APIs Built to Handle Production Traffic From Day One
Most APIs look fine until they hit real traffic, rate limits, or an adversarial request. I've shipped APIs handling 10,000+ daily requests at 99.9% uptime — and I know exactly where the failure modes are.
- TypeScript strict end-to-end — Zod validation on every request
- OpenAPI documentation auto-generated from your types
- JWT auth, RBAC, rate limiting — security baked in from route one
- Redis caching and connection pooling — performance that scales
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10K+
Daily API requests handled in production at 99.9% uptime across multiple client products
<50ms
p95 response time on production REST APIs with Redis caching and connection pooling
30+
Production APIs shipped — REST, GraphQL, WebSocket, and webhook integrations
4+
Years building API layers for FinTech, SaaS, and enterprise — not prototypes, real production traffic
API Expertise
What I Build
Not just endpoints. Production API layers that are typed, documented, secured, cached, and observable from the first deploy.
REST APIs
Resource-oriented REST APIs with consistent error handling, pagination, filtering, and versioning. Every route is typed end-to-end with TypeScript, documented with OpenAPI, and tested with integration tests.
GraphQL APIs
Schema-first GraphQL with Apollo Server or Pothos — type-safe resolvers, DataLoader for N+1 elimination, subscriptions for real-time data, and persisted queries for performance.
Auth & Authorisation
JWT access and refresh tokens, OAuth2 with Google and GitHub, role-based access control, API key authentication, and Supabase Auth integration. Auth done once, done correctly.
Performance & Caching
Redis caching for hot data, ETags for conditional requests, response compression, connection pooling, and rate limiting. APIs that scale without scaling costs proportionally.
Webhooks & Third-Party Integrations
Stripe webhooks with signature verification, idempotent event processing, retry queues with exponential backoff. Integrations with Resend, Twilio, Plaid, and other common SaaS APIs.
API Infrastructure
Containerised APIs on AWS EC2 or ECS with Application Load Balancer, auto-scaling, structured logging with CloudWatch, alerting, and zero-downtime deployments via GitHub Actions.
Why Hire Me
The Difference Between an API and a Production API
Any developer can write endpoints that pass tests. The gap shows under real traffic, with adversarial inputs, or when the client team needs to iterate quickly.
TypeScript strict, end-to-end
Request bodies, query params, path params, response shapes — all typed with Zod validation. The TypeScript types and the runtime validation are the same schema, not two different things to keep in sync.
Security is not a second pass
Input validation on every endpoint. Rate limiting on auth routes. CORS configured correctly. SQL injection prevented by parameterised queries. OWASP Top 10 is a checklist, not a retrospective.
APIs designed for the client that calls them
A good API isn't just technically correct — it's ergonomic for the front-end team using it. I design response shapes, pagination conventions, and error formats around how clients actually consume data.
Observability from day one
Structured JSON logs with request IDs, error monitoring via Sentry, and dashboards that tell you when something breaks before users do. Not bolted on after the first outage.
Common Questions
Before You Reach Out
The questions every client asks — answered honestly.
How much does an API developer cost?
For a defined scope — a new API, an integration, a performance audit — I quote a fixed price. For ongoing API work I offer a weekly or monthly retainer. You'll have written numbers within 24 hours of sending a brief.
Do you build REST or GraphQL APIs?
Both — the choice depends on the use case. REST for simple resource APIs and mobile apps where payload size matters. GraphQL for complex data graphs, multiple client types, or rapid iteration. I'll recommend the right fit for your requirements.
Can you integrate with third-party APIs?
Yes. Stripe, Resend, Twilio, Plaid, HubSpot, Shopify — I've integrated with most common SaaS APIs. I handle webhook signature verification, retry logic, idempotency, and the edge cases that SDKs don't document.
Do you write API documentation?
Always. OpenAPI 3.1 spec generated from the TypeScript types — so the docs and the implementation can't drift apart. Swagger UI deployed alongside the API for your front-end team to reference without asking questions.
How do you handle authentication?
JWT for most projects — access tokens with short expiry and refresh tokens stored in httpOnly cookies. OAuth2 with Google and GitHub for social login. API keys for machine-to-machine. Supabase Auth for projects already on Supabase.
Can you improve an existing slow API?
Yes. Share the slow endpoints and I'll audit the queries, caching strategy, payload sizes, and middleware stack. Most performance problems have a known cause — missing indexes, no caching, N+1 queries, or serialisation overhead.
Related Expertise
Other Ways I Can Help
Looking for a different speciality? Here are the most relevant pages.
Node.js Developer
10K+ req/day APIs at 99.9% uptime — NestJS, Express, GraphQL, Redis, and AWS
NestJS Developer
TypeScript-first NestJS APIs with dependency injection, guards, interceptors & microservices
PostgreSQL Developer
Schema design, query optimisation, RLS, Supabase, and zero-downtime migrations
Full-Stack Developer
React, Next.js, NestJS, PostgreSQL & AWS — one engineer, full ownership from database to deploy
Ready to hire an API developer who's shipped at scale?
Send your brief. I'll reply within 24 hours with a written proposal — scope, timeline, and price. No discovery calls until you've seen the numbers.