Senior Kong API Gateway Architect

Must be located in Fort Mill, SC, or willing to relocate - open to candidates who require visa sponsorship (must be approved)

op Skills - Must Haves

• Kong API Gateway
• Kong
• terraform
• automation
• networking
• github

Top Skills' Details

- Deep expertise with Kong, including Kong Connect.

- Strong experience with Terraform and infrastructure-as-code automation.

- Proficiency with GitHub, Git Actions, and CI/CD pipelines.

- Solid understanding of OpenAPI specifications and how APIs integrate with Kong.

- Strong troubleshooting and problem‑solving skills.

- Knowledge of networking, load balancing, and cloud traffic routing.

- Experience with API Gateway management (Apigee, IBM API Connect, DataPower, etc.).

Secondary Skills - Nice to Haves

• apigee
• datapower
• Cloudflare

Job Description

Role Overview

The team is expanding support for a major Kong API Gateway implementation, including the migration from IBM DataPower to Kong. The platform is already running and will soon be opened to production, which is driving the need for additional hands-on architectural and development expertise.

Key Responsibilities:

Review and refine the existing Kong architecture.

Onboard and support new Kong APIs as the platform scales.

Develop and enhance self-service automation using Terraform and CI/CD pipelines.

Build and maintain GitHub/Git Actions workflows for DevOps automation.

Provide guidance on Kong best practices, including Kong Connect.

Support networking, load balancing, and cloud traffic distribution, including Cloudflare.

Work within an AWS Landing Zone environment.

Troubleshoot issues across the Kong platform, APIs, and automation workflows.

Act as a hands-on contributor, not just an architect—strong development and implementation focus.

Required Skills:

Deep expertise with Kong, including Kong Connect.

Strong experience with Terraform and infrastructure-as-code automation.

Proficiency with GitHub, Git Actions, and CI/CD pipelines.

Solid understanding of OpenAPI specifications and how APIs integrate with Kong.

Strong troubleshooting and problem‑solving skills.

Knowledge of networking, load balancing, and cloud traffic routing.

Experience with API Gateway management (Apigee, IBM API Connect, DataPower, etc.).

Additional Skills & Qualifications

Nice-to-Have Skills

- Prior IBM DataPower experience.

- Experience supporting large-scale API migrations.