An API Developer is a professional who specializes in designing, developing, and maintaining application programming interfaces (APIs). APIs are the backbone of modern software development, allowing different systems and applications to communicate and exchange data seamlessly. In this blog post, we will explore the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for API Developers.

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Main Responsibilities of an API Developer

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of an API Developer :

Adhere to

Adhere to policies and procedures to ensure high-quality and maintainable code is produced.

Analyze

Analyze code to find causes of errors and revise programs as needed.

Architect

Architect APIs, including testing and tuning.

Assess

Assess and estimate feasibility, cost, time and scope.

Assist with

Assist with and rapidly test solutions for the team.

Assure

Assure quality, security and compliance requirements are met for supported area.

Build

• Build and deploy scalable and robust infrastructure for backend services and good APIs.

• Build and maintain APIs that are for internal and external exposure.

• Build and maintain effective working relationships with peers, management, and stakeholders.

• Build and test APIs and integrations on Mulesoft Anypoint or similar platform.

• Build application to extract data from Formstack and insert into database.

• Build automation through integration with existing TD DevOps tools and processes.

• Build code coverage frameworks.

• Build new systems and functionality with .Net framework.

• Build stubs / mock frameworks to increase test coverage.

Challenge

Challenge positively and respectfully, with balanced argument and explanation.

Coach

Coach, mentor, and provide guidance on APIs to the design and development project team.

Code

Code, test, debug, implement, and document moderately complex programs.

Collaborate with

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to gather requirements and understand business needs.

• Collaborate with management, business users, developers and various other stakeholders.

• Collaborate with other teams to develop and support adaptable and secure systems.

• Collaborate with other teams to get technical requirements to develop a solution.

• Collaborate with other technical leads to refine API signatures and behaviors.

Communicate

• Communicate and coordinate deliverables to ensure what is delivered is what is expected.

• Communicate effectively in all mediums with a diverse group of people.

• Communicate status frequently to product teams and engineering program managers.

Conduct

• Conduct logging, error reporting and analytics.

• Conduct quality assurance activities such as peer reviews.

• Conduct root cause analysis on defects Review and develop new and existing code.

• Conduct unit testing to ensure high quality bug free code.

Configure

Configure and deploy new functionality using ServiceNow and related web technologies.

Consult

Consult with end user to prototype, refine, test, and debug programs to meet needs.

Continue to

Continue to refine the highly flexible internal API and external API connectors.

Contribute to

• Contribute to defining timelines and plans.

• Contribute to engineering communities of practice, and documents work.

• Contribute to estimates for new requirements.

• Contribute to IT standards, methodologies, processes, and tools.

• Contribute to the improvement of the APIs, digital platform and development framework.

Create

• Create and maintain an open and transparent environment that values speed and innovation.

• Create and maintain devops piplines.

• Create and maintain technical documentation, ensuring that documentation is ready for handoff.

• Create API specifications and documentation to ensure clear and comprehensive guidance for developers and users.

• Create awesome experiences for our customers.

• Create design artifacts using RAML and JSON Schema standards.

• Create or contribute to an implementation and back-out plan.

• Create Python scripts to manage process efficiencies.

• Create reports and dashboards using Microsoft SQL Reporting Services.

• Create reusable, effective and scalable code.

• Create software test plans following Test-Driven Development standards.

• Create solution architectures and application designs that are flexible and scalable.

• Create supporting system documentation including technical design documents and training guides.

Decompose

Decompose business and system architecture to support clean-interface multi-team development.

Define

Define API specification and contracts for a functional domain by working with SMEs.

Design

• Design and build Web applications with enhanced UX.

• Design and develop all our microservices.

• Design and develop APIs to facilitate seamless communication between different software applications.

• Design and develop application layer to support web applications.

• Design and develop quality solutions that adhere to business requirements.

• Design and develop scalable, multi tenanted server-side architecture.

• Design and develop serverless APIs using AWS Lambda.

• Design and implement scalable and robust approaches to caching, security, and databases.

• Design data architecture and models capable of extreme scale.

• Design systems and program to meet complex business needs.

• Design the solution, make recommendations, develop, test and prepare the migration of the solution.

Develop

• Develop a cohesive experience across multiple environments.

• Develop and deploy API policies using Apigee Edge Platform.

• Develop and deploy backend logic and service components using Node.js and / or Java.

• Develop and deploy serverless components hosted on AWS cloud technology.

• Develop and manage well-functioning applications and databases.

• Develop and use web-based APIs (especially REST-based APIs).

• Develop APIs, proxy endpoints, API portals and API analytics based on technical specifications.

• Develop automated API tests using SoapUI.

• Develop code according to defined requirements.

• Develop common components and ability to do quick and through analysis of services impact.

• Develop, maintain, govern, and roll out API Specifications (RAML / Swagger).

• Develop new API as per business requirements.

• Develop scalable, high performance and robust integration flows between Sun Life's systems.

