customer journeys)
  • Coaching and developing product owners, tech leads, delivery managers, and UX teams to build a scalable product organization
Verified expert

Alexander V.

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Software Architect / Software Engineer / Tech Lead

Cologne
Alexander V.

Last position:

Senior DevOps / Platform Engineer at Kaufland e-commerce / real.digital (ex hitmeister.de)

  • Evolved the platform from bare-metal infrastructure with a monolithic PHP application to a hybrid Google Cloud architecture with Go microservices on Kubernetes
  • Managed and scaled a production infrastructure with 300+ VMs and dozens of clusters, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, RabbitMQ, Redis and Elasticsearch clusters
  • Designed architecture, deployment, monitoring, performance analysis, and upgrades for all platform services using Terraform and Ansible
  • Migrated observability systems from ELK and Prometheus to Datadog, managed with Terraform
  • Introduced Jenkins CI/CD with SonarQube integration and automated tests to speed up feedback cycles
  • Containerized the testing environment and implemented GitLab CI pipelines for Docker image builds, static code analysis, and infrastructure tests
  • Performed zero-downtime migrations of MySQL and MongoDB clusters to Google Cloud
  • Developed reusable Ansible roles for database clusters and automated data obfuscation for staging environments
  • Decomposed monolithic databases and migrated to microservice architectures
  • Built tools to detect and optimize slow queries in MySQL and MongoDB
  • Conducted online schema migrations with pt-online-schema-change without downtime windows
  • Developed internal Go applications for batch queries, GitLab-Jira integration, and MongoDB backup recovery
  • Technologies: Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Go, Bash, Python, PHP, SQL, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Drone CI, MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch, RabbitMQ, Kafka, Docker, Kubernetes, Nomad, Ansible, Terraform, Grafana, ELK, Prometheus, Datadog, Nagios, Zabbix, Nginx, HAProxy, Vault, Helm, SonarQube, Filebeat, Auditbeat, Google Cloud, AWS
Verified expert

Peter B.

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Data Warehouse Consultant (Development and Analysis)

Köln
Peter B.

Last position:

Data Warehouse Consultant (Development and Analysis) at Atruvia AG

  • Developed and enhanced ETL loading jobs with IBM DataStage and optimized SQL in an IBM DB2 environment as part of the Agree21 data migration
  • Analyzed data quality and developed test procedures
  • Created PowerShell scripts and documented GIT deployment processes
  • Technologies: RedHat Linux, IBM DB2 with DBVisualizer, IBM InfoSphere DataStage 11.7, JIRA, TortoiseGIT, TortoiseSVN, PowerShell scripts
Verified expert

Sebastian T.

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Software Engineer / Cloud Engineer

Bonn
Sebastian T.

Last position:

Software Engineer / Cloud Engineer at OC Fulfillment GmbH

  • Hybrid role as the first software engineer in the company to bootstrap the organization, laying out technical foundation and advising management on organizational aspects.
  • Set up the SaaS platform architecture, selected languages and tools, and designed processes to deliver customer value quickly and reliably.
  • Designed and implemented build and continuous deployment pipeline with multi-tenant approach enabling extreme scaling of the SaaS platform.
  • Established initial ITSM and support processes, provided monitoring and alarming, and participated in the on-call team.
  • Proposed new approaches to scale the platform and improve backend interfaces to mitigate bugs and communication overhead.
  • Mentored new employees and served as a trustful team member and lateral leader.
  • Conducted interviews for technical roles.
  • Used technologies: Typescript, Node.js, Bash, Google Cloud Platform (App Engine, Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, Google Endpoints, Firebase), GitHub Actions, Docker, Terraform, MongoDB, Firebase, REST APIs, GraphQL.

Discover over 15,000 top freelancers

Statistics of experts using Apache Kafka

Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.

Experience

20 years (Germany: 18 years)

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne have 20 years of professional experience on average. It is 2 years more than in Germany, where the average stands at 18 years.

