Kong Administrator / Kong API Gateway Administrator

Job Title: Kong Administrator

Location: Memphis, TN (Hybrid/Onsite)

Job Summary:

Value Technology is seeking an experienced Kong Administrator to manage, configure, and support Kong API Gateway environments across development, testing, and production platforms. The ideal candidate will have expertise in API gateway administration, security implementations, traffic management, observability, and Kubernetes-based deployments.

Key Responsibilities:

·         Administer and maintain Kong Gateway (OSS/Enterprise) environments.

·         Configure Services, Routes, Consumers, Plugins, and API policies.

·         Implement API security using OAuth2, OIDC, JWT, mTLS, and rate-limiting controls.

·         Manage Kong deployments in Kubernetes environments using KIC and Helm.

·         Configure monitoring, logging, and alerting using Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or ELK.

·         Support CI/CD and GitOps workflows using decK, Terraform, and Jenkins/GitHub Actions.

·         Perform performance tuning, troubleshooting, and high-availability configuration.

·         Collaborate with development and platform teams on API onboarding and governance.

Required Skills:

·         3+ years of Kong Gateway administration experience.

·         Strong knowledge of REST, HTTP/S, gRPC, and API management.

·         Experience with Kong Admin API, Kong Manager, and decK.

·         Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, and Terraform.

·         Knowledge of OAuth2, OIDC, JWT, mTLS, and API security best practices.

·         Experience with PostgreSQL and monitoring tools such as PrometheGrafana.

·         Scripting experience with Python, Bash, or Lua.

Preferred Qualifications:

·         Kong Enterprise experience.

·         Experience implementing custom Kong plugins.

·         Knowledge of API governance, compliance, and service mesh architectures.