Staff Software Engineer, API Engineering

Are you an experienced engineer who thrives on building robust, scalable API platforms that empower developers across an ecosystem? Do you enjoy defining standards that make APIs intuitive, secure, and a delight to consume? Are you excited to leverage cutting-edge AI tools like ChatGPT and Cursor to elevate developer productivity and velocity? If so, we invite you to be a part of our innovative team.

As a Staff Software Engineer in API Engineering, you will shape the future of Ridgeline’s API platform, driving strategy, architecture, and implementation for mission-critical services. You’ll design and evolve our gateway infrastructure, define and enforce API product standards, and ensure that reliability, security, and usability are at the core of every API. Your leadership will directly impact both internal teams and external customers, empowering them to build on Ridgeline’s cloud-native investment management platform. You’ll work with cutting-edge technologies and AI tools—including ChatGPT, Claude Code, and Cursor—to accelerate development and improve code quality.

At Ridgeline, how we work matters as much as what we build. Ridgeliners act like owners, choose growth over comfort, and communicate with transparency. We assume positive intent, bias toward action, and bring solutions—not just problems. We celebrate wins, learn from setbacks, and thrive in a resilient, collaborative, high-performing culture. If Ridgeline Way excites you, we’d love to meet you.

The impact you will have:

• Lead the design and development of a Kong-based API Gateway hosting thousands of highly available, secure, and scalable APIs
• Define and codify API design standards that elevate internal, external, and agentic developer usability
• Identify and eliminate friction in API development through simplification, automation, and tooling that improve developer velocity and experience
• Establish reliability and observability practices to monitor and ensure API performance, availability, and security
• Develop and maintain API documentation using automated OpenAPI spec generation and validation tools
• Participate in API design forums to ensure alignment with Ridgeline’s architecture and developer experience principles
• Write high-quality, well-tested code and provide thoughtful peer reviews that foster growth across the team
• Apply modern engineering practices including CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and test automation
• Leverage AI tools like ChatGPT, Cursor, and Claude Code to accelerate development, improve code quality, and inspire innovative solutions
• Collaborate across teams with transparency, ownership, and resilience, driving outcomes that reflect the Ridgeline Way

What we look for:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including technical leadership of large-scale platform or product APIs
• Deep expertise with cloud-native distributed systems (AWS preferred), secure RESTful API design, and API management/gateway solutions (Kong or equivalent)
• Proven experience setting API design standards and delivering production-grade APIs documented with OpenAPI spec
• Strong understanding of API reliability, monitoring, and operational best practices
• Familiarity with event-driven architectures, WebSockets, and authentication/authorization models for APIs
  Excellent communication and mentoring skills with an inclusive approach to technical leadership
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field
• Creative problem-solving mindset and passion for helping others succeed

Bonus:

• Experience contributing to or defining API product strategy
• Hands-on experience with developer productivity tooling for APIs
• Exposure to financial services or investment management domain
• Practical experience with modern AI frameworks that support software development

About Ridgeline

Ridgeline is the industry cloud platform for investment management. It was founded by visionary tech entrepreneur Dave Duffield (co-founder of both PeopleSoft and Workday) to apply his successful formula of solving operational business challenges with bold innovation and human connectivity to the unique needs of the investment management industry. 

Ridgeline started with a clean sheet of paper and a deep bench of experts bound by a set of core values and motivated to revolutionize an industry underserved by its current tech offerings. We are building a new, modern platform in the public cloud, purpose-built for the investment management industry and we are prioritizing security, agility, and usability to empower business like never before.

With a growing campus in Reno and offices in New York, Lake Tahoe, and the Bay Area, Ridgeline is proud to have built a fast-growing, people-first company that has been recognized by Fast Company as a “Best Workplace for Innovators,” by The Software Report as a “Top 100 Software Company,” and by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Startup Employers.”

Ridgeline is proud to be a community-minded, discrimination-free equal opportunity workplace.

Ridgeline processes the information you submit in connection with your application in accordance with the Ridgeline Applicant Privacy Statement. Please review the Ridgeline Applicant Privacy Statement in full to understand our privacy practices and contact us with any questions.

Compensation and Benefits 

[For New York and California Based Only]

The typical starting salary range for new hires in this role is listed below. In select locations (including, the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, and the New York City Metro Area), an alternate range may apply as specified below. 

The typical starting salary range for this role is: $182,500-$228,000. 

The typical starting salary range for this role in the select locations listed above is: $200,500-$251,000.

Final compensation amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amount listed above. 

As an employee at Ridgeline, you’ll have many opportunities for advancement in your career and can make a true impact on the product. 

In addition to the base salary, Ridgeline employees can participate in our Company Stock Plan subject to the applicable Stock Option Agreement. We also offer rich benefits that reflect the kind of organization we want to be: one in which our employees feel valued and are inspired to bring their best selves to work. These include unlimited vacation, educational and wellness reimbursements, and $0 cost employee insurance plans. Please check out our Careers page for a more comprehensive overview of our perks and benefits.

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