# Sr. Director of Engineering - API

[Babelstreet](https://gurify.com/jobs?q=Babelstreet) · Reston, VA · Posted yesterday

Director

[Apply on the original posting → (opens in a new tab)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/babelstreet/jobs/8303428)

## Job description

Babel Street is the trusted technology partner for the world’s most advanced identity intelligence and risk operations. We deliver advanced AI and data analytics solutions providing unmatched, analysis-ready data regardless of language, proactive risk identification, 360-degree insights, high-speed automation, and seamless integration into existing systems. Babel Street empowers government and commercial organizations to transform high-stakes identity and risk operations into a strategic advantage. The actionable insights we deliver safeguard lives and protect critical assets around the world. Babel Street is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with regional offices in Boston, MA and Cleveland, OH, and international offices in Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, and the U.K. For more information, visit www.babelstreet.com.

### Role Summary

We are seeking a Principal Engineer to lead Babel Street’s API and MCP platform strategy and delivery as we evolve toward an AI-native, agent-driven platform.

This is a hands-on, senior technical leadership role responsible for defining and delivering API-first platform capabilities that enable both developers and AI agents to interact with Babel Street’s services. You will lead the design and implementation of semantic APIs, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations, and context-aware service patterns that power next-generation intelligence workflows.

This role requires a finger-on-keyboard engineer who can both define direction and deliver foundational systems. You will partner closely with AI, Data, and Platform teams to ensure Babel Street’s APIs and services are consistent, discoverable, scalable, and optimized for agentic workflows.

You will work in close partnership with the Architecture function to align on long-term technical direction, ensuring API and MCP platform decisions are consistent with the company’s broader architectural vision while maintaining a strong focus on execution and delivery.

This is a hybrid role working out of either our Reston, VA or Somerville, MA office. Full remote may be considered.

### Why This Role Matters

This role will be instrumental to Babel Street’s AI-native technology strategy. The API and MCP platform will serve as the interface layer between data, AI, and product capabilities, enabling agents, developers, and systems to interact seamlessly.

This is a high-impact, senior technical leadership role with broad influence across the organization and the opportunity to shape the future of Babel Street’s platform. The position spans four core domains:

### API Platform & Strategy

You will define and lead Babel Street’s API-first platform strategy, establishing consistent patterns for service design, versioning, discoverability, and governance.

You will help evolve the platform toward agent-ready APIs, ensuring services are consumable by both human developers and AI agents. You will establish standards for API consistency, reliability, and performance across the organization.

You will also work closely with product and engineering teams to ensure APIs are designed as first-class platform capabilities, not just service interfaces.

### MCP & Agent Integration

You will lead Babel Street’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) strategy and implementation, enabling agents and AI systems to interact with services in a standardized and scalable way. This includes defining patterns for:

- MCP service exposure

- Tool and service discovery

- Agent-to-service communication

- Context-aware interactions

You will partner closely with AI and platform teams to enable agent-native workflows across the organization.

### Semantic APIs & Agent-Ready Interfaces

You will lead the design of semantic, agent-friendly APIs, where documentation becomes a first-class interface for AI-driven systems. This includes defining standards for:

- API descriptions optimized for agents

- Schema consistency and semantic modeling

- Tool and service discoverability

- API documentation optimized for agent consumption

You will establish best practices for documentation-as-code, ensuring APIs are designed for both developers and AI systems.

### Context Management & Runtime Patterns

You will define patterns for context-aware APIs and services, including:

- Context management and retrieval

- Context caching

- Session and state management

- Memory-aware service interactions

You will help design scalable context-aware systems leveraging technologies such as Vertex AI Context Caching and related frameworks.

