Java Application Architect

Accord Technologies Inc; Chandler (AZ); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech firm in Chandler, AZ, is seeking a highly experienced Java Application Architect to lead the design and improvement of their enterprise-scale API gateway platform. This role requires deep knowledge in API design, Java, and strong security protocols. The ideal candidate will work hybrid, onsite from day one, and will be influential in setting architectural standards while collaborating with diverse teams. A commitment to best practices in API management is essential.

Qualifications

• Strong experience designing and operating API gateways in production.
• Deep expertise in security protocols such as OAuth2 and JWT.
• Advanced proficiency in Java and API architectures.

Responsibilities

• Define and enforce API design standards.
• Lead architecture of secure and scalable API gateway solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including security and operations.

Skills

API design

Java

RESTful principles

Security protocols

Python

Git

Observability

Tools

Apigee

AWS API Gateway

Azure API Management

Job description

Java Application Architect

Chandler, AZ – Need onsite day 1, hybrid 3 days from office.

Position type: W2 contract.

Job Description

We are looking for a highly experienced Java Application Architect III to lead the design, development, and continuous improvement of our enterprise‑scale API gateway platform. This role is ideal for a technically deep engineer with extensive hands‑on experience in API and gateway solutions, combined with strong architectural influence, standards enforcement, and best‑practice guidance across multiple teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and enforce API design standards, including RESTful principles, versioning, error handling, and backward compatibility.
• Lead the architecture and implementation of scalable, secure, and observable API gateway solutions supporting high‑throughput, business‑critical services.
• Drive the evolution of API management practices, including onboarding governance, lifecycle management, deprecation, and retirement strategies.
• Implement and optimize gateway functionalities such as routing, transformation, traffic management, authentication, and policy enforcement.
• Develop automation scripts and operational workflows using Python to improve platform reliability and efficiency.
• Design and implement automated API testing frameworks covering functional, integration, regression, and performance validation.
• Ensure comprehensive observability through metrics, logs, traces, alerting, and SLO‑driven monitoring.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams including application developers, security, and operations to align architecture with organizational standards.
• Mentor engineering teams, influence technical decisions, and shape platform‑level improvements and best practices.
• Integrate API gateways with enterprise identity providers and security platforms, ensuring compliance and security.

Requirements

• Hands‑on experience designing, building, and operating API platforms or gateway solutions in production environments.
• Deep expertise in API design: RESTful APIs, versioning, backward compatibility, and error‑handling patterns.
• Strong experience with security protocols such as OAuth2, OpenID Connect, JWT, mTLS, and API key management.
• Proven ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex issues in high‑throughput, distributed systems.
• Advanced proficiency in Java, with experience in API, gateway, or service‑oriented architectures.
• Strong Python skills for automation, tooling, and operational workflows.
• Extensive experience with designing and implementing automated API testing (functional, integration, regression, performance).
• Expertise in observability and telemetry, including metrics, logs, traces, alerting, and SLO‑driven monitoring.
• Hands‑on experience with Git, code reviews, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure‑as‑code practices.

Preferred, But Not Required

• Experience with enterprise‑grade API gateway platforms such as Apigee, Kong, Azure API Management, or AWS API Gateway.
• Strong understanding of API lifecycle management, including onboarding, governance, versioning, deprecation, and retirement at scale.
• Practical experience defining and enforcing traffic management and security policies like rate limiting, throttling, quotas, and request/response transformations.
• Familiarity with service mesh, ingress controllers, or edge routing technologies and their integration with API gateways.
• Experience integrating APIs with enterprise identity providers and security platforms.
• Knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment strategies for API gateway configurations.
• Exposure to performance/load testing to validate scalability, resiliency, and failure handling.
• Strong architectural mindset with the ability to identify systemic risks and drive platform‑level improvements.
• Demonstrated leadership in mentoring engineers and influencing cross‑team technical strategies.
• Excellent collaboration skills across application, platform, security, and operations teams.