Senior API Gateway Engineer (Kong/layer7)

Position: Senior API Gateway Engineer (Kong/layer7)

Location: Mumbai

Experience: 3- 5 years

Role Summary

Responsible for engineering, operating, and upgrading enterprise API gateway platforms with deep hands-on ownership of Kong Gateway and Layer7 API Gateway. The role focuses on secure API enablement (including API key rotation), automation through CI/CD pipelines (Harness) using YAML, version control via Git, and operational reliability through across UAT and Production.

Key Responsibilities

1) API Gateway Engineering (Kong & Layer7)

Configure, deploy, and support Kong Gateway components (services, routes, plugins, consumers, upstreams, health checks, rate limits, auth plugins).

Administer and support Layer7 API Gateway (policies, assertions, routing, certificates, authentication flows).

Implement gateway standards (OAuth 2.0, JWT, mTLS) and reusable templates to ensure consistency across environments.

Perform gateway upgrades, patching, and platform hardening with minimal downtime and strong rollback strategies.

2) API Security & Key Lifecycle Management

Own and execute API key rotation processes (scheduled and on-demand), ensuring safe rollout without breaking clients.

Design key rotation mechanisms using automation and controlled rollout patterns:

dual-key support (old + new),

staged rollout,

client validation windows,

deprecation and enforcement timelines.

Ensure security controls such as throttling, IP restrictions, certificate rotation, JWT/OAuth integration (where applicable), and audit traceability.

3) CI/CD Enablement

Build and maintain Harness pipelines for API gateway deployment and configuration promotion across environments.

Implement configuration-as-code practices:

gateway definitions in YAML

structured versioning and approvals using Git

automated validations/linting and policy checks as part of pipeline gates

Enable repeatable deployments with environment parameterization, secrets management integration, and automated rollback.

4) Automation & Playbooks

Create and maintain automation playbooks/runbooks for deployment, restart, scaling, health validation, policy/config migration

5) Troubleshooting & Production Support

Perform deep-dive troubleshooting across gateway layers:

request/response logs, plugin/policy behavior, upstream issues

latency analysis, error pattern trends, rate-limit blocks, TLS handshake issues

Support incident triage (L2/L3) and coordinate across Dev, RUN/Ops, and Infra teams.

Drive root cause analysis (RCA) and implement preventive fixes.

6) Change / Release Management & Cross-Team Coordination

Manage Change Requests (CRQs) and release execution for gateway changes and upgrades.

Coordinate delivery with:

Development (APIM), API RUN, DC Ops, Linux, Network, etc.

Own release readiness checks, approvals, stakeholder updates, and closure documentation.

Core Deliverables

Stable and secure gateway operations for Kong and Layer7

Automated Harness CI/CD pipelines for gateway deployments

Version-controlled YAML configurations and promotion workflows

Fully documented playbooks/runbooks (upgrade, rollout, rollback, troubleshooting)

Successful key rotation execution with no customer impact

Required Skills

Technical

Strong hands-on experience with:

Kong Gateway administration/configuration

Layer7 API Gateway policy management

API key rotation and credential lifecycle governance

CI/CD pipelines (Harness) and automation practices

YAML-based configurations and Git workflows

Solid understanding of:

API traffic management, routing, load balancing concepts

TLS/certificates, authentication/authorization patterns

Linux environment basics and production operational controls

Professional

Strong troubleshooting, analytical thinking, and structured problem-solving

Ownership mindset and ability to operate under change windows / production constraints

Clear documentation and stakeholder communication skills