Practice Engineer - API

Lead the API platform practice and ensure architectural coherence.

WEF - World Economic Forum

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Geneva (Switzerland)

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Overview

Lead the API platform practice and ensure architectural coherence.

You have:

University-level education in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field.
8+ years of relevant industry experience with deep expertise in API management and a track record of shipping and operating products at scale.
Demonstrated experience setting technical standards, leading architecture decisions, and driving their adoption across multiple teams through influence rather than authority.
Deep command of API design and governance — REST plus at least one of GraphQL, gRPC, or event-driven; OpenAPI/schema-first design; and clear versioning, deprecation, and governance practices applied across teams.
Strong command of at least one major API/web development language and framework — such as Node.js, Python, Ruby on Rails, or Go — with the breadth to read, review, and contribute across related product engineering domains.
Familiar with modern infrastructure, CI/CD tooling and deployment processes, with a working knowledge of security and stability practices.
Practical experience with agent-assisted (AI-assisted) development and building paved paths, templates, or tooling that other engineers (and agents) build on.
Experience interviewing and holding the technical bar in engineering hiring.
Fluency in English, with excellent written, digital, and verbal communication skills, and the ability to thrive in a complex, international organization.

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Details

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation.

The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Why we are recruiting

The Forum is building world-leading digital collaboration platforms, knowledge and data tools, and digital event experiences for our constituents. As part of the evolution of our engineering operating model, durable product teams own delivery while horizontal practices safeguard the craft. We are looking for a Practice Engineer to lead the API platform practice across product streams: setting the standards and staying hands-on in real engineering work.

In this model, the principle earns its authority through artefacts — standards and paved paths. You will be the steward of architectural coherence and engineering excellence for your platform across all product teams.

Reporting Lines & Interactions

Part of the Forum IT Team, the Practice Engineer reports to the Head of Engineering. You will work across product teams in partnership with Engineering Managers — coaching engineers through weekly office hours, code reviews and RFC reviews — and sit on hiring loops as the technical-bar interviewer. You will also collaborate with the IT Systems & IT Security teams on infrastructure stability and security, and with fellow Practice Engineers in the architecture council.

The successful candidate will be assessed on

Author and maintain platform craft standards — a set of specific, actionable guidelines — and maintain architectural coherence across product teams. Write paved paths and skills that enable engineers and agents to build compliant applications by default.
Own API design standards (REST/GraphQL/Event-Driven), the OpenAPI documentation process, versioning and deprecation policy, the API gateway setup and the service catalog.
Surface and drive resolution of cross-cutting technical debt across product streams.
Run platform rituals: weekly office hours, technical demos, and RFC reviews; coach engineers across teams through the craft line.
Serve as the technical-bar interviewer on hiring loops, partnering with Engineering Managers who lead hiring.
Own the deployment processes and CI/CD tooling that support product teams, document infrastructure specifications, and collaborate with the IT & ITS teams to ensure stability and security.

Requirements

University-level education in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field.
8+ years of relevant industry experience with deep expertise in API management and a track record of shipping and operating products at scale.
Demonstrated experience setting technical standards, leading architecture decisions, and driving their adoption across multiple teams through influence rather than authority.
Deep command of API design and governance — REST plus at least one of GraphQL, gRPC, or event-driven; OpenAPI/schema-first design; and clear versioning, deprecation, and governance practices applied across teams.
Strong command of at least one major API/web development language and framework — such as Node.js, Python, Ruby on Rails, or Go — with the breadth to read, review, and contribute across related product engineering domains.
Familiar with modern infrastructure, CI/CD tooling and deployment processes, with a working knowledge of security and stability practices.
Practical experience with agent-assisted (AI-assisted) development and building paved paths, templates or tooling that other engineers (and agents) build on.
Experience interviewing and holding the technical bar in engineering hiring.
Fluency in English, with excellent written, digital, and verbal communication skills, and the ability to thrive in a complex, international organization.

Why join us?

Join an independent and impartial organization with over 55 years of connecting leaders to make sense of global challenges and move the world forward together.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Can you discuss a time you established technical standards in a project?	This question assesses your ability to influence and lead by setting standards.	Provide a specific example of the standards you set and the impact they had.
Describe your approach to API design and governance — what best practices do you follow?	Understanding your approach to API design is crucial for the role.	Pro members can see the explanation.
Tell me about a time you resolved technical debt across teams. What steps did you take?	Pro members can see the explanation.	Pro members can see the explanation.
What CI/CD tools have you used, and how do they fit into your deployment processes?	Pro members can see the explanation.	Pro members can see the explanation.
Describe how you handle code reviews and what you look for in a colleague's code.	Pro members can see the explanation.	Pro members can see the explanation.
Can you give an example of a successful technical hiring experience you've led?	Pro members can see the explanation.	Pro members can see the explanation.
What strategies do you employ to coach engineers in technical practices?	Pro members can see the explanation.	Pro members can see the explanation.
How do you ensure security and stability in infrastructure while maintaining efficiency?	Pro members can see the explanation.	Pro members can see the explanation.