diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 9e434a6..cc46b4d 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
     <version>0.2.2-SNAPSHOT</version>
 
     <properties>
+        <java.version>21</java.version>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
         <kafka.version>3.6.0</kafka.version>
         <!-- Must manage Jackson dependencies to avoid conflicts with Scala -->
@@ -99,8 +100,8 @@
                 <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                 <version>3.11.0</version>
                 <configuration>
-                    <source>17</source>
-                    <target>17</target>
+                    <source>${java.version}</source>
+                    <target>${java.version}</target>
                     <encoding>UTF-8</encoding>
                 </configuration>
             </plugin>