What are the responsibilities and job description for the API Architect (Azure) position at Smart IT Frame LLC?
Role title
API Architect (Azure), hands-on
Location
Cary, NC (Onsite-Hybrid)
Function / team
Integration & API Engineering
Engagement
Embedded with the customer team, working alongside their architects and engineers
Experience
10 years in API and backend engineering, incl. 3 years as an architect
API Architect, Azure Data Hub
Hands-on architect · API design and architecture · Java Spring WebFlux · Azure · Python
About the role
We are building an enterprise Data Hub on Azure that ingests, curates and serves data across a wide set of inbound and outbound interfaces. APIs are the front door to that platform: reactive Java Spring WebFlux services handle both data exchange and large file transfers to and from partner and downstream systems.
We are looking for a hands-on API architect to own that API layer end to end. You will work closely with the customer, partnering with their architects, engineers and system owners to agree interface contracts and delivery sequencing, and you will be accountable for the design and architecture of every API the Data Hub exposes and consumes.
What you'll need (must-have)
10 years in API, integration or backend engineering, including 3 years owning API architecture and design at an enterprise scale.
Strong hands-on Java with Spring Boot and Spring WebFlux / Project Reactor: reactive streams, backpressure, non-blocking I/O, and streaming large payloads and files without exhausting memory.
Deep API design skills: REST and OpenAPI, contract-first development, versioning, pagination, error and status-code semantics, and idempotency.
Secure file-transfer patterns at scale, including SFTP, signed URLs, and multipart and resumable uploads and downloads.
Proven ability to design and architect, not just build: you can produce target-state designs, sequence diagrams and interface specifications, and defend the trade-offs to a client architecture forum.
Hands-on API delivery in an Azure environment:
Compute and hosting: App Service, AKS or Container Apps, with containerised deployment.
Azure API Management for gateway policies, throttling, subscriptions and developer portal.
Entra ID, managed identities, RBAC, Key Vault and private endpoints.
Messaging and event-driven integration with Azure Event Hubs, Service Bus or Kafka.
Working knowledge of Python for automation, testing and operational tooling around the API estate.
Strong SQL and data modelling, plus schema and contract design for integration.
CI/CD and IaC in anger: Git branching strategy, automated pipelines in Azure DevOps, Terraform, and automated contract and integration testing.
Clear technical writing, and the ability to present and defend a design to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders, including client-side teams.