Staff Software Engineer - API Platform at Wikimedia Foundation

You are responsible for:

• Collaborating with Product Owners, Engineers and Stakeholders on product discovery and improvements of our existing systems
• Participating in the development and integration of the Wikimedia API Gateway, including:
  • Feature identification and implementation (ex: rate limiting, throttling, authentication, etc.)
  • API Protocols and Architecture Style support guidelines (ex: REST, RPC, Kafka, etc.)
  • Migration of existing APIs to the API Gateway
  • Integration of the API Gateway into our security strategy
• Developing easy-to-use self service pathways for API consumers via our web API portal
• Assessing and addressing technical risks
• Helping maintain, scale, and extend our API Platform
• Helping shape the technological direction of our systems working with the Tech Lead and Product Manager to identify solutions for given requirements
• Monitoring system performance and identifying, defining, and implementing internal process improvements and SLOs
• Gathering and documenting technical requirements
• Mentoring Junior Engineers
• Directing your own work and are proactive in asking for input.
• Working and communicating clearly and effectively within a team that spans multiple time zones across the world
• Changing the world for more than half a billion people every month ;)

Skills and Experience:

• 8+ years of experience designing and building APIs for internal and external stakeholders
• You have a good working knowledge of software design principles and the API lifecycle
• Expertise in REST web services
• Experience building or managing an API Gateway (ideally with Envoy experience)
• Experience designing API guidelines and interfaces
• Deep understanding of how to integrate API Gateways into a legacy technology stack and the ability to execute this.
• Demonstrated experience building out API Gateway features including, rate limiting, authentication, throttling, etc.
• You have a good understanding of how to scale applications, in terms of load, complexity, and performance.
• You enjoy writing unit tests, reviewing code, responding to code reviews and discussing architectural approaches.
• You have experience with multiple programming languages are are willing to use the right tool for the job. We currently use PHP, Nodejs, Python, and Go where it makes sense.
• You have worked in a Linux server environment.
• You are willing to travel occasionally - sometimes internationally - for team and organizational meetings.
• You are a proficient English speaker and writer.

Qualities that are important to us:

• Commitment to the mission of the organization and our values
• Commitment to our guiding principles
• Ability to disagree in a respectful manner and yet work towards a solution even when you disagree
• Good at asynchronous communication
• Solutions-focused. The Wikimedia ecosystem is complex, resources are limited, and our guiding principles are ambitious. We want you to work to find solutions embracing these factors.
• Self motivated with an ability to navigate through ambiguity and bring a project to completion with limited directions
• Problem-solver with a passion and willingness to learn and dive-deep into technical details
• Possess a growth mindset with ability to identify additional skills, knowledge, and/or expertise required and the drive to develop themselves where needed

Additionally, we'd love it if you have, but these are pluses not requirements:

• Experience working on open source, collaborative development projects
• Familiarity with Envoy API Gateways
• Experience working with on-premise technology stacks
• Experience working with microservice architectures
• Experience working remotely
• Experience with NoSQL and traditional databases
• Experience working with tools like but not limited to Kafka, Hadoop, Storm, Flink and Spark
• Experience with an internet software environment operating at scale; for example, messaging platforms that process hundreds of thousands of events per second
• Big thumbs ups if you are a contributor to Wikipedia