API Architect

SAS•Cary HQ, NC

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

We’re a leader in data and AI. Through our software and services, we inspire customers around the world to transform data into intelligence - and questions into answers. If you're looking for a dynamic, fulfilling career with flexibility and a world-class employee experience, you'll find it here. We're recognized around the world for our inclusive, meaningful culture and innovative technologies by organizations like Fast Company, Forbes, Newsweek and more. About the job The APIs & Developer Experience organization is looking for an API Architect to help define and support portfolio-wide API architecture, strategy, and standards for SAS Viya. You will work independently on medium-scope projects, contributing to the patterns and practices (design, versioning, compatibility, and deprecation) that keep Viya APIs consistent, secure, discoverable, and easy to adopt by internal teams, partners, and customers. Your sphere of influence spans your department and division, with some cross-divisional interaction. You'll collaborate with product engineering, security, documentation/DX, and the API publishing pipeline to translate architectural guidance into repeatable, automated outcomes. If you are passionate about coherent API ecosystems and enjoy a mix of hands-on design work, governance, and enablement, this role is for you.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, or a related quantitative/engineering field.
3–5 years of experience designing and building web APIs at scale (RESTful or REST-like), including at least 1 year in an architecture, standards, or governance-adjacent role.
Solid hands-on experience with OpenAPI 3.x (schemas, examples, reusable components), API design review, and contract-first development.
Working knowledge of API authentication/authorization (OAuth 2.0/OIDC, scopes, tokens, mTLS) and least-privilege principles.
Familiarity with API lifecycle management: compatibility policies, semantic versioning, deprecation planning, and consumer communication.
Experience with Git-based workflows and modern CI/CD practices; comfort with automated spec quality or linting checks.
Strong communication skills with the ability to document patterns clearly and collaborate across product teams.
API Design Fundamentals: Full working understanding of REST principles and API design best practices; able to independently evaluate design tradeoffs and develop sound architectural solutions.
Collaborative Mindset: Works cooperatively across engineering, security, and DX teams; contributes to shared goals, volunteers assistance, and helps remove obstacles.
Decision Making: Recognizes problems and opportunities, gathers relevant information, and selects appropriate methods and techniques to reach well-reasoned solutions.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to SAS Viya services or cloud-native/Kubernetes deployment patterns.
Some experience with OpenAPI linting tools (e.g., Spectral), API gateways, or publishing/promotion workflows.
Familiarity with SDK design, docs-as-code practices, or developer-facing documentation.
Exposure to agent/LLM-aware API design concepts (structured responses, schema clarity, predictable error contracts).
Proficiency with one or more of: Python, Go, Java, or TypeScript (for examples, tooling, or prototyping).

Responsibilities

Contribute to and help maintain SAS Viya API architecture standards (naming, resources, HTTP semantics, error models, pagination, filtering, rate limits).
Author and refine OpenAPI 3.x guidelines, examples, and reusable components; promote spec completeness and accuracy as the contract of record for engineering, docs, SDKs, and agents.
Participate in API lifecycle governance: design reviews, versioning strategy, deprecation playbooks, and consumer communication patterns.
Participate in architectural reviews and provide hands-on guidance for new or modernized Viya APIs; help navigate tradeoffs among performance, usability, and maintainability.
Support agent-readiness by promoting machine-readable contracts, consistent schemas, and guidance for tool use and structured responses.
Help create and maintain internal playbooks, FAQs, and training materials so teams can self-serve API standards.
Maintain clear technical design documentation and contribute to roadmap and dependency planning discussions.
Be encouraged to participate in open source projects on behalf of SAS.
Ensure all applicable security policies and processes are followed to support the organization's secure software development goals.
Embrace curiosity, passion, authenticity, and accountability. These are our values and influence everything we do.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, prescription, dental and vision plans.
Medical plan options include: PPO with low annual deductible and copays.
HDHP combined with a health savings account with a contribution from SAS (no access to on-site health care center).
Onsite Health Care Center (HQ) that’s free to employees and family members enrolled in the PPO plan. There's a pharmacy too! Not local to HQ? The pharmacy will ship prescriptions for no additional charge!
An industry-leading 401k plan.
Tuition Assistance Program and programs and resources to support your development
Generous time away including vacation time, a variety of paid holidays, and our much-loved U.S. Winter Wellness Break between December 25 and January 1.
Volunteer Time Off, parental leave and unlimited paid sick days.
Generous childcare benefits for all full-time employees.

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