Senior API Engineer (Python)

About The Role & Team

IDC is building the next generation of AI-powered intelligence platforms that transform how technology decisions get made. Our platform re-imagines the way decision-makers discover and interact with trusted research and data, and is foundational to IDC's future.

We are looking for a Senior API Engineer to join the Channel & Integration Pod. You will be a senior individual contributor building the API gateway that connects external AI assistants to IDC's intelligence platform. Your work spans the protocol layer, tool definitions, schema validation, authentication, and the adapters that bridge the gateway to internal data and search services.

You will work closely with the pod lead to shape the gateway's design and implementation. This is a role where your decisions about API contracts, auth flows, and output formatting directly determine the quality of the experience for every external integration partner.

What You’ll Do

• Build a standards-based API gateway that enables external AI assistants to query IDC's intelligence platform
• Implement protocol handling, tool registries, and schema validation
• Build API adapters to internal data and search services, ensuring citations and provenance are preserved through the response chain
• Implement authentication flows for both interactive and headless use cases
• Build output sanitization and formatting layers that deliver clean, well-structured responses
• Contribute to shared infrastructure: rate limiting, cost controls, audit logging, and observability
  
  

What You Bring

• 6+ years of experience building APIs and backend services in Python
• Strong background in API design, protocol implementation, and schema enforcement
• Experience with authentication systems (OAuth 2.0, OIDC)
• Track record of wrapping and aggregating multiple backend services into cohesive API surfaces
• Proficiency with modern Python web frameworks
• A security-first and correctness-first mindset at the API boundary
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with MCP or similar agent-to-service protocols
• Background in developer platforms or API gateway products
• Experience building APIs over semantic search or data query backends
• Familiarity with citation and provenance requirements in API responses
• Experience with LLM observability tools
  
  

Why This Role Stands Out

At IDC, your work helps shape how the world understands technology and where it goes next. You collaborate with curious, high-caliber colleagues who value rigor, integrity, and shared success. As the premier global provider of trusted technology intelligence, IDC equips business and technology leaders with the evidence they need to make confident decisions. Our insights inform strategy, investment, and innovation across industries and regions.

Recognized by IIAR as Analyst Firm of the Year for five consecutive years, IDC sets the standard for credibility and impact. With more than 1,000 analysts worldwide and a truly global perspective, we combine deep expertise with practical relevance. Here, your ideas matter, your voice is heard, and your contributions provide the insights leaders rely on every day. It is meaningful work, backed by a culture that supports growth, collaboration, and long-term career development with a globally respected brand.