Senior API Platform Engineer

Senior API Platform Engineer Digital Transformation | API Platform & Agentic Ecosystem 📍 United States | Remote 🕒 Full-Time 🌍 ABOUT YPO YPO is a global leadership community of 35,000+ chief executives across 142 countries, built on peer learning, shared experiences and trusted relationships. Our digital transformation is building a platform where members can discover relevant peers and experiences, understand why they see what they see, control their data and trust every interaction. At the center of that transformation is a modern data and intelligence platform - with APIs serving as the connective tissue across YPO’s digital ecosystem. 💡 THE OPPORTUNITY We’re looking for a Senior API Platform Engineer with deep backend and API engineering experience to help build the platform powering YPO’s member ecosystem, chapter operations and emerging Agentic AI capabilities. This is more than an API implementation role. You’ll work through complex questions around API architecture, highly connected data, scalability, caching, consistency, performance, security and governance - and turn those decisions into production-quality solutions. You’ll own technical implementation end-to-end, make thoughtful architectural tradeoffs and partner across Product, Data, IT and Security to build systems that are scalable, secure, observable and maintainable. ⚙️ WHAT YOU’LL DO API Architecture & Engineering Design and build production-scale REST and GraphQL APIs using AWS API GatewayCreate stable API contracts that remain decoupled from underlying data and backend schemasDesign APIs over complex, highly connected and relationship-driven dataSolve architectural challenges involving caching, data consistency, concurrency, latency and performanceDefine clear API and service boundaries using Domain-Driven Design principlesDesign for scalability, reliability, resilience, security and observabilityImplement versioning, backward compatibility and breaking-change strategiesBuild within a serverless-first architecture using AWS Lambda and Step Functions Event-Driven & Distributed Systems Apply event-driven patterns using technologies such as Kafka, EventBridge and CDCDesign idempotent and resilient distributed workflowsAddress data consistency, failure recovery and system behavior across interconnected servicesImplement performance controls including caching, pagination and rate limiting Agentic Ecosystem Engineering Build governed API boundaries for AI agents using technologies including OpenAI, RAG and GeminiEnsure agents interact through approved APIs rather than unrestricted raw data accessSupport structured retrieval, provenance and deterministic fallback patternsBuild security, governance and observability into agent interactions API Lifecycle & Governance Own the API lifecycle from design and development through testing, documentation, versioning and deprecationMaintain backward compatibility and clear breaking-change policiesSupport CI/CD pipelines, observability and uptime requirementsManage infrastructure through Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and/or AWS CDKPartner with Security and Data teams on identity, authorization, privacy and consent requirements 🧩 WHAT YOU’LL HELP BUILD Member & Relationship APIs Identity, peer discovery, member relationships and graph-based data Chapter APIs Chapter operations, events and access Agentic APIs Governed API access and structured retrieval for AI agents ⚡ WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR 6–8+ years of backend/API engineering experience, with deep hands-on experience designing and building API layers for complex, production-scale systemsStrong REST and/or GraphQL API design experience, including contracts, versioning and lifecycle managementExperience designing APIs over complex or highly connected data models, including graph-based or relationship-driven dataStrong understanding of non-functional requirements at the API layer, including scalability, reliability, resilience, latency, security and observabilityExperience solving caching, data consistency, concurrency and performance challenges in distributed systemsAbility to evaluate architectural tradeoffs and translate business and product requirements into maintainable technical solutionsExperience with AWS API Gateway and serverless architecture, including Lambda and Step FunctionsExperience with event-driven systems such as Kafka, EventBridge and CDC patternsInfrastructure as Code experience using Terraform and/or AWS CDKExperience with OAuth2 and identity platforms such as Auth0 or OktaUnderstanding of Domain-Driven Design and clear service/API boundariesExperience building privacy- and consent-aware systems, including GDPR/CCPA considerationsStrong cross-functional communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical decisions clearlyActive use of AI development tools such as Copilot or Cursor 🌎 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Travel: 10–15% domestic and international Schedule: Flexible hours to support global teams 💰 COMPENSATION & PAY TRANSPARENCY Compensation at YPO is one part of a broader Total Rewards philosophy built to attract, motivate and retain talented people in every country and function where we operate. We aim to be fair, consistent and thoughtful stewards of our resources, grounding pay decisions in market data, role scope and internal equity rather than negotiation alone. Compensation ranges are based on the associate’s primary work location. For United States applicants: USD $119,200–$155,000 annually We believe pay is only part of how YPO invests in its people. Associates are also eligible for performance-based bonus opportunities, remote work flexibility and a comprehensive rewards package built around their wellbeing and growth. Your Talent Acquisition Business Partner will share details specific to your location as part of the interview process. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER YPO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. YPO takes pride in supporting a diverse workforce and demonstrates this through its policies and practices. YPO does not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. Full job description with additional details available on our careers site.