POSITION OVERVIEW
Ignite Banking is seeking a Senior Staff API Engineer with deep, hands-on Apigee
experience to lead the design and delivery of enterprise API platforms for
digital banking and open finance. This role is centered on API gateway
engineering and integration architecture, with Apigee as a primary platform. You
will design, build, and operate API proxies, security policies, and traffic
management solutions, while also developing supporting Java-based microservices
where needed.
This role sits within our API Banking & Integrations team, working directly with
client architecture and engineering teams to design and build modern, scalable
integration solutions. This is a hands-on development lead role — you will be
expected to actively design, build, and deliver APIs and microservices, while
also guiding technical direction and setting standards across engagements.
This is not a purely oversight or architecture role; success in this position
requires strong engineering execution paired with the ability to lead by
example.
This is not a traditional development role — this individual will operate as a
front-line consultant (“tip of the spear”), leading early-stage technical
execution across multiple engagements. You will be expected to bring both strong
engineering capability and a consultative mindset, helping clients navigate
complex transformation initiatives.
Candidates without recent, hands-on Apigee implementation experience will not be
considered.
This role is remote, however, strong preference will be given to candidates
located in Charlotte or Raleigh, NC, who are open to working onsite with clients
several days per week as engagement needs require.
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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
API PLATFORM & APIGEE ENGINEERING (PRIMARY FOCUS)
Design, build, and manage Apigee API proxies, including policies, flows, and
shared components
Implement security policies (OAuth2, mTLS, JWT validation, threat protection)
Configure traffic management (rate limiting, quotas, spike arrest, caching)
Design API products, developer apps, and access models
Develop reusable proxy patterns and governance standards
Build and expose APIs through APIGEE, including proxy configuration,
policies, authentication, shared workflows, and routing
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API & MICROSERVICES DEVELOPMENT
Design, develop, and maintain Java-based microservices (Spring Boot)
supporting digital banking and open finance use cases
Develop reusable service patterns for system-to-system integrations across
banking platforms
Implement API contracts, validation logic, and transformation layers
(JSON/XML)
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API GATEWAY & INTEGRATION LAYER
Design and implement API gateway solutions using APIGEE and IBM DataPower
Configure API proxies, security policies (OAuth2, mTLS), rate limiting, and
traffic management
Support migration and modernization from legacy integration patterns to
API-first architectures
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CLOUD & PLATFORM ENGINEERING
Deploy and manage microservices in Azure cloud environments, including
Kubernetes (AKS)
Work with DevOps teams to support CI/CD pipelines and containerized
deployments
Ensure secure connectivity, certificate management, and network integration
across environments
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CONSULTING & CLIENT ENGAGEMENT
Act as a lead technical contributor in client engagements, helping shape
solution direction early
Work directly with client architects, engineering teams, and stakeholders to
define and refine integration approaches
Translate business and architectural requirements into practical, scalable
technical solutions
Provide guidance on best practices for API design, integration strategy, and
platform modernization
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TESTING, DEBUGGING & PERFORMANCE
Build and execute unit, integration, and performance tests
Troubleshoot distributed systems using logs, tracing, and monitoring tools
Optimize services for performance, resiliency, and scalability in real-time
environments
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REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
APIGEE & API GATEWAY (MUST-HAVE)
3–5+ years of hands-on Apigee experience (REQUIRED)
API proxy development
Policy configuration (OAuth2, mTLS, traffic management)
API products and developer app management
Strong experience designing and implementing API gateway solutions (Apigee
preferred)
Experience with IBM DataPower in API gateway or integration roles
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CORE ENGINEERING
5+ years of experience building Java-based microservices (Spring Boot)
Strong experience designing and implementing REST APIs
Strong understanding of API design, JSON/XML, and service orchestration
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CLOUD & PLATFORM
Experience deploying services in Azure environments
Working knowledge of Kubernetes (AKS) and containerized applications
Familiarity with secure service-to-service communication (OAuth2, mTLS)
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CONSULTING EXPERIENCE (CRITICAL)
Prior experience working in a consulting or professional services environment
Ability to operate independently in client environments with limited
direction
Strong communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and
business stakeholders
Comfortable leading early-stage technical work and shaping solution direction
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BANKING & INTEGRATION EXPERIENCE
Experience working within banking or financial services environments
Familiarity with digital banking platforms, core banking integrations, or
open banking architectures
Understanding of enterprise integration patterns and modernization strategies
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PREFERRED SKILLS
Experience modernizing legacy integration platforms into API-first
architectures
Exposure to event-driven or distributed system design patterns
Familiarity with observability tools (App Insights, Splunk, Dynatrace, etc.)
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WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Lead Apigee implementations in client environments within the first 90 days
Deliver production-ready API proxies, policies, and security configurations
Establish reusable API patterns and gateway standards across engagements
Act as a trusted technical lead for API platform strategy and execution