API Management Engineer

API Gateway & Cloud-Native API Engineer – Kong / Envoy Role Overview We are looking for an experienced API Gateway & Cloud-Native API Engineer with strong hands-on experience in Kong API Gateway and/or Envoy Proxy/Envoy Gateway. The ideal candidate will have a strong programming background, preferably in Golang, combined with expertise in API management, API security, cloud-native technologies, Kubernetes, CI/CD, and Infrastructure as Code. The role will be responsible for designing, developing, securing, deploying, and supporting enterprise-grade APIs and API gateway/proxy solutions across Kong and Envoy environments. Required Qualifications, Capabilities & Skills Programming Languages: Advanced proficiency in one or more programming languages, particularly Golang. Experience with Lua and/or Java is also highly desirable.API Gateway / Proxy Technologies: Professional hands-on experience with one or more API gateway or proxy technologies, including:Kong API GatewayEnvoy Proxy / Envoy GatewayApigeeMuleSoftKong API Management: Hands-on experience with Kong Gateway, including API routing, policies, plugins, configuration, and gateway management.Envoy: Professional experience with Envoy Proxy or Envoy Gateway, including configuration, routing, traffic management, and cloud-native proxy capabilities.Cloud-Native Operations: Practical hands-on experience working with cloud-native architectures and containerized environments.API Design: Strong understanding of OpenAPI Specification (OAS) and RESTful API design principles.API Security: Hands-on experience implementing API authentication and authorization at the gateway/proxy layer, including:OAuth 2.0OpenID Connect (OIDC)JWT validationKey-based authenticationMutual TLS (mTLS)DevOps & Automation: Strong experience across the DevOps toolchain, including:CI/CDKubernetesTerraformContainerized deploymentsInfrastructure as CodeCloud Platforms: Strong understanding of deploying and operating API gateway/proxy solutions in cloud environments. Preferred Qualifications, Capabilities & Skills Hands-on experience with both Kong and Envoy.Strong Golang development experience.Experience developing or extending Kong plugins using Lua.Experience with Java in API or cloud-native environments.Experience with AWS, particularly:ECSEKSMSKExperience with Kubernetes-based API gateway and proxy deployments.Experience with Envoy Gateway, service mesh, ingress, or cloud-native networking.Experience with API gateway migration, modernization, or platform engineering initiatives.Experience with API lifecycle management, traffic management, routing, rate limiting, authentication, authorization, and observability.Strong understanding of cloud-native security and networking principles. Key Responsibilities Design, develop, configure, and maintain enterprise API gateway and proxy solutions using Kong and/or Envoy.Implement secure API access using OAuth 2.0, OIDC, JWT, mTLS, and key-based authentication.Develop and manage API gateway policies, plugins, routing, traffic management, and security controls.Configure and operate Kong Gateway and Envoy Proxy/Envoy Gateway within Kubernetes and cloud-native environments.Develop gateway extensions and custom functionality using Golang and/or Lua where required.Define and implement RESTful APIs using OpenAPI Specification.Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for API gateway and cloud-native deployments.Automate infrastructure and gateway deployments using Terraform.Work with Kubernetes-based environments including AWS EKS and other container orchestration platforms.Troubleshoot API gateway, proxy, networking, security, and integration issues.Collaborate with application, cloud, security, DevOps, and platform engineering teams.Support API platform modernization and migration initiatives across Kong, Envoy, and other API management technologies. 📩 Interested candidates can share their CV at: james.a@dabster.net