Backend Engineer – Java / API Management

About the role

Seeking a strong Backend Engineer to design, build, and maintain enterprise-grade RESTful APIs, middleware services, and data-driven backend systems. Develop scalable API products and enable API consumers. Enforce enterprise API governance and security standards. Support secure API onboarding and consumption patterns.

Must-Have Technical Skills

• Strong experience with Java / Core Java
• RESTful API design and development
• API management platforms such as Apigee or similar
• Swagger/OpenAPI
• OAuth 2.0 and token-based security
• API product design and management
• API gateways and API proxies
• API security and access controls
• Rate limiting, quotas, and traffic management
• API onboarding and consumption
• Postman or similar API testing tools
• JSON and YAML
• MCP (Model Context Protocol)
• JSON-RPC
• Context Engineering
• CI/CD and deployment automation

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain RESTful and event-driven APIs
• Ensure APIs meet enterprise standards for scalability, reliability, security, and maintainability
• Create and manage API products and API gateways
• Define API product structures and access models
• Configure rate limits, quotas, and volume plans
• Configure API security policies
• Publish REST methods using Swagger/OpenAPI documentation
• Configure API proxies, policies, routing, authentication, authorization, and traffic management controls
• Partner with application, provider, and consumer teams to support API onboarding and consumption
• Manage the complete API lifecycle, including: design, development, testing, publishing, versioning, promotion, and retirement
• Create, review, and maintain Swagger/OpenAPI specifications
• Implement modern authentication and authorization mechanisms, including: OAuth 2.0, JWT, API Keys, and Scopes
• Assist API consumers with: application registration, credentials, subscription requests, and API access troubleshooting
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define API standards, governance practices, and reusable API patterns
• Monitor API performance, traffic, errors, and consumption trends
• Troubleshoot API integration issues across lower and production environments
• Build, maintain, and optimize MCP servers
• Support documentation and knowledge-sharing activities related to API products and onboarding

Preferred Skills

• Experience with enterprise API catalogs
• Experience with developer portals or API marketplaces
• Experience with API subscription and approval workflows
• Experience with identity providers such as: Azure AD, ForgeRock, Okta, Ping
• Experience supporting internal, external, private, or partner-facing APIs
• Ability to minimize dependency on third-party libraries
• Experience with cloud platforms: Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), AWS
• Familiarity with logging, monitoring, and observability tools
• Experience working in Agile delivery environments
• Knowledge of API governance and reusable API design standards
• Knowledge of enterprise integration patterns
• Experience with lower-level programming languages such as: C, C++, Rust
• Experience with Apigee Hybrid
• Experience querying relational databases
• Strong experience building, maintaining, and optimizing MCP servers

MCP / Modern Integration Skills

• Hands-on experience with Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• Experience developing and maintaining MCP servers
• Understanding of JSON-RPC communication
• Knowledge of context engineering and AI integration patterns
• Ability to design secure and scalable MCP-based integrations
• Experience troubleshooting MCP server and client interactions

Security Skills

• Strong understanding of API security principles
• OAuth 2.0 implementation
• JWT-based authentication
• API key management
• Scope-based authorization
• Authentication and authorization controls
• Secure API onboarding and access management
• Experience integrating APIs with enterprise identity providers

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication skills
• Strong team collaboration
• Strong documentation and knowledge-sharing skills
• Ability to work effectively with application, provider, and consumer teams
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities
• Ability to work in Agile delivery environments