Backend APIs and Integrations Software Engineer III

About the role

We’re looking for a backend API developer to design, build, and operate distributed integration services and APIs at scale. The focus is on Kong API Management, the backend API lifecycle (setup, testing, maintenance), HL7 FHIR, and enterprise integrations, primarily using Java and JavaScript. The ideal candidate has solid network fundamentals, is comfortable working with YAML for declarative configs and pipelines, and prefers pragmatic, production-oriented engineering—no frontend development in this role.

The team

This team is building a generative AI‑powered clinical decision support tool that helps healthcare professionals quickly find trusted, evidence‑based answers at the point of care. It combines a large curated medical knowledge base with conversational AI so clinicians can ask questions in natural language and receive concise, clinically relevant responses backed by scientific evidence.

You will work on resilient, observable microservices and integration components with emphasis on scaling, fault tolerance, idempotency, and backpressure in distributed environments. Responsibilities include configuring and managing Kong Gateway (routes, services, plugins, rate limiting, auth, mTLS, logging) using declarative YAML and CI/CD, and implementing gateway policies for security, traffic control, blue/green/canary releases, and zero‑downtime migrations.

You will help build and maintain a FHIR data facade that maps internal domain data to FHIR resources (read/search/transform) with focus on correctness and performance, and develop backend integrations with downstream systems (REST, gRPC, messaging/queues) while handling schema and contract evolution. Owning the API lifecycle is expected: design using OpenAPI, implementation, automated testing (unit/integration/contract), versioning, and SLO‑driven operations. The role also includes creating and maintaining OpenAPI specs, mocks, and validation pipelines.

Security and compliance are part of everyday work. You will implement OAuth2/OIDC flows, token introspection, and service‑to‑service authentication, apply secure coding practices and least‑privilege network policies, and partner with InfoSec on reviews.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, and operate backend APIs and integration services.
• Configure and manage Kong Gateway using declarative YAML and CI/CD.
• Implement gateway policies for security, traffic control, and release strategies.
• Build and maintain FHIR mappings and transformations for clinical data.
• Integrate with downstream systems via REST, gRPC, and messaging systems.
• Drive API lifecycle: OpenAPI design, implementation, automated testing, versioning, and SLO monitoring.
• Ensure services are observable, resilient, and scalable; handle retries, circuit breakers, caching, and backpressure.
• Implement and maintain secure authentication and authorization (OAuth2/OIDC, token introspection).
• Collaborate with InfoSec and other stakeholders for compliance and security reviews.

Required experience & skills

• At least 3 years of professional backend software engineering experience.
• Proficiency in Java; working proficiency in JavaScript/Node.js.
• Hands‑on experience with API Gateway / Kong APIM (routes, plugins, auth, rate limiting) and declarative YAML configs integrated into CI/CD.
• Strong experience in RESTful API design, OpenAPI/Swagger, contract testing, and backward compatibility/versioning.
• Familiarity with HL7 FHIR, resource modeling, and transformations (e.g., Patient, Observation, Encounter).
• Solid understanding of distributed systems fundamentals: statelessness, service discovery, retries/circuit breakers, caching.
• Networking fundamentals: TCP/IP, DNS, TLS/mTLS, HTTP/2 and HTTP/1.1, proxies, load balancing, and troubleshooting tools (curl, traceroute, etc.).
• Testing and quality practices: unit, integration, contract testing, and CI/CD pipelines (YAML‑based workflows).
• Experience deploying and operating services in cloud or containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes).

Compensation & benefits

• U.S. National Base Pay Range: $78,800 - $131,300. Geographic differentials may apply.
• This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus.
• Country-specific benefits available.

Inclusion, privacy & safety

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Elsevier (RELX) is an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered and treated without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

About RELX / Elsevier

RELX is a global provider of information‑based analytics and decision tools. Our purpose is to benefit society by developing products that help researchers advance scientific knowledge, help clinicians improve patient lives, and enable customers to make better decisions.