Position duration

1.8 years (Germany: 2.7 years)

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne stay in a single position for 1.8 years on average. It is 0.9 years less than in Germany, where the average stands at 2.7 years.

Positions per freelancer

17 (Germany: 13)

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne have completed 17 positions on average over the course of their careers. It is 4 more than in Germany, where the average stands at 13.

Top business areas

Information Technology, Product Development, Quality Assurance

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne have gathered most of their hands-on project experience in Information Technology, Product Development, and Quality Assurance.

Top industries

Information Technology, Retail, Automotive

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne are most in demand in Information Technology, Retail, and Automotive.

Certification focus areas

Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne earn their certifications most often in Information Technology, Product Development, and Project Management.

Bachelor's degree or higher

87% (Germany: 91%)

87% of Apache Kafka experts in Cologne hold at least a Bachelor's degree. It is 4% lower than in Germany, where the rate stands at 91%.

Master's degree or higher

67% (Germany: 55%)

67% of Apache Kafka experts in Cologne hold at least a Master's degree. It is 12% higher than in Germany, where the rate stands at 55%.

Certifications per freelancer

4 (Germany: 2)

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne hold 4 professional certifications on average. It is 2 more than in Germany, where the average stands at 2.

Most common languages

German, English, French

Apache Kafka experts in Cologne most often speak German, English, and French.

Speak two or more languages

100% (Germany: 98%)

100% of Apache Kafka experts in Cologne speak two or more languages. It is 2% higher than in Germany, where the rate stands at 98%.

Based on our profile pool as of 19 Sep 2026.

Daily rate distribution

0 2 4 6 8
2 of the Apache Kafka experts in Cologne charge less than €480 per day.
2 of the Apache Kafka experts in Cologne charge between €480 and €640 per day.
4 of the Apache Kafka experts in Cologne charge between €640 and €800 per day.
6 of the Apache Kafka experts in Cologne charge between €800 and €960 per day.
2 of the Apache Kafka experts in Cologne charge between €960 and €1120 per day.
3 of the Apache Kafka experts in Cologne charge €1120 or more per day.
<€480 €480-​640 €640-​800 €800-​960 €960-​1120 €1120+

The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this technology in Cologne are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.

Average rates of experts in Cologne using Apache Kafka

Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.

1000
750
500
250
Rate comparison chart
Daily rate avg. 821 €
Germany avg. 782 €

The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.

1000
750
500
250
Rate comparison chart
Median rate 800 €
Germany median 800 €

The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.

Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 19 Sep 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.

Apache Kafka experts industry focus

See which industries our matched freelancers work in most often — every figure is calculated live from the freelancers on FRATCH.

  • Information Technology (85%)
  • Retail (65%)
  • Automotive (50%)
  • Banking and Finance (50%)
  • Transportation (50%)
  • Insurance (45%)
  • Healthcare (40%)
  • Telecommunication (40%)

Please note that freelancers can work across multiple industries, so percentages overlap.

About the technology

Event Streaming

Apache Kafka is a distributed platform for publishing, storing and processing streams of events. Companies use it to move data between services, applications and analytical systems without tightly coupling them. Kafka supports durable event logs, replayable data and real-time processing for systems that must remain responsive as activity changes.

Common Systems

Kafka appears in architectures where many services need the same business events or where data must arrive continuously rather than in batches. Typical applications include:

  • Event-driven microservices and service integration
  • Real-time analytics and operational monitoring
  • Data pipelines for lakes, warehouses and search systems
  • Activity tracking, fraud detection and recommendation flows

Ecosystem and Tools

Strong Apache Kafka specialists understand topics, partitions, replication, consumer groups, offsets and delivery semantics. They often work with Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Schema Registry and stream-processing frameworks, alongside Java, Kotlin, Python or Go. Cloud deployments may involve managed Kafka services, Kubernetes, Terraform, observability tools and CI/CD pipelines.

