Principal - Platform Engineer

• Seeking a Principal, Platform Engineer (APIM/AI Gateway) to lead the architecture, design, engineering, and modernization of the Enterprise API and AI Platform. This strategic role will support the Enterprise API & AI Security Modernization Program focused on transforming Azure API Management into a secure, scalable, governed platform for Internal APIs, External APIs, AI Services, LLMs, Agents, and future AI workloads.

• The Principal Platform Engineer will partner with Platform Engineering, Cloud Engineering, Information Security, Networking, Enterprise Architecture, and Application Teams to establish a target-state architecture that separates internal and external API traffic, enables Azure AI Gateway capabilities, strengthens API security controls, improves operational resiliency, and accelerates developer productivity through automation and self-service capabilities.

• This role requires deep expertise in Azure, API Management, AI Gateway patterns, Terraform, platform security, infrastructure automation, observability, and modern platform engineering practices.
  

Responsibilities:

Platform Architecture & Strategy:

• Lead the design and implementation of Everest's next-generation API and AI Platform leveraging Azure API Management and Azure AI Gateway capabilities.

• Define target-state architectures for Internal APIM, External APIM, AI Gateway, Disaster Recovery, security controls, and operational models.

• Establish platform standards, reference architectures, engineering patterns, governance models, and technical roadmaps for APIs and AI services.

• Drive technical decisions related to traffic segregation, WAF integration, firewall architecture, identity patterns, and AI governance.
  

Azure API Management & AI Gateway:

• Design and implement Azure API Management solutions supporting internal, external, partner, SaaS, and AI integrations.

• Lead implementation of Azure AI Gateway capabilities including LLM access governance, model routing and failover, token and rate controls, MCP and agent gateway patterns, AI observability and reporting, content safety and guardrails, and AI security and DLP controls.

• Define and implement reusable APIM policy frameworks covering authentication, authorization, JWT validation, OAuth, mTLS, rate limiting, quotas, transformation, routing, logging, monitoring, and error handling.
  

Security & Platform Hardening:

• Lead initiatives to strengthen API security posture through policy-based controls, network restrictions, managed identities, token validation, and least-privilege access patterns.

• Partner with Security and Network Engineering teams to reduce WAF exceptions and improve inspection and enforcement capabilities.

• Implement platform hardening controls including Defender for Cloud recommendations, Key Vault integration, secret hygiene, API security testing, identity governance, security monitoring, and alerting.
  

Platform Engineering & Automation:

• Lead Infrastructure-as-Code implementation using Terraform for APIM environments, networking, security controls, and platform services.

• Establish CI/CD patterns using Azure DevOps and Git-based deployment workflows.

• Develop automation frameworks that improve platform provisioning, policy deployment, governance enforcement, and operational efficiency.

• Enable self-service capabilities for API onboarding, governance, and lifecycle management.
  

Migration & Modernization:

• Lead API inventory, classification, migration planning, and wave-based migration execution.

• Develop migration playbooks, cutover procedures, rollback strategies, and operational runbooks.

• Partner with application teams to validate consumers, coordinate testing, and manage production migrations.
  

Observability & Operational Excellence:

• Design comprehensive observability capabilities using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Defender for Cloud, and enterprise monitoring platforms.

• Establish operational dashboards, governance scorecards, API health reporting, AI usage reporting, and platform KPIs.

• Lead creation of support models, operational procedures, DR runbooks, and platform documentation.

The pay range that the employer in good faith reasonably expects to pay for this position is $50.85/hour - $79.46/hour. Our benefits include medical, dental, vision and retirement benefits. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis.

Tundra Technical Solutions is among North America’s leading providers of Staffing and Consulting Services. Our success and our clients’ success are built on a foundation of service excellence. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable law, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act. Unincorporated LA County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: client provided property, including hardware (both of which may include data) entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all portable client computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon completion of the assignment, and; maintain the confidentiality of client proprietary, confidential, or non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected client information technology systems and related data security obligations.

Salary : $51 - $79