Apply to IBM API Connect/DataPower

Title: IBM API Connect/DataPower
Industry: Airline / Transportation
Location: Dallas, TX or San Antonio, TX — Onsite / Co-Located
Employment Type: Contract-to-Hire
Work Authorization: Must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident. No current or future sponsorship available.

Overview
We are seeking a senior API Migration Architect to provide hands-on technical leadership for a large-scale modernization initiative migrating enterprise API capabilities from IBM API Connect and IBM DataPower to Google Apigee.
This individual will serve as a key technical leader across architecture, migration planning, platform design, security, integration, DevOps, testing, and production readiness. The Architect will assess the existing IBM API environment, define the target-state Apigee architecture, establish migration patterns, resolve complex technical dependencies, and guide engineering teams through execution.
This is not a strategy-only architecture role. The successful candidate must be capable of moving from architecture and planning into hands-on technical problem solving, proof-of-concept development, migration execution, troubleshooting, and production deployment.
The ideal candidate has direct experience with IBM API Connect and/or DataPower, strong expertise in Google Apigee / Apigee X, and experience modernizing or migrating enterprise API platforms.
Direct IBM-to-Apigee migration experience is strongly preferred but not required for candidates who bring exceptional depth on either the IBM or Google Apigee side and have successfully led comparable API platform migrations.

Employee Value Proposition
This is an opportunity to play a central role in a highly visible enterprise cloud modernization initiative supporting a major nationwide organization.
You will help define how a large API ecosystem transitions from legacy IBM middleware and gateway technologies into a modern Google Cloud API management environment.
Rather than maintaining an existing platform, you will have the opportunity to:

• Define the migration architecture.
• Establish reusable API migration patterns.
• Influence the target Google Apigee environment.
• Solve complex integration and security challenges.
• Guide engineering and DevOps teams.
• Participate directly in production migration and cutover.
• Help establish the foundation for the organization's future API platform.

What Success Looks Like
Success is measured by the ability to create a secure, scalable, repeatable migration approach and successfully move APIs from IBM API Connect/DataPower into Google Apigee without disrupting critical business services.
The Architect will be expected to provide both technical leadership and hands-on execution throughout the migration.

Responsibilities
The API Migration Architect will:

• Lead architecture for migration from IBM API Connect and IBM DataPower to Google Apigee.
• Assess existing IBM API environments and determine appropriate migration approaches.
• Design scalable, secure, highly available Apigee architectures.
• Translate IBM API Connect and DataPower capabilities into appropriate Apigee patterns.
• Define API proxy, policy, routing, transformation, security, logging, and monitoring standards.
• Develop reference architectures and reusable migration patterns.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance to API developers and platform engineers.
• Participate in proof-of-concept development and complex API migrations.
• Troubleshoot technical issues across IBM, Google Cloud, Apigee, DevOps, networking, and security environments.
• Partner with cloud security architects to define API security standards.
• Work with DevOps engineers to establish automated build and deployment pipelines.
• Support test teams with migration validation strategies.
• Lead technical reviews and architecture decisions.
• Identify migration risks, dependencies, and technical blockers.
• Support production readiness, deployment, cutover, and stabilization.
• Provide technical mentoring to development and engineering teams.
• Communicate architecture decisions clearly to both technical teams and project leadership.

Required Experience
Candidates should bring strong experience across several of the following areas:
API Architecture

• Enterprise API architecture and API management.
• RESTful APIs and web services.
• API gateway technologies.
• OpenAPI / Swagger.
• REST and SOAP services.
• JSON and XML.
• API lifecycle management.
• Enterprise integration architecture.

Google Apigee
Strong hands-on experience with:

• Google Apigee.
• Apigee X and/or Apigee Hybrid.
• API proxies.
• Shared flows.
• API policies.
• Routing and traffic management.
• Authentication and authorization.
• API security.
• Developer and application management.
• Logging, analytics, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
• Apigee deployment and environment management.

IBM API Platform
Experience with one or both of:
IBM API Connect

• API management.
• API development.
• API gateways.
• API policies.
• Products and catalogs.
• Security configuration.
• Deployment and administration.

IBM DataPower

• DataPower Gateway.
• Multi-Protocol Gateway.
• Web Service Proxy.
• XML/JSON processing.
• Security policies.
• Routing and transformation.
• SSL/TLS.
• Gateway configuration and troubleshooting.

Candidates with deep expertise in either IBM API Connect/DataPower or Google Apigee may be considered if they have successfully led comparable API modernization efforts.

Migration Experience
Strong candidates should have experience with:

• API platform migrations.
• Middleware modernization.
• Cloud migrations.
• API gateway migrations.
• Legacy-to-cloud transformation.
• Large API portfolios.
• Migration assessment and planning.
• Migration wave planning.
• Cutover strategy.
• Production stabilization.

Direct IBM API Connect/DataPower → Google Apigee migration experience is highly desirable.
Comparable experience migrating between platforms such as MuleSoft, Kong, Azure API Management, AWS API Gateway, WSO2, or other enterprise API management technologies will also be considered.

Leadership & Consulting Skills
Because this is an architecture leadership position, candidates must be able to:

• Lead technical discussions with architects, engineers, security teams, and project leadership.
• Translate complex technical issues into understandable decisions.
• Operate effectively within a large enterprise transformation program.
• Make architecture decisions while balancing security, scalability, performance, cost, and delivery timelines.
• Work collaboratively across development, cloud, security, DevOps, testing, and infrastructure teams.
• Mentor engineers and establish technical standards.
• Identify problems early and drive them to resolution.
• Remain hands-on when complex technical issues require direct involvement.

Preferred Qualifications
Highly desirable experience includes:

• Direct IBM API Connect to Google Apigee migration.
• Direct IBM DataPower to Google Apigee migration.
• Large-scale Apigee X implementation.
• Google Cloud architecture.
• Multi-cloud environments involving GCP, AWS, and/or Azure.
• Enterprise integration modernization.
• High-volume or mission-critical API environments.
• Regulated or security-sensitive enterprise environments.
• Large transformation or consulting engagements.
• Performance and scalability engineering.
• API governance and lifecycle management.

Airline industry experience is beneficial but not required. Technical platform expertise and successful enterprise migration experience are more important than industry background.

Location & Engagement Requirements

• Candidates must be willing to work onsite/co-located in Dallas, Texas or San Antonio, Texas.
• Candidates outside the area who are willing to relocate may be considered.
• This is expected to be a contract-to-hire engagement.
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work permanently in the United States as a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident without employment sponsorship.