Open API Specialist

Job Purpose

The Open API Specialist is responsible for the design, governance, security, onboarding, and full lifecycle management of the organization’s Open APIs, enabling secure, scalable, and reliable integration with internal applications, external partners, customers, vendors, and third-party systems.

The role drives API adoption, developer enablement, API quality, and API governance while ensuring compliance with enterprise architecture, information security, and data protection standards.

Reporting to the Head of Technology & Information Security, the Open API Specialist plays a key role in expanding the organization’s digital integration capabilities and enabling secure, standards-based connectivity across enterprise systems and external ecosystems.

Key Performance Areas (KPAs)

API Platform Management

• Manage the complete API lifecycle, including design, development, publishing, versioning, maintenance, and retirement.
• Maintain the enterprise API catalog and developer portal, ensuring API documentation is accurate, complete, and up to date.
• Define and govern API design standards, naming conventions, documentation standards, and development best practices.
• Support and streamline API onboarding for internal development teams, partners, vendors, and third-party integrators.
• Collaborate with Solution Architects and Development teams to ensure API consistency across enterprise platforms.

API Security & Governance

• Implement and enforce API security standards including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), JWT, API authentication, and authorization.
• Define API access control policies, rate limiting, throttling, API quotas, and consumption rules.
• Ensure APIs comply with enterprise security policies, regulatory requirements, and governance standards.
• Conduct API reviews to ensure adherence to architectural principles, security controls, and quality standards.
• Support vulnerability assessments, security testing, and remediation activities for API services.

Partner & Developer Enablement

• Provide technical guidance and support to internal development teams, external partners, vendors, and third-party developers.
• Manage API sandbox environments, developer onboarding, testing, certification, and integration validation processes.
• Serve as the primary technical contact for API integration support and issue resolution.
• Promote API adoption by improving developer experience, documentation quality, and onboarding processes.

Performance & Analytics

• Monitor API usage, adoption, transaction volumes, and consumption trends across the enterprise ecosystem.
• Track API availability, performance, latency, throughput, and error rates against defined SLAs.
• Produce API analytics dashboards, operational reports, and performance metrics to support business and technical decision-making.
• Identify opportunities to optimize API performance, scalability, and reliability through continuous monitoring and analysis.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation

• Evaluate emerging API technologies, integration platforms, and industry best practices.
• Recommend improvements to API architecture, governance frameworks, and developer experience.
• Support modernization initiatives, API-first strategies, and digital transformation programs.
• Contribute to the evolution of enterprise integration standards and reusable API assets.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline.

Experience

• 6–10 years of experience in API Development, API Management, Systems Integration, or Enterprise Integration.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience managing enterprise API platforms, API gateways, and developer portals.
• Demonstrated experience designing, publishing, securing, and governing RESTful APIs in production environments.
• Experience working with internal stakeholders, external partners, vendors, and third-party integration teams.
• Experience implementing enterprise API governance, security, and lifecycle management practices.
• Familiarity with enterprise integration frameworks, cloud platforms, and microservices architecture is highly desirable.

Technical & Functional Skills

• REST API Design & Development
• OpenAPI (Swagger) Specification
• OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), and JWT
• API Gateway Platforms (Apigee, Kong, Azure API Management, AWS API Gateway, MuleSoft, or equivalent)
• API Lifecycle Management
• Developer Portal Administration
• API Security & Governance
• Microservices Architecture
• API Analytics & Monitoring
• API Testing Tools (Postman, SoapUI, Swagger UI)
• Cloud Platforms (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform)
• CI/CD Integration
• JSON, XML, YAML
• Git and Source Control
• Enterprise Integration Patterns