API Gateway Architect(Kong API)

  • Richmond, VA
  • Posted 16 hours ago | Updated 16 hours ago

Overview

On Site
Depends on Experience
Accepts corp to corp applications
Contract - Independent
Contract - W2
Contract - 18 Month(s)

Skills

kong
API
architect

Job Details

Job Title: Kong API Gateway Architect

Location: Richmond, VA or McLean, VA (Hybrid)
Employment Type: Contract

We are seeking a highly skilled 12+ years Kong API Gateway Architect to design, implement, and optimize enterprise-scale API gateway solutions. The ideal candidate will have deep technical expertise in Kong Gateway (OSS or Enterprise) and Konnect, combined with strong leadership and architectural experience in API management, microservices, and cloud technologies.

Key Responsibilities

  • Architect and Design API Solutions: Lead the design and implementation of scalable, secure, and high-performance API gateway solutions using Kong Gateway and Konnect.

  • Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Provide architectural direction, technical guidance, and mentorship to cross-functional teams (developers, DevOps, security, and product owners).

  • API Lifecycle Management & Governance: Define and enforce API standards, versioning, documentation, and governance frameworks for consistent enterprise adoption.

  • Infrastructure & Operations: Integrate Kong with CI/CD pipelines for automated deployments and configuration management, leveraging Docker and Kubernetes for orchestration.

  • Security and Compliance: Configure and manage Kong plugins for authentication, authorization, rate limiting, and throttling, ensuring compliance with enterprise and regulatory policies.

  • Performance and Monitoring: Optimize API architectures for reliability and reusability while utilizing observability tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK for monitoring and analytics.

  • Stakeholder Communication: Collaborate with leadership and stakeholders to present technical roadmaps, architecture decisions, and progress updates in clear, concise language.

  • Troubleshooting and Problem-Solving: Act as the final escalation point for complex technical issues, leading analysis and resolution of performance bottlenecks and system failures.

Required Skills and Qualifications

  • Experience: 12+ years in software engineering or API architecture, with 6+ years of hands-on experience working specifically with Kong API Gateway.

  • Technical Expertise:

    • Strong expertise in Kong Gateway/Konnect, including plugin development and configuration (decK, Kong Manager, etc.).

    • Advanced understanding of RESTful API design principles and microservices architectures.

    • Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform).

    • Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code tools (Terraform, Ansible).

    • Strong background in containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).

    • Scripting and programming proficiency (Lua, Python, Java, .NET).

    • In-depth knowledge of API security standards (OAuth2, OIDC, mTLS).

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