Kong
Kong GatewayKonnectpluginsdeclarative configKong Ingress Controller
Integration and APIs · screened by AceMQ
Hire Kong and Apigee engineers vetted by an API gateway practitioner
Conntal places API gateway engineers for Kong and Apigee who understand distributed rate limiting, authentication and gateway migrations. Every candidate is screened by an AceMQ integration practitioner on a real gateway scenario before you see them. Available on contract, contract-to-hire or direct hire, including Apigee Edge to Apigee X migrations.
Indicative rate: from $80/hr nearshore or offshore and $120/hr onshore. See what moves it.
Contract, contract-to-hire or direct · onshore, nearshore, offshore · reviewed 31 October 2026
- Screen owner
- Integration and API platform lead · AceMQConsulting and support for Boomi.
- Titles we place
- API gateway engineer · Kong engineer · Apigee developer · API platform engineer · Integration engineer
- Platforms we screen on
- Kong GatewayKonnectpluginsdeclarative configKong Ingress Controller
Rates
What a contract Kong and Apigee engineer costs
Senior contract Kong and Apigee engineer rates start at $80/hr nearshore or offshore and $120/hr onshore. These are indicative from-rates, last reviewed 31 October 2026.
| Location model | From (USD per hour) | Where engineers are based |
|---|---|---|
| OnshoreHighest rate | $120/hr | US-based, on client time zones, cleared where the engagement requires it. |
| NearshoreOur default recommendation | $80/hr | Latin America and Canada, four hours or less of overlap loss, same working day. |
| OffshoreLowest rate | $80/hr | Europe, India and South East Asia. |
What moves the number
- Platform scarcity. The fewer engineers who have run Kong and Apigee in production, the higher the rate.
- Seniority. The figures are for senior engineers; staff and principal levels cost more.
- Clearance and residency. Cleared or on-site work narrows the pool and sits in the onshore column.
- Term. Length, hours and the engagement model change the rate; contract-to-hire and direct placement are priced differently.
Indicative from-rates for senior contract engineers, USD per hour. The final rate depends on platform scarcity, seniority, clearance and term.
The screen
How we vet Kong and Apigee engineers: the published screen
Every Kong and Apigee engineer is screened on the scenario below by the Integration and API platform lead at AceMQ. The senior and mid answers are published so you can judge our bar before you engage us, and candidates know what they are walking into.
The screen · Kong and Apigee engineer
Conntal Vetting Standard
Scenario put to the candidate
After rate limiting is enabled on a Kong deployment running three gateway nodes, clients can make about three times the configured limit. Why, and how do you fix it?
Vetted by
Integration and API platform lead · AceMQ
A senior answer contains
- Recognises the local policy: each node counts requests on its own, so three nodes allow roughly three times the limit.
- Proposes a shared counter — Kong's cluster or Redis policy — and states the latency and dependency it adds.
- Asks whether approximate limits are acceptable, because a shared store is a new failure point.
- Can describe the equivalent Apigee distinction between Quota and SpikeArrest.
Where a mid answer stops
- Divides the limit by three and hard-codes it.
- Blames the load balancer.
- Does not know the plugin has more than one counting policy.
What we screen on
Kong and Apigee skills we screen for
Kong and Apigee candidates are screened on kong, apigee and security, among others, against the stack you actually run rather than a generic checklist.
Apigee
Apigee XApigee hybridApigee EdgeQuota and SpikeArrestshared flows
Security
OAuth 2.0OIDCmTLSAPI keys
Other gateways
AWS API GatewayAzure API ManagementWSO2 API Manager
Titles this covers
Kong and Apigee job titles we place
We place 5 titles in this area, from API gateway engineer to Integration engineer. They overlap and are used inconsistently between companies, so tell us the outcome you need and we will tell you which title actually fits it.
- API gateway engineer
- Kong engineer
- Apigee developer
- API platform engineer
- Integration engineer
The platforms, run in production by our network
Engagement
Ways to hire Kong and Apigee engineers
Platform work usually starts with a defined piece of change and becomes ongoing ownership, which is why most Kong and Apigee engineers engagements begin on contract. All three models are available, in any location model.
Contract
A vetted engineer embedded in your team for a defined term.
Hourly, billed against an approved SOW. Most common for migrations, upgrades and capacity surges where the work has an end date.
Contract staffingContract-to-hire
Work together first, convert when it is obviously working.
A defined conversion window and a pre-agreed fee, so the decision to hire is a business decision rather than a negotiation.
Contract-to-hire staffingDirect placement
A permanent hire, screened to the same standard.
One-time fee against first-year base. Used where the role is a long-term platform owner rather than project capacity.
Direct placement staffingNot a fit if
When to look elsewhere for Kong and Apigee engineers
We are the wrong choice if any of these describe your role, and we would rather say so on the first call.
- Your gateway is neither Kong nor Apigee; see the WSO2 page for a different platform.
- You want the gateway run for you as a service; AceMQ provides that, we place engineers.
- The role is API product management or documentation rather than gateway engineering.
How it works
How hiring Kong and Apigee engineers through Conntal works
- 01
Scope
A practitioner scopes the role
An engineer who runs this technology reads your brief and tells you what is missing from it. Most briefs we receive ask for the wrong seniority or the wrong title. - 02
Screen
We screen, then shortlist
Sourcing is ours; the technical decision belongs to the vetting practitioner. You only see candidates who passed the scenario on this page. - 03
Start
Start, convert or replace
Contract, contract-to-hire or direct. If the fit is wrong we say so first and replace rather than defend the placement.
Screen owner
Who vets our Kong and Apigee engineers: Integration and API platform lead, AceMQ
Consulting and support for Boomi, WSO2, Kong and Apigee integration and API platforms, including platform migrations.
FAQ
Kong and Apigee engineers: what buyers ask
Something not covered here? Send the requirement and a practitioner answers it, not a sales queue.
How much does a contract Kong and Apigee engineer cost per hour?
Indicative senior contract from-rates are $80/hr nearshore or offshore and $120/hr onshore (USD, reviewed 31 October 2026). The final rate depends on platform scarcity, seniority, clearance and term. Contract-to-hire and direct placement are priced differently, and the delivery models page sets out how.
How fast can a Kong and Apigee engineer start?
We do not promise a start date before we have seen the brief. A practitioner reads it, usually within one business day, and tells you whether we can staff it. Timing after that depends on the stack, the seniority and the location model.
Can you staff an Apigee Edge to Apigee X migration?
Yes. It is a common bounded contract, and AceMQ runs these migrations directly.
Do your engineers cover other gateways?
Yes, including AWS API Gateway, Azure API Management and WSO2 API Manager. Each is screened against the product you run.
Who vets your API gateway engineers?
An AceMQ integration practitioner, using the rate-limiting scenario on this page.
Can we convert a contractor to full time, and what does it cost?
Yes. Contract-to-hire sets a conversion window and a pre-agreed fee at the start, so converting is a business decision rather than a negotiation. The fee is agreed per engagement; ask for it with your brief.
What if the placement does not work out?
If the fit is wrong we say so first and replace the engineer rather than defend the placement. Replacement terms are agreed per engagement, so ask for them with your brief.
Do you also deliver Kong and Apigee consulting or support?
Not through Conntal. We place individual engineers into your team on contract, contract-to-hire or direct hire. If you want a project delivered or the platform supported as a service, AceMQ does that directly at acemq.com.
Related
Related roles
Need Kong and Apigee delivered as a project or supported as a service instead of staffed? AceMQ does that directly.
Need Kong and Apigee engineers? Start with the brief.
Send the requirement and an engineer who runs this technology will tell you what is missing before we source anyone.