APIM- Infrastructure Engineer

API Management Specialist

Must have:

• 5-8 years experience in APIM management tools with a specialization in KONG
• Deep expertise in managing and optimizing API gateways, specifically KONG, and play a key role in implementing, configuring, and maintaining API management solutions for our organization.
• Performance, reliability, and scalability of KONG API Gateway, while also driving integration with other systems and troubleshooting any issues that arise.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Redis cache and any other AWS infra components needed to support Kong in AWS.
• Create scalable, optimized and secure Kubernetes-based infrastructure. Experience to apply kong patches to Kubernetes cluster
• Experience with Observability tool (OTEL framework) with deep skills in Datadog and Splunk for metrics and logs respectively.
• LUA Experience and ideally experience in writing with writing Kong plugins in LUA. Experience in migrating APIM platforms (add color)
• Experience working in SaaS environment and enabling application teams to aid with API adoption and onboarding.

Good to have:

• Experience in APIGEE Edge
• Proxy migration experience from APIGEE Edge to KONG

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define API requirements, integrations, and standards.
• Implement and manage API security policies, including OAuth, JWT, rate limiting, IP filtering, and other industry-standard security protocols.
• Monitor and analyze API performance using KONG’s built-in tools and third-party monitoring solutions, identifying opportunities for optimization.
• Custom Plugin Development: Design and implement custom KONG plugins using Lua to meet specific business needs, such as advanced authentication, logging, rate limiting, and custom transformations.
• Monitoring, Logging & Tracing: Implement custom logging, monitoring, and distributed tracing capabilities through plugins to capture meaningful metrics, errors, and system health information. Use tracing tools (e.g., OpenTelemetry, Jaeger) to provide end-to-end visibility of API calls and identify performance bottlenecks.
• Develop reusable, efficient, and well-documented Lua scripts for KONG plugins that extend its capabilities beyond the default functionality.
• Provide documentation, training, and support to internal teams and stakeholders on KONG and API management practices.
• Solid understanding of API management principles, including versioning, documentation, and security best practices.
• Hands-on experience with API management features such as rate limiting, load balancing, authentication, logging, and monitoring.
• Proficiency in managing cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure) and working with cloud-based API Gateway services.
• Ability to work effectively in an agile development environment and communicate with stakeholders at all levels.