### Key Responsibilities

- Partner closely with Architecture to define and lead Babel Street’s API and MCP platform strategy

- Design and deliver semantic, agent-ready APIs

- Establish MCP standards and implementation patterns

- Define context management patterns for agent workflows

- Partner with AI and Data teams to enable agent-native architectures

- Establish API governance and platform standards

- Build foundational frameworks and reusable components

- Provide hands-on technical leadership and mentorship

- Partner with Google and other vendors on platform capabilities

- Drive adoption of API and MCP standards across engineering teams

### Required Qualifications

- 10+ years of software engineering experience

- Experience operating at Principal Engineer or Staff+ level

- Strong hands-on experience building distributed systems

- Experience designing and building API-first platforms

- Experience with cloud-native architectures (GCP preferred)

- Experience building developer platforms or service-oriented architectures

- Strong system design and architectural thinking skills

- Proven ability to lead cross-team technical initiatives

### Preferred Qualifications

- Hands-on work with Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

- Familiarity with Vertex AI Agent Engine

- Background in ADK and reasoning frameworks such as LangChain

- Understanding of the Model Context Protocol (MCP)

- Exposure to data warehouse technologies like BigQuery and Snowflake

- Knowledge of Apigee or similar API gateway solutions

- Proven ability to design semantic APIs for AI or agent-driven use cases

- Experience managing context or building memory systems

- Development of agent-based architectures or orchestration frameworks

- Exposure to Anti-Gravity

### What Success Looks Like

30 Days

- Assess current API and platform architecture

- Define API and MCP platform strategy

- Identify early opportunities for standardization

60 Days

- Deliver initial platform frameworks and standards

- Begin rollout of semantic API patterns

- Establish MCP integration approach

90 Days

- Agent-ready APIs in production

- MCP-enabled services deployed

- Clear platform standards adopted across teams

- Measurable improvement in API consistency and developer velocity

### Benefits at Babel Street (just to name a few...)

- Health Benefits: Babel Street covers 85-100% monthly premium costs for Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & Disability insurances – for you and your family!

- Retirement Plans: Babel Street offers both a Traditional and Roth 401(K) with a very competitive match.

- Unlimited Flexible Leave: We trust our employees to manage their own time and balance their personal and work lives.

- Holidays: Babel Street provides employees with 12 paid Federal Holidays

- Tuition Reimbursement: We are committed to investing in our employees. One way we do that is with our Tuition Reimbursement Program for continuing education.

Babel Street is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. Further, Babel Street will not discriminate against applicants for inquiring about, discussing or disclosing their pay or, in certain circumstances, the pay of their co‐worker, Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination. In addition, Babel Street's policy is to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees who have protected disabilities to the extent required by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances where a particular employee works. Upon request, we will provide you with more information about such accommodations.

### Range for this position based on qualifications and experience

$220,000—$240,000 USD

**Live in Babelstreet’s hiring system.** Read from the company's own applicant tracking system, not reposted from a job board — so it's a real, open requisition rather than an ad that outlived the role.

We remove it as soon as it disappears at source.

