Senior Kong API Gateway Engineer
Peterson Technology Partners· enterprise· Oct 22, 2026 · 6d ago
Chicago, IL
In office
Contract
Senior
$70–$85/hr
7+ years exp
Job description
Job Description:
Our client is looking for a skilled Kong Administrator / AI Gateway Engineer with experience in API Gateway management, Kong administration, and knowledge on AI/LLM proxy development.
Required Skills:
Kong Gateway (OSS/Enterprise), Kong Konnect
API Management & API Lifecycle Management
AI Gateway / LLM Proxy Development
OpenAI / Azure OpenAI Integration
REST APIs, GraphQL
OAuth2, JWT, OIDC, API Security
Kubernetes, Docker, Helm
CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps)
Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/Splunk
Cloud Platforms: Azure, AWS, or GCP
Kong AI Gateway Configuration & Administration
LLM Traffic Routing, Load Balancing and Failover Management
Prompt Management, Prompt Security and Guardrails
AI Security, Responsible AI and Model Governance
Token Usage Monitoring, Rate Limiting and Cost Optimization
Multi-LLM Integration (OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral, Llama)
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) Architecture Concepts
Vector Databases
LLMOps, AI Observability and Model Performance Monitoring
AI API Governance, Compliance and Data Protection
Prompt Caching, Semantic Caching and Response Optimization
Model Gateway Policy Development and AI Consumption Controls
MCP (Model Context Protocol) and AI Agent Integration Concepts
GenAI Platform Engineering and Enterprise AI Enablement
Key Responsibilities:
Design and implement enterprise-grade AI Gateway solutions using Kong AI Gateway.
Configure AI-specific policies including prompt logging, content filtering, token controls, and guardrails.
Enable secure access to multiple LLM providers through a unified gateway architecture.
Implement AI observability, token analytics, usage tracking, and cost governance.
Develop routing strategies across multiple AI models based on latency, cost, and availability.
Integrate RAG-based AI services through secure API management frameworks.
Ensure compliance with enterprise AI governance, security, and regulatory requirements.
Establish AI platform standards, reusable AI APIs, and best practices for GenAI adoption.
Support AI agent and MCP-based integrations within enterprise ecosystems.
Drive AI platform reliability, scalability, and operational excellence.
Configure, administer, and support Kong Gateway environments.
Develop and manage AI Gateway proxies for GenAI/LLM services.
Implement API security, authentication, throttling, and governance policies.
Integrate AI platforms such as Azure OpenAI and OpenAI through secure API gateways.
Deploy and manage Kong in Kubernetes-based environments.
Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize gateway performance and availability.
Automate deployments and operational processes using DevOps tools.
Experience:
7-12 years of experience in API Management, Middleware, or Platform Engineering.
Minimum 3 to 5 years of hands-on experience with Kong Gateway Administration.
Experience with cloud-native and microservices architectures preferred.
Salary/Rate: $70-$85/HR (depends on experience level). This is a contract position with candidates expected to work 40 hours/ week.
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