• Develop scalable solutions with performance and security in mind.

• Develop scalable solutions with performance, security & observability in mind.

• Develop test plans to verify logic of new or modified programs.

• Develop the code based on high level design and low-level design.

Document

• Document application for Client IT staff.

• Document new processes or update an existing wiki pages.

Drive

• Drive design for a secure, efficient, and adaptable future state model.

• Drive technical excellence and implementation of best engineering practices.

Embrace

Embrace changes / disruptions in digital ecosystem, and eager to learn new technologies.

Enable

Enable the workflows by actively defining APIs that enable scaling of the solution.

Ensure

• Ensure API compliance with industry standards and best practices.

• Ensure cohesive experience across multiple devices.

• Ensure Section 508 Compliance.

Execute

Execute the unit testing.

Facilitate

Facilitate root cause analysis of system issues.

Find

Find multiple solutions to a problem, evaluate tradeoffs, and decide the best approach.

Follow

• Follow and implement enterprise application security practices.

• Follow technology trends and best practices, promoting them within the team where appropriate.

Generate

Generate technical specifications to design or redesign complex software components and applications.

Handle

Handle versioning and backward compatibility of APIs to support seamless updates and migrations.

Help

Help set up deployments per provided guidance and procedural documentation.

Identify

• Identify and analyze requirements for completeness, technical risk, work effort and impacts.

• Identify and solve performance bottlenecks in our web application.

• Identify code problems, build solutions and complete code reviews with other developers.

• Identify ideas to improve system performance and impact availability.

• Identify problem areas in code & solutions.

Implement

• Implement and maintain automated unit and functional tests where appropriate.

• Implement security measures, such as authentication and access control, to protect API endpoints.

• Implement web programming techniques and frameworks.

Incorporate

Incorporate Accessibility as part of the development process.

Influence

Influence / encourage team to build solutions with quality and confined to architecture.

Integrate

Integrate and orchestrate the 3rd party APIs - Various Payment Gateways.

Interfere with

Interfere with business to answer their questions and make sure the overall objective is being met.

Keep

Keep abreast of the latest security vulnerabilities, and develop with security in mind.

Lead

Lead and coordinate implementation tasks with all affected parties, utilizing the SDLC checklists.

Leverage

Leverage industry best practices to design, test, implement and support a solution.

Maintain

Maintain codebase and make improvements when necessary.

Manage

• Manage code and branches in distributed code repository.

• Manage expectations and priorities between Engineering, Product and Customers.

• Manage incoming and outgoing requests such as enforcing message sizes and rate limiting.

• Manage tickets and activities in JIRA and confluence.

Mentor

Mentor more junior members of the team to success.

Monitor

• Monitor API usage and performance metrics to identify potential bottlenecks or areas for improvement.

• Monitor integrations, troubleshooting, and resolving issues as needed.

Negotiate

Negotiate skillfully in tough situations with internal and external groups.

Onboard

Onboard and connect applications on to Data Intelligence.

Optimize

Optimize API performance by analyzing and improving response times and resource utilization.

Participate in

• Participate early in the API lifecycle and perform software development and ensure code quality.

• Participate in code reviews.

• Participate in design, scalability and implementation discussions.

• Participate in full development life cycle including requirements analysis and design.

• Participate in peer code reviews, both as reviewer and reviewee.

• Participate in planning, retrospectives, demos and daily stand-ups.

• Participate in prototypes, proofs of concept and other research and experimentation as needed.

• Participate in the analysis and design of software solutions.

Perform

• Perform mapping and design of specs for transformation between API Gateway and back-end service.

• Perform other related duties.

• Perform regular tests and monitor applications performances.

• Perform technical analysis and formulate design and program logic.

• Perform tests locally as well as in an integrated, distributed environment.

• Preform analyses on existing services identifying risks and recommending corrective action.

Prepare

Prepare patents applications as appropriate.

Present

• Present new discoveries in programming solutions and practices.

• Present plan to transition system to support team.

Produce

• Produce estimates work based on high level designs, requirements, and / or user stories.

• Produce high quality, testable and reusable code.

• Produce quality code according to the best practices and design models put in place.

Promote

• Promote reuse across the organization.

• Promote secure and patterned coding practices.

Protect

Protect our mission by protecting our clients.

Provide

• Provide 3rd Level support.

• Provide design to deliver engaging, innovative, and client-centric management technology solutions.

• Provide IT systems development and support under general direction.

• Provide post-implementation support including resolution of defects found during warranty period.

• Provide support to team members and application during end to end testing and production support.

• Provide technical guidance and collaborate with other team members.

• Provide weekly and monthly status to the management.

Receive

Receive work packages from manager and / or delegates.

Remediate

Remediate code fixes and tweaks during post final release support period.

Represent

Represent Digital team in various other areas of IT in providing integrated solutions.

Research

Research and understand the Formstack API and Webhooks.

