Kong Engineer

OverviewWe are seeking an experienced Kong Engineer with strong expertise in API Gateway technologies, particularly Kong Gateway, to join our technology team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, securing, and optimizing API management solutions in enterprise environments while ensuring high availability, scalability, and performance.Key ResponsibilitiesDesign, implement, and manage API Gateway solutions using Kong Gateway.Configure and maintain Kong plugins, routing, authentication, rate limiting, and traffic control policies.Develop and manage APIs and microservices architectures across enterprise platforms.Collaborate with development, DevOps, infrastructure, and security teams to integrate APIs securely and efficiently.Monitor API traffic, troubleshoot gateway-related issues, and optimize performance.Implement API security best practices including OAuth2, JWT, SSL/TLS, mTLS, and API access control.Automate deployment and configuration processes using CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).Support high-availability and disaster recovery configurations for Kong environments.Prepare technical documentation, operational procedures, and best practices guidelines.Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers when required.Required Skills & Qualifications8–10 years of overall experience in software engineering, middleware, or API management.Strong hands-on experience with Kong Gateway (Open Source and/or Enterprise).Deep understanding of API Gateway concepts, RESTful APIs, and microservices architecture.Experience with Kong components including:Kong Admin APIKong Ingress ControllerPlugins development/configurationAPI security and traffic managementStrong experience with:Docker & KubernetesCI/CD pipelinesLinux environmentsNGINX/OpenResty conceptsKnowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP is preferred.Familiarity with monitoring and logging tools such as Grafana, Prometheus, ELK, or Splunk.Experience with scripting/programming languages such as Python, Lua, Bash, or Go is a plus.Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and communication skills.Preferred QualificationsExperience in enterprise-scale API transformation projects.Kong certifications are considered a plus.Exposure to service mesh technologies is advantageous.Banking or telecom industry experience is preferred.