Hire API developers

Outsourcing API development lets you ship and maintain integrations without adding permanent headcount. You pay for the scope you need now (a release, a migration, stabilization), then scale down when the work is done. Without ongoing salary, benefits, or long-term overhead.

It also reduces delivery risk when APIs sit between multiple services. You get engineers who’ve handled versioning, backward compatibility, and integration edge cases before, so changes don’t turn into surprise breakages, hotfixes, and stalled releases.

With KPS, the value is structure and clarity: you get a focused shortlist, clear ownership boundaries (who maintains what), and a delivery approach that keeps documentation and change safety in place. So your internal team stays on the roadmap instead of getting pulled into firefighting.

Quick benchmarks (market ranges based on information from Glassdoor and DOU):

• US: $105,997–$166,545/year (typical range)

• Canada: $79,514–$145,560/year (typical range)

• Germany (Berlin proxy): €48,375–€69,250/year (typical range)

• UK: £33,475–£56,687/year (typical range)

• Ukraine: Middle Back-end ~$30,000–$30,600/year; Senior Back-end ~$57,600/year

What changes the total cost is usually not the title alone. It’s the scope: number of integrations, release risk, and how much ownership the role carries. Location also affects whether you’ll compete for experienced developers or can hire for steady delivery at a mid-level.

Also, a full-time hire includes more than salary: benefits, taxes, equipment, and management time add a real overhead layer. If you use freelance API developers, hourly rates can look simpler, but ramp-up and continuity risk can raise the effective cost.

With KPS, cost is tied to the engagement format and continuity needs. Pricing is shared upfront with what’s included, so you can compare options without hidden overhead.

Demand is growing because APIs are now a core part of modern application frameworks and digital transformation. For many products, the API layer is the system that connects features, partners, and internal tools, so companies compete for people who can keep those connections stable.

What’s driving the demand:

• APIs sit inside modern application frameworks: more functionality is split across services, which increases dependency on APIs for delivery and stability.

• API management is expanding: the API management market is projected to grow significantly, which signals that more companies are formalizing ownership, tooling, and governance for APIs.

• APIs are central to digital transformation: companies use APIs to improve customer experience and keep systems adaptable as processes change.

• Security pressure pushes design-first work: secure API solutions are in focus because APIs handle critical data transfer, so teams increasingly expect a design-first approach instead of "patching security later".

• More ongoing ownership required: stronger API lifecycle management is needed to handle versioning, deprecations, and changes without breaking consumers.

If local hiring slows down under this demand, KPS can help you access candidates beyond your immediate market without changing your delivery priorities.

A robust hiring process starts with a clear API developer job description, then uses structured interviews plus a technical assessment (coding test or scenario task) to validate skills. The interview should include the right questions across both technical and soft skills, because API work affects other teams and releases. This structure helps you decide the right seniority level and reduce the risk of hiring someone whose expertise doesn’t match your scope.

With KPS, this process is handled end-to-end.

First, KPS helps translate your scope into a role profile (what the developer owns, what “done” means, what constraints matter).

Then recruiters run an initial screening to confirm collaboration and communication fit, followed by a technical interview and assessment that checks practical reasoning, not theory: how candidates handle change safety, integration risks, and production trade-offs.

At last, you get a shortlist with context, plus support with interview questions if you want to run the final call yourself.

Most products choose between RESTful APIs and GraphQL, depending on how you consume data and how many services the API connects to. REST follows REST principles with stateless communication between client and server, while GraphQL lets clients request only the data they need, reducing over- and under-fetching.

Many environments still rely on REST or SOAP conventions, and APIs commonly return JSON because it’s lightweight and easy to work with. Across all types, strong API work treats the API as a product: clean responses, clear error messages, and good developer experience. Security is not optional! Authentication and authorization must be designed into the API from the start. In microservices setups, APIs often become the main communication path between services, so design choices affect reliability and change safety. Most teams look for developers with solid programming language proficiency (for example, Java, Python, or JavaScript/Node.js) and practical use of tools like Postman and Swagger for testing and documentation.

With KPS, the first step is mapping your use case to the right API style (REST, GraphQL, real-time patterns) based on your clients, data access needs, and integration surface. Then, candidates are screened for a deep understanding of API design, security practices, and microservices communication, so you’re not hiring based on buzzwords alone.