When Expertise Helps

Companies bring in freelance expertise when a first Kafka installation must become reliable in production, when event flows are difficult to trace, or when a legacy integration needs a safer migration path. Specialists can define event contracts, tune throughput and retention, secure access, and establish recovery procedures. In Cologne, they may also support teams that need on-site workshops alongside remote delivery.

Delivery and Reliability

A capable professional treats Kafka as part of a wider system, not as an isolated broker. They clarify ownership of events, choose suitable partition keys, plan schema evolution and test consumer failure, duplication and reprocessing. They also set up monitoring for lag, broker health, throughput and storage so teams can spot operational risks early.

Choosing a Specialist

Look for evidence of complete Kafka deliveries, from architecture and connector design through deployment and support. Ask how the specialist handles ordering, backpressure, data retention, access control and disaster recovery. For collaboration in Cologne, confirm whether the project needs German-language workshops, regular on-site sessions or a fully remote working model. The best fit explains trade-offs clearly and leaves behind maintainable documentation.

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Frequently asked questions

What clients ask us most about Apache Kafka — answered in short.

Apache Kafka is used to transport and retain streams of events between applications and services. Companies use it for event-driven architectures, real-time analytics, data integration, activity tracking and systems that need replayable data.

Apache Kafka is built around a durable, distributed event log that multiple consumer groups can read and replay. RabbitMQ and traditional queues often focus more directly on message delivery and routing, so the right choice depends on retention, replay, ordering, throughput and operational needs.

A strong Apache Kafka specialist usually understands distributed systems, event modelling, APIs, databases and cloud infrastructure. Useful adjacent skills include Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Schema Registry, Kubernetes, Terraform, observability and programming with Java, Kotlin, Python or Go.

The right level depends on the risk and scope of the system rather than a fixed time period. A simple integration may need focused configuration expertise, while a multi-team platform requires experience with partitioning, schema evolution, security, failure recovery and production operations.

Yes. Apache Kafka work is well suited to remote collaboration when access, documentation and deployment processes are ready. Teams in Cologne may still prefer on-site architecture sessions or workshops, so agree on communication routines, language expectations and occasional travel before the engagement starts.

Kafka Streams is a good fit when processing logic should stay close to Kafka topics and be packaged with an application. A specialist should compare it with Flink, Spark Structured Streaming or other tools based on state handling, latency, deployment model, team skills and the complexity of the data flow.

Ask how the specialist would handle consumer lag, duplicate events, ordering, partition keys, schema changes and broker failure in your context. A quality Apache Kafka professional explains trade-offs, proposes observable acceptance criteria and documents the operating model instead of focusing only on initial setup.

Apache Kafka projects often involve managed cloud offerings, Kafka Connect, Kafka Streams, Schema Registry, Kubernetes and infrastructure automation. Professionals should be ready to work across application code, data contracts, security, monitoring and platform operations rather than treating the broker as a standalone component.

The average hourly rate of freelancers in Cologne, Germany who have used Apache Kafka in their recent projects is 103 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 821 € based on an 8-hour working day.

Of the freelancers in Cologne, Germany who have used Apache Kafka in their recent projects, 87% hold at least a Bachelor's degree and 67% hold at least a Master's degree.

On average, freelancers in Cologne, Germany who have used Apache Kafka in their recent projects have 20 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 1.8 years.

The most common languages among freelancers in Cologne, Germany who have used Apache Kafka in their recent projects are German (100%), English (100%), and French (30%).

The most common industries among freelancers in Cologne, Germany who have used Apache Kafka in their recent projects are Information Technology (85%), Retail (65%), and Automotive (50%).

The most common business areas among freelancers in Cologne, Germany who have used Apache Kafka in their recent projects are Information Technology (100%), Product Development (80%), and Quality Assurance (80%).

Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used Apache Kafka

Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.

Berlin Hamburg Munich Cologne Frankfurt Stuttgart Dusseldorf Leipzig Dortmund Essen Bremen Dresden Hanover Nuremberg

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