Senior API Engineer / Technical Lead
Location: Des Moines, IA | Hybrid
We are partnering with a highly respected, innovation focused enterprise that is building a next generation platform centered on modern APIs, intelligent search, and strong engineering governance. This is a hands on leadership role for someone who wants to shape architecture, define standards, and mentor other engineers while still writing meaningful code.
This opportunity is ideal for an experienced backend engineer who enjoys designing clean, scalable systems and influencing how APIs, data models, and search capabilities come together to create a powerful developer and user experience.
What You Will Do
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Own the API strategy from design through delivery using an OpenAPI first approach
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Define resources, filtering, and search behavior to create intuitive and high performing services
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Design and build the core registry service and indexing pipeline
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Establish and enforce schema governance, validation processes, and CI quality gates
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Select and integrate an embedding model with a pluggable architecture
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Drive performance through thoughtful pagination, rate limiting, and efficient query patterns
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Create a strong developer experience with clear error handling, documentation, and standards
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Lead technical decision making and mentor engineers through code reviews and design collaboration
What You Bring
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Deep backend engineering experience with TypeScript and Node.js or Python and FastAPI
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Proven success designing and delivering production grade APIs
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Experience building ingestion and indexing pipelines that transform and normalize data
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Strong background in JSON or YAML schema design and validation practices
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Expertise implementing OAuth2 or OIDC with a focus on least privilege access
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Ability to balance long term architecture with near term delivery goals
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Passion for engineering quality, reusable patterns, and governance
Highly Valued Experience
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Hands on work with vector search, semantic retrieval, or RAG concepts such as embeddings, kNN, and reranking
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Familiarity with technologies such as pgvector, Redis, Pinecone, or OpenSearch vector capabilities
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Understanding of metadata driven platforms or manifest based system design
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Exposure to MCP style protocols and capability definitions
Why This Role Stands Out
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True ownership of API design, search architecture, and core platform services
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Influence over technical standards, tooling, and engineering best practices
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High visibility role with the ability to shape long term platform direction
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Collaborative environment that values clean design, performance, and developer experience
If you are a senior level engineer who enjoys leading through architecture, building modern backend systems, and mentoring others while staying close to the code, we would like to connect.