Lead API Engineer

About Gradera

Gradera defines a new category of enterprise transformation called Software-Orchestrated Services™ - where software orchestrates human expertise, digital workers, and enterprise systems to deliver governed outcomes at scale. As an AI Native Services firm, we help enterprises redesign how work gets done across operations, product, engineering, customer experience, data, and enterprise workflows to move beyond fragmented AI pilots and disconnected automation toward measurable business outcomes.

Overview

We are seeking a hands-on, collaborative Lead API Engineer to drive API architecture, backend service design, and the continuous evolution of our platform’s integration capabilities. As Lead API Engineer, you will provide technical leadership to the backend team, ensuring scalable, secure, and high-performing APIs that power our digital ecosystem.

This role is central to establishing API-first practices, defining robust contracts, and enabling seamless integrations across products, UI layers, and external systems. You will work cross-functionally to ensure backend services meet stringent non-functional requirements, while fostering engineering excellence, maintainability, and operational reliability.

Key Responsibilities

•Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to the API engineering team
•Lead the design, implementation, and evolution of API architecture and backend services
•Champion API-first development, ensuring clear contracts and comprehensive documentation (OpenAPI/Swagger)
•Lead the implementations of APIs conforming to all NFRs including security, scalability, and performance.
•Ensure robust authentication, authorization, and data protection for all endpoints
•Drive adoption of best practices in API design, versioning, and integration
•Optimize API performance for low-latency, high-frequency interactions
•Oversee observability, monitoring, and alerting for all APIs and backend services
•Collaborate closely with product, UI, and runtime teams to deliver integrated solutions
•Collaborate with the SDET to ensure comprehensive test coverage and effective test data creation
•Lead the adoption of modern API tools, frameworks, and best practices
•Ensure engineering rigor, code quality, and documentation standards are met
•Facilitate clear communication, knowledge sharing, and effective documentation within the team
•Support team growth through coaching, feedback, and skills development

Core Qualities & Skills

•Proven experience leading API engineering teams and delivering complex API projects

• Deep expertise in API architecture, design, and implementation (RESTful, GraphQL, gRPC etc.)

• Strong programming skills in Java 8 and above, Spring Boot, and Microservices.

• Experience with API security, authentication, and authorization (OAuth, JWT, RBAC, PKCE, define fine-grained access controls using ReBAC)

• Experience with API documentation and standards (OpenAPI/Swagger, Use Case, JSON Schemas, etc.)

• Familiarity with data serialization withProtofbuf

• Experience with some API gateway is a must

• Strong understanding of performance optimization, scalability, and reliability for APIs

• Experience with observability, monitoring, and troubleshooting for backend services

• Strong collaboration and alignment skills across disciplines

• Willingness to learn, share knowledge, and adapt to evolving technologies

• System design skills and awareness of technical debt and tradeoffs

• Should have experience in usage of Generative AI at least in coding. Preferred to have experience in spec-driven development using AI.

• Excellent communication, documentation, and stakeholder management abilities

• Comfort with ambiguity, discovery, and rapid change

• Commitment to engineering excellence, security, and responsible practices

Preferred Qualifications

•7+ years of hands-on API or backend engineering experience, o with at least 4 to 5 years of hands-on experience in developing API based solutions. Experience must include at least 2 years of leading teams in API development.
•Track record of architecting and delivering scalable, reliable API systems
•Experience with modern development practices (CI/CD, automated testing, code reviews)
•Demonstrated ability to mentor and grow engineers
•Experience working in cross-functional, agile teams

Highly Desirable

•Experience with API gateways (e.g., Envoy, Kong, Apigee) and service mesh patterns (e.g., Istio)
•Experience with event-driven and streaming architectures (pub/sub, callbacks, Kafka, etc.)
•Experience with cloud-native infrastructure and automated provisioning (e.g., Terraform)
•Experience building developer portals and self-service onboarding for APIs
•Experience with API Gateways (Apache APISIX, KrakenD, …)
•Ability to perform API Domain Modelling with a strong product orientation, aligning technical design with user and business needs
•Experience thriving in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and balancing rapid delivery with technical excellence
•Experience leading or working with distributed, multidisciplinary teams

Success Metrics

•API response time (median and p95)
•Uptime and reliability of critical services
•Test coverage for API and backend logic
•Developer velocity and time from API design to production
•Time to First Prototype (TTFP)
•Integration lead time for API consumers
•Technical debt reduction and architectural alignment
•Team growth, engagement, and retention
•Stakeholder satisfaction and cross-team collaboration