API Tech Lead

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, which manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for an API Tech Lead based in the United States. Take the lead in shaping scalable, reliable API platforms that power modern travel booking and distribution experiences worldwide. In this role, you will provide technical leadership across systems supporting travel shopping, reservations, fulfillment, servicing, and retailing. Working closely with the Technical Director, you will guide architectural decisions, review complex integrations, and ensure engineering solutions align with business objectives and technical standards. You will leverage your expertise in Java, distributed systems, cloud technologies, and travel industry platforms to support modernization and innovation. Beyond architecture, you will mentor engineers, identify technical risks, and foster engineering excellence across multidisciplinary teams. This remote opportunity is ideal for a technically accomplished professional who combines deep travel domain knowledge with strategic thinking, collaborative leadership, and a passion for building resilient digital solutions.

Provide technical leadership and architectural governance: Review solution architectures, API designs, integrations, and technical proposals to ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable, secure, and aligned with established engineering principles. Shape technical direction: Partner with the Technical Director to guide engineering decisions, evaluate technology options, challenge assumptions constructively, and influence architectural choices across strategic initiatives. Apply travel industry expertise: Provide technical and domain guidance across airline distribution, New Distribution Capability (NDC), Global Distribution Systems (GDS), booking, servicing, and travel retailing workflows. Assess technical risks and dependencies: Identify architectural constraints, integration challenges, scalability concerns, and potential delivery risks. Recommend practical solutions that support long-term platform reliability and performance. Promote engineering excellence: Mentor engineers, share technical best practices, support knowledge development, and encourage consistent standards in software design, implementation, testing, and delivery. Ensure cloud and operational alignment: Guide engineering teams in applying cloud architecture, security, resilience, availability, and operational standards across APIs and distributed services. Support platform modernization: Contribute to technology transformation initiatives by evaluating existing architectures, identifying improvement opportunities, and supporting the evolution of platforms and services. Collaborate across technical and business teams: Work closely with product managers, architects, engineering teams, and other stakeholders to align technical solutions with product requirements and business priorities. Strengthen system scalability and reliability: Ensure API platforms and integrations can support evolving travel industry demands while maintaining performance, security, and service continuity. Influence without direct authority: Build strong working relationships, communicate technical recommendations clearly, and help teams make informed decisions while remaining connected to day-to-day engineering delivery. Requirements Technical leadership experience: Demonstrated experience leading technical reviews, evaluating solution architectures, and guiding engineering teams through complex design and implementation decisions. Travel industry expertise: Strong knowledge of travel technology and industry domains, particularly airline distribution, NDC, GDS, booking, fulfillment, and servicing processes. Software engineering background: Solid experience with Java, API development, distributed systems, and modern software architecture principles. Cloud and containerization expertise: Practical experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes, and cloud-native technologies used to build and operate scalable services. API architecture and integration skills: Ability to evaluate API contracts, system integrations, architectural patterns, and service dependencies while ensuring interoperability, maintainability, and performance. Security and reliability knowledge: Strong understanding of software security, scalability, resilience, availability, and software quality principles, with the ability to apply these considerations to architectural decisions. Modernization experience: Familiarity with platform transformation, architecture evolution, and improving existing systems to meet changing technical and business requirements. Mentoring and collaboration: Proven ability to coach engineers, promote technical excellence, facilitate constructive discussions, and encourage knowledge sharing across teams. Communication and stakeholder management: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts, present recommendations, challenge assumptions diplomatically, and collaborate effectively with senior technical leaders and cross-functional stakeholders. Strategic and analytical thinking: Strong problem-solving skills, sound technical judgment, and the ability to identify risks, assess trade-offs, and recommend solutions that balance immediate delivery needs with long-term platform goals. Adaptability and curiosity: A proactive mindset, intellectual curiosity, and the confidence to question established approaches while remaining focused on practical outcomes and successful engineering delivery. Collaborative leadership style: Ability to influence technical direction without relying on formal authority, partner closely with the Technical Director, and support engineering teams in delivering high-quality solutions. Benefits Competitive annual salary: $140,000. Performance-based bonuses: Eligibility to participate in a bonus program, with payouts subject to individual and company performance. Comprehensive healthcare coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance. Insurance protection: Employer-paid disability and basic life insurance, with additional voluntary life insurance options. Retirement savings: Competitive 401(k) matching contributions. Additional voluntary benefits: A range of optional benefits designed to accommodate individual needs. Paid time off: A generous paid time off policy to support work-life balance and personal well-being. Flexible working arrangements: Remote work opportunities within the United States. Paid parental leave: Sixteen weeks of paid leave for the birthing parent and eight weeks for the non-birthing parent. Health and wellness support: Programs and benefits that prioritize employee well-being. Community engagement: An annual volunteer day off to support community involvement and charitable initiatives. Inclusive workplace culture: An environment that values diversity, encourages fresh perspectives, and supports professional growth and innovation. Career development opportunities: The opportunity to influence strategic technology initiatives, collaborate with experienced engineering professionals, and contribute to the evolution of global travel technology.