diff --git a/backend/server/app.py b/backend/server/app.py
index 8544689..0443250 100644
--- a/backend/server/app.py
+++ b/backend/server/app.py
@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@ def get_producer() -> KafkaProducer:
             bootstrap_servers=[broker],
             value_serializer=lambda v: json.dumps(v).encode('utf-8'),
             key_serializer=lambda k: k.encode('utf-8') if k else None,
+            acks=1,  # wait for leader ack only
+            retries=3,
+            max_in_flight_requests_per_connection=5,
+            request_timeout_ms=30000,
+            api_version_auto_timeout_ms=10000,
         )
     return _producer
 
@@ -72,12 +77,13 @@ async def ingest_logs(event: EventPayload):
             event.ts = datetime.utcnow().isoformat() + 'Z'
 
         producer = get_producer()
-        producer.send(
+        future = producer.send(
             'user-interactions',
             key=event.sessionId,
             value=event.model_dump()
         )
-        producer.flush(timeout=5)
+        # add callback for error logging but don't block
+        future.add_errback(lambda e: print(f"[KAFKA_SEND_ERROR] {e}"))
 
         return {"success": True}
     except Exception as e: