Platform Engineer (APIM/AI Gateway) (contract)

Principal Platform Engineer (APIM/AI Gateway)

Seeking a Principal Platform Engineer (APIM/AI Gateway) to lead the architecture, design, engineering, and modernization of the Enterprise API and AI Platform. This strategic role will support the Enterprise API & AI Security Modernization Program, focused on transforming Azure API Management into a secure, scalable, and governed platform for Internal APIs, External APIs, AI Services, LLMs, Agents, and future AI workloads.

The Principal Platform Engineer will partner with Platform Engineering, Cloud Engineering, Information Security, Networking, Enterprise Architecture, and Application teams to establish a target-state architecture that separates internal and external API traffic, enables Azure AI Gateway capabilities, strengthens API security controls, improves operational resiliency, and accelerates developer productivity through automation and self-service capabilities.

This role requires deep expertise in Azure, API Management, AI Gateway patterns, Terraform, platform security, infrastructure automation, observability, and modern platform engineering practices.

Responsibilities Platform Architecture & Strategy

• Lead the design and implementation of Everest’s next-generation API and AI Platform, leveraging Azure API Management and Azure AI Gateway capabilities.
• Define target-state architectures for Internal APIM, External APIM, AI Gateway, disaster recovery, security controls, and operational models.
• Establish platform standards, reference architectures, engineering patterns, governance models, and technical roadmaps for APIs and AI services.
• Drive technical decisions related to traffic segregation, WAF integration, firewall architecture, identity patterns, and AI governance.

Azure API Management & AI Gateway

• Design and implement Azure API Management solutions supporting internal, external, partner, SaaS, and AI integrations.

• Lead implementation of Azure AI Gateway capabilities, including:

• LLM access governance
• Model routing and failover
• Token and rate controls
• MCP and agent gateway patterns
• AI observability and reporting
• Content safety and guardrails

• AI security and DLP controls

• Define and implement reusable APIM policy frameworks covering authentication, authorization, JWT validation, OAuth, mTLS, rate limiting, quotas, transformation, routing, logging, monitoring, and error handling.

Security & Platform Hardening

• Lead initiatives to strengthen API security posture through policy-based controls, network restrictions, managed identities, token validation, and least-privilege access patterns.
• Partner with Security and Network Engineering teams to reduce WAF exceptions and improve inspection and enforcement capabilities.
• Implement platform hardening controls, including Defender for Cloud recommendations, Key Vault integration, secret management, API security testing, identity governance, security monitoring, and alerting.

Platform Engineering & Automation

• Lead Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) implementation using Terraform for APIM environments, networking, security controls, and platform services.
• Establish CI/CD patterns using Azure DevOps and Git-based deployment workflows.
• Develop automation frameworks that improve platform provisioning, policy deployment, governance enforcement, and operational efficiency.
• Enable self-service capabilities for API onboarding, governance, and lifecycle management.

Migration & Modernization

• Lead API inventory, classification, migration planning, and wave-based migration execution.
• Develop migration playbooks, cutover procedures, rollback strategies, and operational runbooks.
• Partner with application teams to validate consumers, coordinate testing, and manage production migrations.

Observability & Operational Excellence

• Design comprehensive observability capabilities using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Application Insights, Defender for Cloud, and enterprise monitoring platforms.
• Establish operational dashboards, governance scorecards, API health reporting, AI usage reporting, and platform KPIs.
• Lead the creation of support models, operational procedures, DR runbooks, and platform documentation.

The pay range that the employer in good faith reasonably expects to pay for this position is $19.93/hour - $31.14/hour. Our offered benefits include medical, dental, vision and retirement benefits. Applications w…