API Architect/API Design Lead

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Please have a look in below JD and please get to me with your latest resume if you are comfortable with below details.

Job Title: API Architect / API Design Lead

Location: Jersey City, NJ / Tampa, FL / Chicago, IL / Palo Alto, CA (Local Candidates Preferred)

Experience: 10 Years

Job Summary:

We are seeking an experienced API Architect / API Design Lead to drive the design, governance, and lifecycle management of enterprise APIs. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in REST, gRPC, and event-driven architectures, along with strong experience in API design standards, developer experience, and microservices architecture.

Key Responsibilities:

API Design & Architecture

• Design RESTful, gRPC, and event-driven APIs using industry best practices

• Define API specifications using tools such as:

• OpenAPI / Swagger
• AsyncAPI
• RAML

• Build scalable, secure, and high-performance API architectures

Documentation & Developer Experience

• Create and maintain clear, comprehensive API documentation

• Improve developer experience through:

• API versioning
• Error handling standards
• API discoverability

• Develop usage guides and onboarding materials

Standards & Governance

• Define and enforce API design standards, style guides, and governance models

• Ensure consistency and compliance across all APIs

• Establish best practices for API lifecycle management

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with product, engineering, and architecture teams

• Translate business requirements into technical API specifications

• Act as a key technical advisor for API strategy

Prototyping & Lifecycle Management

• Build API prototypes and mock servers for early validation

• Manage full API lifecycle including:

• Versioning
• Deprecation
• Backward compatibility

Quality Assurance & Security

• Collaborate with QA teams for API testing and validation

• Ensure APIs meet performance, scalability, and reliability standards

• Implement security best practices:

• OAuth2
• JWT
• API Keys

Continuous Improvement

• Stay updated with latest API tools, trends, and technologies

• Drive innovation and improvements in API design practices

Required Skills:

• 10 years of experience in software engineering / API architecture

• Strong expertise in:

• REST APIs
• gRPC
• Event-driven architecture

• Experience with API tools:

• OpenAPI / Swagger
• AsyncAPI
• Postman

• Strong experience with API gateways and management platforms

• Experience with microservices architecture

• Strong understanding of API security (OAuth2, JWT)

• Excellent communication and documentation skills

• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AWS (EKS)

• Knowledge of Domain-Driven Design (DDD)

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated API testing

• Contributions to open-source API tools or standards