The Company
A prominent fortune 500 financial services firm with a nationwide network of independent financial advisors. This company offers an extensive selection of investment products and services to individuals, businesses, and institutions, with a strong emphasis on utilizing innovation and technology to cultivate client relationships.
We are seeking an experienced Kong Architect to design, implement, and optimize enterprise-level API gateway solutions. This role will be responsible for leading Kong API Gateway initiatives across hybrid environments, ensuring secure, scalable, and reliable API delivery. The ideal candidate has deep technical expertise in API management, strong hands-on skills in automation, and a collaborative mindset to work across development, operations, and security teams.
Key Responsibilities:
- API Gateway Management: Deploy, configure, and manage Kong API Gateway instances in various environments (on-premises, cloud, hybrid).
- API Development and Integration: Design, develop, and implement APIs using Kong, including custom plugins and integrations with backend services. Good knowledge on API Orchestration.
- Security and Performance: Implement and enforce API security policies (e.g., OAuth2, JWT, mTLS), optimize API performance, and ensure high availability and reliability.
- Monitoring and Troubleshooting: Implement monitoring and logging solutions (e.g., Dynatrace/ELK) to proactively identify and resolve issues, ensuring seamless API operation.
- Collaboration and Documentation: Work closely with cross-functional teams (development, operations, security) to ensure seamless integration and maintain comprehensive documentation for APIs, configurations, and procedures.
- Automation and Best Practices: Participate in CI/CD processes, contribute to automation and deployment pipelines, and advocate for API management best practices (versioning, documentation, access control). Terraform automations are must.
Required Qualifications:
- Technical Expertise: Proven experience with Kong API Gateway, including its architecture, functionalities, and plugin development.
- API Design Principles: Strong understanding of RESTful API design, OpenAPI specifications, OIDC, and experience with web services and microservices architectures.
- Scripting and Tools: Proficiency in scripting languages (e.g., Lua, Python) and experience with DevOps principles and tools (e.g., Git, Git Actions, CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes).
- Cloud and Security: Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and API security tools (e.g., OAuth, OIDC, Auth0).
- Problem-Solving and Communication: Excellent problem-solving, debugging, communication, and collaboration skills.
Desired Qualifications:
- Certifications in Kong or related technologies.
- Experience with API testing tools (e.g., Postman, JMeter, Insomnia).
- Experience with specific integration platforms (e.g., IBM DataPower/Websphere MQ).
- Experience with Confluence documentation.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Associate Staffing is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected status under applicable law. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment and welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply for open positions with our company.