Integration & API Architect

*Integration & API Architect* *Company: *Ardor Digital Inc. *Location: *Remote (Washington State preferred), with occasional on site availability *Job Type: *Contract, Part Time (~20 hrs/week) *Engagement Length: *Through June 2027, with option to extend *About Ardor Digital* Ardor Digital Inc. is a Washington State based, OMWBE certified government IT advisory, digital transformation, and staffing firm. We hold multiple Washington State DES Master Contracts and partner with public sector agencies on modernization, architecture, and data initiatives. *About the Engagement* Ardor Digital is building a bench of expert consultants to support a large scale, multi year technology modernization program for a Washington State government agency. The program is replacing a legacy, mainframe centric environment made up of more than 100 systems with a modern, cloud first system of systems. This is a part time, contract engagement performed remotely with occasional on site availability as program needs require *Job Overview* We are looking for an experienced *Integration & API Architect* to design, develop, and lead enterprise integration solutions that enable seamless communication between applications, platforms, data sources, and external systems. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in *API architecture, integration patterns, cloud technologies, microservices, and enterprise application integration*. The candidate will work closely with business stakeholders, enterprise architects, development teams, and technology leaders to define scalable, secure, and high-performing integration architectures. *Key Responsibilities* * Define and implement enterprise-wide *integration and API architecture* strategies and standards. * Design scalable and secure *RESTful APIs, event-driven integrations, and microservices-based solutions*. * Develop API lifecycle strategies including design, versioning, security, governance, monitoring, and retirement. * Evaluate and recommend integration platforms, API gateways, middleware, messaging systems, and cloud services. * Design integrations between *ERP, CRM, SaaS, legacy, cloud, and custom applications*. * Establish API governance, reusable integration patterns, standards, and best practices. * Collaborate with development teams to ensure architecture is translated effectively into production-ready solutions. * Design event-driven architectures using technologies such as *Kafka, Azure Service Bus, or similar messaging platforms*. * Ensure integrations meet enterprise requirements for *security, scalability, reliability, performance, and maintainability*. * Work with security teams to implement authentication and authorization mechanisms including *OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, and API keys*. * Provide technical leadership during architecture reviews, solution design, implementation, and production support. * Develop architecture diagrams, technical specifications, API contracts, and integration documentation. * Identify opportunities to modernize legacy integrations and migrate them to cloud-native architectures. * Troubleshoot complex integration and API issues and provide guidance on performance optimization. * Mentor developers and integration engineers on API and integration best practices. *Required Skills & Qualifications* * 8+ years of experience in *software integration, API architecture, enterprise architecture, or related roles*. * Strong experience designing and implementing *enterprise APIs and integration solutions*. * Expertise in *REST, SOAP, JSON, XML, HTTP, OpenAPI/Swagger, and API lifecycle management*. * Strong understanding of *microservices and event-driven architecture*. * Experience with API management platforms such as *Apigee, Azure API Management, MuleSoft, Kong, or similar technologies*. * Hands-on experience with integration and messaging technologies such as *Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ, Azure Service Bus, or equivalent*. * Strong knowledge of cloud platforms, preferably *Azure, AWS, or GCP*. * Experience with authentication and authorization frameworks including *OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, and SSO*. * Experience working with *CI/CD, DevOps, Git, Docker, and Kubernetes*. * Strong understanding of database and data integration concepts, including *SQL and NoSQL databases*. * Knowledge of enterprise integration patterns and distributed systems. * Strong understanding of API security, data privacy, encryption, and enterprise security standards. * Excellent problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder-management skills. *Preferred Qualifications* * Experience with *MuleSoft, Boomi, Informatica, IBM Integration Bus/App Connect, or similar integration platforms*. * Experience with *Azure Integration Services* such as Logic Apps, API Management, Service Bus, and Event Grid. * Experience implementing *API governance and Center of Excellence (CoE)* practices. * Knowledge of *GraphQL and gRPC*. * Experience with observability tools such as *Splunk, Datadog, Azure Monitor, or Application Insights*. * Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments. * Relevant cloud or architecture certifications are a plus. *Key Competencies* * Enterprise Integration Architecture * API Strategy & Governance * API Management * Microservices Architecture * Event-Driven Architecture * Cloud Integration * API Security * System Design * Technical Leadership * Architecture Documentation * Performance & Scalability * Stakeholder Management *What We Offer* * Opportunity to work on large-scale enterprise integration initiatives. * Exposure to modern cloud, API, and microservices technologies. * Collaborative and technically driven work environment. * Opportunities for professional growth and technical leadership. Pay: $105.00 per hour Work Location: In person