Platform Engineer, Rakuten Kobo
API Gateway Specialist, 12 Month Contract
Digital bookseller
Open for applications
Digital bookseller
501-1000 employees
Open for applications
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To bring the power of reading to the world.
Role
Who you are
- We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Platform Engineer with deep expertise in API Gateway technologies, specifically Kong API Gateway, to play a pivotal role in shaping Kobo's platform ecosystem
- You are a seasoned Platform Engineer with a strong track record of success in implementing, configuring, and optimizing Kong API Gateway solutions, in large-scale, distributed environments
- Experience (7+ years) in building and maintaining high-quality development & application infrastructure on-prem & in the cloud
- Hands-on experience with Kong API Gateway, including a strong understanding of API management best practices
- Solid understanding of modern platform engineering practices, including:
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles and tools
- Automation and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions, ArgoCD)
- Containerization and orchestration (Kubernetes, Helm)
- Observability tooling (e.g., Datadog or similar)
- Developer experience optimization
- Strong communication skills, capable of articulating complex technical concepts to both technical engineers and non-technical stakeholders
Desirable
- Deep understanding of architectural patterns and the tradeoffs inherent in distributed systems design
- Experience designing and implementing development environments using "remocal" principles on Kubernetes
- Experience with Kubernetes Gateway API
What the job involves
- This 12 month contract position offers the opportunity to make a significant impact on our core API infrastructure and development environment by supporting the implementation and operationalization of our Kong API Gateway solution
- As a Platform Engineer specializing in API Gateways, you will be instrumental in:
- Supporting the implementation and operationalization of our Kong Gateway solution using Kong Operator
- Configuring and managing Kong Gateway instances, including routes, services, plugins (e.g., authentication, rate-limiting, transformations), and consumers
- Implementing & Automating enrollment into Kong’s API Catalog & Developer portal
- Collaborating with development teams to ensure seamless API onboarding, integration, and adherence to best practices for API consumption and publication
- Troubleshooting and resolving issues related to API connectivity, performance, and security within the Kong Gateway environment
- Playing a key role in the ongoing re-platforming of our development environment, contributing to strategic initiatives across SCM, CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes clusters, observability tooling & more
- Championing automation, reliability, scalability and developer experience across our platform services
- Open to eventual participation in a paid on-call rotation
Our take
Long-form content is having a resurgence. That’s great news for the e-reader industry, of which Rakuten’s Kobo battles with Amazon’s Kindle for ownership.
The e-reader giant has changed tack in recent years to pursue growth via integrations and partnerships. A notable example is its native device integration with Pocket, a wishlist app loved by millions of readers.
The company is hoping that these partnerships and product improvements will allow it to finally break the US market where it most struggles for market share with Kindle.
Amazon has consistently shown its willingness to drop prices to protect its position in any market it plays in. That means that Kobo will have to demonstrate true product superiority to make a dent while protecting its margins.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Company benefits
- "Work from anywhere" policy
- Flexible hours
- Internet/phone/commuting allowance
- Daily meal allowance when in the office
- $500 CAD flexible spending account
- Parental leave top-up
- Unlimited sick and mental health days
- 4-day summer holiday weekends
- RRSP matching, bonus and stock options
- Free Kobo eReader
- Free weekly book of your choice
- Volunteer time off
Company HQ
Liberty Village, Toronto, ON
Leadership
Michael Tamblyn
(CEO)Part of the founding team of Kobo, Michael previously held the role of Chief Content Officer. Michael has also been the founding CEO of the supply chain agency, BookNet Canada and co-founded Canada’s first online bookstore, Bookshelf.ca, purchased by Indigo Books & Music in 1998.
Anna Giagkou
(CFO)Prior to joining Rakuten Kobo in 2021, Anna was the CFO of Cox Automotive Canada.
Nimod Narayanan
(CTO)Nimod joined Rakuten Kobo in 2022 as VP of Technology, he then became the SVP of Technology in 2023, and CTO in 2025. Prior to this, he spent nearly 4 years at Rogers Communications joining as a Senior Development Manager before becoming a Director of eCommerce & Personalization and then Senior Director of Digital Platforms & Services.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 10 more jobs at Rakuten Kobo