Who are we?
Smarsh empowers its customers to manage risk and unleash intelligence in their digital communications. Our growing community of over 6500 organizations in regulated industries counts on Smarsh every day to help them spot compliance, legal or reputational risks in 80+ communication channels before those risks become regulatory fines or headlines.  Relentless innovation has fueled our journey to consistent leadership recognition from analysts like Gartner and Forrester, and our sustained, aggressive growth has landed Smarsh in the annual Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing American companies since 2008.Position OverviewWe are seeking an experienced Senior Cloud Platform Engineer (IC4) to architect, build, and maintain our enterprise API Gateway infrastructure on AWS. This role combines deep technical expertise in Kong Gateway, cloud architecture, and DevOps practices while ensuring platform reliability, security, and operational excellence.Core ResponsibilitiesPlatform Architecture (35%)Design and implement Kong Gateway's hybrid deployment architecture across multiple AWS regions and Kubernetes clustersArchitect high-availability solutions ensuring business continuity and disaster recoveryDesign and implement security frameworks aligned with compliance requirementsCreate scalable multi-tenant solutions meeting enterprise requirementsOptimize platform performance and resource utilization across environmentsDefine integration patterns for microservices architectures
Infrastructure Automation (25%)Develop and maintain infrastructure as code using Terraform for AWS resourcesCreate and maintain Helm charts for Kubernetes deploymentsImplement GitOps workflows using ArgoCD for configuration managementBuild and maintain Concourse CI/CD pipelines for automated deploymentAutomate routine operational tasks using shell scriptingManage backup and recovery procedures across the platform
Integration & Security (20%)Configure and maintain Kong's integration with Keycloak for authenticationImplement and manage rate limiting solutions using Redis clustersIntegrate Kong with service mesh technologies (Istio)Design and implement PKI infrastructure and certificate managementMaintain security policies and compliance controlsEnsure proper multi-tenant isolation and resource management
Operations & Observability (20%)Design and implement monitoring solutions using Prometheus and DataDogCreate and maintain alerting systems and dashboardsOptimize PostgreSQL database performance for Kong's data layerLead troubleshooting of complex platform issuesParticipate in on-call rotationMaintain operational documentation and runbooks
Required Technical ExpertiseCore Platform Knowledge6+ years of experience in platform/cloud engineeringExpert-level experience with Kong Gateway enterprise deploymentsDeep knowledge of AWS services and best practicesAdvanced understanding of Kubernetes operationsStrong background in infrastructure automationExpert knowledge of network architecture and securityTechnical ProficienciesAPI Gateway DevelopmentKong Gateway EnterpriseCustom plugin developmentAPI security patternsRate limiting implementationsTraffic control systems
Programming & ScriptingLua (expert level)Python or GoShell scriptingSQL
Authentication & SecurityOAuth 2.0OpenID ConnectJWTKeycloakAPI security best practices
Cloud & InfrastructureKubernetesDockerAWS servicesIstio service mesh
Databases & CachingPostgreSQLRedisCaching strategies
DevOps & ToolsGitConcourse CIArgoCDTerraform
Development PracticesTest-driven developmentContinuous integration/deploymentCode review processesPerformance optimizationAPI documentationTechnical writingGitOps workflows
Professional QualificationsBachelor's/Master's in Computer Science or related fieldKong certification (if available) preferredStrong system design skillsExcellence in technical communicationExperience leading development teamsTrack record of successful API projectsImpact & OpportunityLead development of critical API infrastructureDesign next-generation API solutionsInfluence technical architecture decisionsDrive innovation in API developmentBuild scalable enterprise solutionsMentor and grow technical talentContribute to open-source projectsAbout our culture
Smarsh hires lifelong learners with a passion for innovating with purpose, humility and humor. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do. We work closely with the most popular communications platforms and the world’s leading cloud infrastructure platforms. We use the latest in AI/ML technology to help our customers break new ground at scale. We are a global organization that values diversity, and we believe that providing opportunities for everyone to be their authentic self is key to our success. Smarsh leadership, culture, and commitment to developing our people have all garnered Comparably.com Best Places to Work Awards. Come join us and find out what the best work of your career looks like.