Resolve

Resolve complex technical design issues.

Review

• Review and develop new and existing code.

• Review other developers' solutions and assure adherence to the highest quality standards.

Run

Run batch cycles, completing back-up and recovery functions.

Scope

Scope, break-down and estimate development tasks.

Solve

Solve challenging scaling problems to ensure a seamless user experience and high uptime.

Stay updated with

• Stay on the edge of Portal development by always improving our testing, CI / CD and QA environment.

• Stay updated with emerging technologies and trends in API development to incorporate innovative solutions.

Support

• Support and document API functionalities.

• Support Application deployment and release management activities.

• Support legacy applications and refactor them as necessary.

• Support, maintain, and document software functionality.

• Support test and deployment of new products and features.

• Support the optimization, maintenance and monitoring of PostgreSQL databases.

Take

Take part in sprint planning, daily stand-up, retrospective and demonstration activities.

Test

• Test and debug APIs to identify and resolve any issues or inconsistencies.

• Test, maintain, and support the core read, write, compute, and analytics pipelines.

Track

• Track progress and provides status reports to lead resource, escalating issues as necessary.

• Track the workflow as needed.

Translate

Translate requirements and designs into high-quality, secure code.

Understand

• Understand creation and deployment of API first design strategy.

• Understand current infrastructure and stack in order to employ best AWS solutions.

• Understand, retain, and perform complex procedures.

• Understand SMS, Push Notification, and Email delivery.

• Understand the business problem statement, user stories, and technical constraints.

• Understand what technologies other teams are using.

Update

Update integrations as needed for API version updates, changing requests and enhancements.

Work with

• Work closely with Architect, Information Security, Backend and Front-end teams.

• Work closely with key business stakeholders and partners beyond the product owners / managers.

• Work collaboratively with team members to identify issues and debug code.

• Work effectively with colleagues at all levels.

• Work hand-in-hand with the user interface Resource.

• Work in a highly-collaborative environment to solve challenging technical and business problems.

• Work on any other tasks assigned by management.

• Work on next generation DevOps pipeline with automated CI / CD.

• Work on products that are built in Agile and DevOps delivery model.

• Work together with API enablement team (Mulesoft platform team) to apply the platform guidance.

• Work with business and internal teams adding new features and interfaces as required.

• Work with external and internal partners in defining the technical user stories, build, test.

• Work with multiple vendor teams to deliver the final product / Application.

• Work with other data and integration team members to help grow MuleSoft knowledge within the company.

• Work with Project Management and Analyst teams to define and deploy API governance.

Write

• Write new code and leverage existing code.

• Write technical specifications based on conceptual design and stated business requirements.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

The following list describes the most required technical skills of an API Developer :

1. Proficiency in programming languages such as Java, Python, or JavaScript.

2. Experience with API frameworks and technologies, such as Node.js, Flask, or Express.

3. Knowledge of web service protocols and data formats, including REST, SOAP, JSON, and XML.

4. Familiarity with API design principles and best practices.

5. Understanding of authentication and authorization mechanisms, such as OAuth or JWT.

6. Database management skills, including query optimization and data modeling.

7. Experience with version control systems like Git.

8. Knowledge of cloud platforms and services, such as AWS or Azure.

9. Understanding of API testing tools and methodologies.

10. Proficiency in using API documentation tools like Swagger or OpenAPI.

11. Experience with API security practices, including encryption and data privacy.

12. Knowledge of caching mechanisms and content delivery networks (CDNs).

13. Understanding of API analytics and monitoring tools.

14. Familiarity with DevOps practices and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.

15. Experience with containerization technologies like Docker or Kubernetes.

16. Knowledge of GraphQL for building efficient APIs.

17. Proficiency in working with SQL and NoSQL databases.

18. Understanding of front-end technologies and frameworks (e.g., HTML, CSS, React, Angular).

19. Knowledge of microservices architecture and distributed systems.

20. Familiarity with API gateways and management platforms.

Most In-demand Soft Skills

The following list describes the most required soft skills of an API Developer :

1. Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking.

2. Effective communication skills for collaborating with team members and stakeholders.

3. Attention to detail in API design, documentation, and testing.

4. Ability to work in a fast-paced and agile development environment.

5. Adaptability and flexibility to handle changing project requirements and priorities.

6. Teamwork and collaboration to work effectively with cross-functional teams.

7. Time management and prioritization to meet project deadlines.

8. Strong attention to detail in API design, documentation, and testing.

9. Problem-solving and critical thinking to troubleshoot API-related issues.

10. Continuous learning mindset to stay updated with evolving technologies and industry trends.

Conclusion

The role of an API Developer is pivotal in modern software development, enabling the smooth exchange of data and functionality between applications. This blog post has provided an overview of the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for API Developers. By understanding these responsibilities and honing the necessary skills, aspiring API Developers can embark on a rewarding career path in this dynamic and rapidly evolving field.