Lead Enterprise API & Platform Engineer

Job Summary

Lead Enterprise API & Platform Engineer - Guardian Life Insurance Company

About the Role

Lead the design and delivery of enterprise technology platforms with a focus on API-first architecture, AI-native enablement, and modernization.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical advisor for API standards, architecture patterns, orchestration, gateways, mediation, observability platforms, driving cohesive platform design and scalable integration.
• Design strategies, architecture patterns, and reusable templates to modernize APIs and platforms for AI-native capabilities, including agent-to-agent communication and intelligent system integration.
• Design and implement secure, cloud-native platforms using microservices, service mesh, and container orchestration, with emphasis on API & Agent Gateway, monitoring, and observability.
• Innovate in API lifecycle management, including governance, versioning, deprecation, migration strategies, and platform observability.
• Partner with enterprise architects and senior leaders to define standards, evaluate technologies, and publish strategic roadmaps that balance short-term execution with long-term vision.
• Mentor and scale engineering excellence, guiding engineering teams in best practices for API design, platform engineering, and AI integration, fostering a culture of innovation, operational excellence, and continuous learning.
• Operationalize tools and platforms, leading the identification, evaluation, and adoption of technical platforms and tools that support enterprise architecture, security, and scalable implementation.
• Influence strategic decisions, partnering with product managers and engineering leaders to make key architectural decisions, ensuring technical feasibility, scalability, and alignment with business goals.
• Track emerging trends, monitoring emerging technologies and assessing their impact on the enterprise tech stack, contributing to strategic planning and innovation.
• Ensure compliance and best practices, enforcing adherence to architectural standards, design patterns, data privacy regulations, and best practices across systems and platforms.
• Lead technology selection, driving or supporting the evaluation and implementation of enterprise technologies that align with strategic and operational objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience in software development, architecture, and enterprise software delivery.
• Deep proficiency in cloud-native, service-oriented, and modernization architectures, including microservices, event-driven systems, and composable architecture (MASA).
• Full-stack engineering experience with backend and frontend technologies (e.g., Java, Python, .NET/C#, React, Node.js, Typescript) with experience in CI/CD, scripting, and integrations.
• Extensive experience building scalable API services using REST, GraphQL, gRPC, and async protocols, with deep expertise in Domain-Driven Design, Microservices Architecture, Enterprise Integration Patterns, and Event-Driven Architecture.
• Hands-on experience with integration frameworks and messaging systems such as Apache Camel and managed service Kafka.
• Proficiency using SQL and NoSQL Databases.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools: Terraform, Jenkins, GitHub/GitLab CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Deep understanding of secure programming practices, cloud security principles, and compliance frameworks.
• Experience with monitoring & observability platforms including Open Telemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, and OpenSearch.
• Advanced API security expertise including OAuth 2.1/2.0, JWT, rate limiting, RBAC/ABAC, mTLS, DDoS protection, Zero Trust, and OWASP API Security Top 10.
• Exceptional ability to mentor engineers, influence technical direction across teams, and thrive in complex, cross-functional environments.
• Skilled in communicating technical concepts to diverse audiences and driving strategic initiatives through business cases and impact acceleration.
• Experience participating in and responding to technology audits and risk assessments.
• Experience with emerging protocols (MCP, A2A, ACP) is preferred but not required.

Qualifications

• Location & Travel: New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania Hybrid 3 days onsite
• Salary Range: $118,980.00 - $195,465.00

Benefits

Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits. Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law. Accommodations Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.