Solution Architect AI Gateway & Intelligence Platform - Austin, TX (Hybrid)

Solution Architect - AI Gateway & Intelligence Platform Position: Contract Location: Austin, TX | Charlotte, NC | New York, NY | Tempe, AZ | San Diego, CA (Hybrid) Duration: 12+ months Client: Altimetrik / LPL Financial Job description: While the API Architect owns the core gateway architecture, runtime topology, and baseline patterns, this role focuses on: • AI-aware gateway capabilities • Policy-driven AI access and governance • Advanced exposure patterns for AI/LLM-backed APIs • The intersection of AI, security, and developer experience at the gateway layer The goal: deliver AI-enabled APIs that are safe, scalable, compliant, and developer-friendly - without fragmenting or duplicating the core API platform. AI Gateway Solution Architect (This Role) • Owns AI-specific gateway patterns and capabilities • Designs how AI models, agents, and services are exposed through Kong • Defines AI governance controls enforced at the gateway • Extends (not forks) the core gateway architecture Success requires strong architectural partnership, shared standards, and disciplined alignment. Core Responsibilities AI Gateway Architecture & Design • Design AI/LLM-backed service exposure patterns through Kong • Implement policy-based routing, throttling, and traffic controls for AI workloads • Enforce token, cost, and usage governance at the gateway layer • Ensure all AI extensions reuse and build upon core Kong patterns Architectural Collaboration • Co-author reference architectures and design standards with the API Architect • Review cross-boundary API + AI designs • Serve as a bridge between API platform, AI governance, and security AI Governance by Design • Translate enterprise AI governance into enforceable gateway policies • Ensure AI traffic is: • Auditable • Rate-limited • Authenticated and authorized • Automate governance controls aligned to landing zone guardrails Developer Experience • Ensure AI-enabled APIs feel like a natural extension of the existing API platform • Define onboarding patterns, documentation standards, and self-service workflows • Prevent AI capabilities from becoming one-off special cases Required Experience Platform & Gateway Expertise • 10+ years designing large-scale distributed systems in enterprise environments • Deep API platform architecture experience: • AuthN/AuthZ • Traffic shaping & rate limiting • Policy enforcement • Zero Trust patterns • Strong hands-on experience with Kong Enterprise, ideally including: • Kong AI Gateway • Multi-environment or hybrid deployments • Custom plugins or policy extensions • Cloud-native expertise: • AWS • Kubernetes • Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform or equivalent) • CI/CD for platform services AI & LLM Systems Experience • Hands-on experience designing systems around LLMs and AI-backed services • Experience operating LLM-backed APIs in production • Practical understanding of: • Token-based cost models • Latency & rate limits • Probabilistic outputs & guardrails • Model lifecycle and versioning • Ability to enforce AI policy and safety controls before traffic reaches models Governance & Regulated Environment Experience • Experience designing platforms in regulated environments (financial services preferred) • Proven ability to translate: • Security requirements • Risk controls • Compliance needs • into automated platform capabilities • Experience partnering with: • Cybersecurity • Risk & Compliance • Enterprise Architecture • Familiarity with responsible AI, model risk, auditability, and governance frameworks Architecture Leadership • Experience operating in shared-ownership architectural models • Ability to define clear boundaries and prevent duplication • Comfortable influencing without direct authority • Strong executive communication skills (VP/SVP-level engagement) • Skilled in writing: • Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) • Reference architectures • Technical narratives Platform Mindset You think of platforms as products, with: • Clear developer users • Opinionated defaults • Measurable adoption and safety outcomes You can balance: • Flexibility vs. standardization • Speed vs. safety • Innovation vs. governance • And you design solutions that scale across domains-not just single use cases. • Ability to demonstrate technical concepts to non-technical audiences