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Babel Street is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with regional offices in Boston, MA and Cleveland, OH, and international offices in Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, and the U.K. For more information, visit www.babelstreet.com.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ERole Summary\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWe are seeking a Principal Engineer to lead Babel Street\u2019s API and MCP platform strategy and delivery as we evolve toward an AI-native, agent-driven platform.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is a hands-on, senior technical leadership role responsible for defining and delivering API-first platform capabilities that enable both developers and AI agents to interact with Babel Street\u2019s services. 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Full remote may be considered.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EWhy This Role Matters\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis role will be instrumental to Babel Street\u2019s AI-native technology strategy. The API and MCP platform will serve as the interface layer between data, AI, and product capabilities, enabling agents, developers, and systems to interact seamlessly.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is a high-impact, senior technical leadership role with broad influence across the organization and the opportunity to shape the future of Babel Street\u2019s platform. The position spans four core domains:\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EAPI Platform \u0026amp; Strategy\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou will define and lead Babel Street\u2019s API-first platform strategy, establishing consistent patterns for service design, versioning, discoverability, and governance.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou will help evolve the platform toward agent-ready APIs, ensuring services are consumable by both human developers and AI agents. 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This includes defining patterns for:\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMCP service exposure\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETool and service discovery\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAgent-to-service communication\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EContext-aware interactions\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou will partner closely with AI and platform teams to enable agent-native workflows across the organization.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ESemantic APIs \u0026amp; Agent-Ready Interfaces\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou will lead the design of semantic, agent-friendly APIs, where documentation becomes a first-class interface for AI-driven systems. This includes defining standards for:\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAPI descriptions optimized for agents\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESchema consistency and semantic modeling\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETool and service discoverability\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAPI documentation optimized for agent consumption\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou will establish best practices for documentation-as-code, ensuring APIs are designed for both developers and AI systems.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EContext Management \u0026amp; Runtime Patterns\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou will define patterns for context-aware APIs and services, including:\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EContext management and retrieval\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EContext caching\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESession and state management\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMemory-aware service interactions\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou will help design scalable context-aware systems leveraging technologies such as Vertex AI Context Caching and related frameworks.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EKey Responsibilities\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPartner closely with Architecture to define and lead Babel Street\u2019s API and MCP platform strategy\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDesign and deliver semantic, agent-ready APIs\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEstablish MCP standards and implementation patterns\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDefine context management patterns for agent workflows\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPartner with AI and Data teams to enable agent-native architectures\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEstablish API governance and platform standards\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBuild foundational frameworks and reusable components\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EProvide hands-on technical leadership and mentorship\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPartner with Google and other vendors on platform capabilities\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDrive adoption of API and MCP standards across engineering teams\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ERequired Qualifications\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E10\u002B years of software engineering experience\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExperience operating at Principal Engineer or Staff\u002B level\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EStrong hands-on experience building distributed systems\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExperience designing and building API-first platforms\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExperience with cloud-native architectures (GCP preferred)\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExperience building developer platforms or service-oriented architectures\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EStrong system design and architectural thinking skills\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EProven ability to lead cross-team technical initiatives\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EPreferred Qualifications\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHands-on work with Google Cloud Platform (GCP)\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EFamiliarity with Vertex AI Agent Engine\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBackground in ADK and reasoning frameworks such as LangChain\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUnderstanding of the Model Context Protocol (MCP)\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExposure to data warehouse technologies like BigQuery and Snowflake\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EKnowledge of Apigee or similar API gateway solutions\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EProven ability to design semantic APIs for AI or agent-driven use cases\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExperience managing context or building memory systems\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDevelopment of agent-based architectures or orchestration frameworks\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExposure to Anti-Gravity\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EWhat Success Looks Like\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E30 Days\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAssess current API and platform architecture\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDefine API and MCP platform strategy\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIdentify early opportunities for standardization\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E60 Days\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDeliver initial platform frameworks and standards\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EBegin rollout of semantic API patterns\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEstablish MCP integration approach\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E90 Days\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAgent-ready APIs in production\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMCP-enabled services deployed\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EClear platform standards adopted across teams\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMeasurable improvement in API consistency and developer velocity\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Ch3\u003EBenefits at Babel Street (just to name a few...)\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHealth Benefits: Babel Street covers 85-100% monthly premium costs for Medical, Dental, Vision, Life \u0026amp; Disability insurances \u2013 for you and your family!\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ERetirement Plans: Babel Street offers both a Traditional and Roth 401(K) with a very competitive match.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUnlimited Flexible Leave: We trust our employees to manage their own time and balance their personal and work lives.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EHolidays: Babel Street provides employees with 12 paid Federal Holidays\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ETuition Reimbursement: We are committed to investing in our employees. One way we do that is with our Tuition Reimbursement Program for continuing education.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBabel Street is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. Further, Babel Street will not discriminate against applicants for inquiring about, discussing or disclosing their pay or, in certain circumstances, the pay of their co\u2010worker, Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination. In addition, Babel Street\u0026#39;s policy is to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees who have protected disabilities to the extent required by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances where a particular employee works. Upon request, we will provide you with more information about such accommodations.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003ERange for this position based on qualifications and experience\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003E$220,000\u2014$240,000 USD\u003C/p\u003E","identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"Gurify","value":"sr-director-of-engineering-api-at-babelstreet-68c7c6fd5dcf"},"url":"https://gurify.com/job/sr-director-of-engineering-api-at-babelstreet-68c7c6fd5dcf","datePosted":"2026-10-22","validThrough":"2026-12-07T23:59:59Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Babelstreet","sameAs":"https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/babelstreet"},"directApply":false,"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressCountry":"US","addressLocality":"Reston"}}}
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