---
title: 'Strategic Platform Administrator II- APIM  (IT Ops) at Protective'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-platform-administrator-ii-apim-it-ops-protective-birmingham-1g0gebgfbw75'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Strategic Platform Administrator II- APIM  (IT Ops) at Protective

- **Company:** Protective
- **Location:** Birmingham, AL
- **Compensation:** $77k–$95k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-07-16
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/protective/ec904bf7-2560-4ae1-970c-2af7113aaa21

## Job description

The work we do has an impact on millions of lives, and you can be a part of it. We help protect our customers against life’s uncertainties. Regardless of where you work within the company, you’ll be helping provide protection and peace of mind when our customers need it most.

We are seeking an experienced and technically capable Platform Administrator II -APIM to join our IT Operations Strategic Platform Administration team with primary responsibility for Azure API Management (APIM). support. This role is responsible for onboarding APIs, administering and maintaining the platform, applying approved policies, and ensuring stable, secure, and reliable operations consistent with API governance standards. The ideal candidate has API development, integration, or gateway experience; works independently on moderately complex assignments; partners with delivery teams, architects, and stakeholders to implement platform improvements; and serves as a technical resource for junior administrators. ** This position is focused on the independent administration of API onboarding, platform operations, configuration, troubleshooting, governance, stakeholder support, and smaller initiatives

Key Responsibilities:

API Onboarding & Configuration

- Import and validate OpenAPI specifications.
- Configure APIs, operations, products, and subscriptions.
- Apply approved policy templates and fragments.
- Manage named values, backends, and certificates within established patterns.
- Validate API changes before deployment and ensure configurations follow approved architectural patterns, governance rules, and security standards.

Platform Administration & Operations

- Administer and support Azure API Management across production and non-production environments.
- Monitor API Management health, availability, performance, capacity, and operational trends.
- Troubleshoot API failures, policy errors, backend connectivity issues, failed deployments, and other moderately complex platform incidents.
- Deploy API revisions and releases while maintaining consistency across environments.
- Perform routine platform maintenance and cleanup, including unused named values, stale subscriptions, and deprecated APIs.

Configuration, Integration & SDLC Execution

- Support the full SDLC, including requirements clarification, configuration, validation, QA, UAT, deployment, and post-release verification.
- Work with delivery teams to validate new API implementations and modifications within established patterns.
- Partner with architects to evaluate platform features and capabilities as they become available, including identity, automation, and AI-related capabilities.
- Help mature APIM deployment, monitoring, documentation, and release practices.
- Ensure changes follow change management, release governance, documentation, and quality standards.

Security, Access & Compliance

- Implement authentication and authorization patterns defined by architecture.
- Administer subscriptions, keys, certificates, and other platform security configuration within established standards.
- Rotate keys and certificates according to approved procedures.
- Work with Strategic Platform Architecture to Implement/Troubleshoot OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect flows, JWT validation, and certificate-based authentication.
- Support compliance reviews, audit requests, access reviews, and API governance activities; identify control gaps and recommend remediation actions.

Performance, Monitoring & Optimization

- Use platform logs, analytics, dashboards, and monitoring tools to improve reliability and operational efficiency.
- Analyze API performance, failures, policy behavior, and backend dependencies; recommend improvement opportunities.
- Support platform capacity planning and the consistent implementation of monitoring across environments.
- Partner with senior administrators, architects, and delivery teams to improve platform stability and service restoration.

Stakeholder Collaboration & Process Improvement

- Partner with IT and business stakeholders to understand API requirements, pain points, and platform enhancement needs.
- Translate business and technical requirements into practical APIM administration and configuration solutions.
- Recommend opportunities to improve API onboarding, governance, automation, and operational support.
- Support adoption of enterprise standards and consistent platform administration practices.

Leadership & Mentorship

- Serve as a technical resource for junior platform administrators and delivery teams.
- Lead or support small-to-medium platform initiatives, enhancements, upgrades, and operational improvement efforts.
- Contribute to platform documentation, standards, knowledge transfer, cross-training, and team operating procedures.

Operational Support

- Provide on-call support, including after-hours and weekend coverage as required.
- Respond to API outages, performance issues, policy misconfigurations, and backend connectivity issues.
- Support incident response, service restoration, root cause follow-up, and business continuity activities.
- Assist with developing, maintaining, and testing disaster recovery capabilities.

Technical Skills:

Azure API Management (Primary)

- API onboarding and configuration using OpenAPI/Swagger specifications.
- Configuration of APIs, operations, products, subscriptions, policies, fragments, named values, backends, and certificates.
- APIM health, capacity, monitoring, revision, release, and environment administration.
- API security patterns including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT validation, keys, certificates, and certificate-based authentication.
- Strong understanding of REST APIs, HTTP fundamentals, and API governance concepts.

General Platform Administration (Enterprise Alignment)

- API testing tools such as Postman, Insomnia, SoapUI, or comparable tools.
- Azure services and cloud concepts, including Key Vault, Application Gateway, virtual networks, network security groups, and private endpoints.
- Identity and access management concepts, including SSO, OAuth, OpenID Connect, and certificate-based authentication.
- Networking fundamentals, including DNS, routing, firewalls, and private connectivity.
- Monitoring and observability tools such as Application Insights, Dynatrace, Splunk, or comparable tools.
- CI/CD concepts, YAML pipelines, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, and release governance practices.
- Ability to read code in one or more languages such as C#, Java, Python, or Node.js.

## Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in a technical field or equivalent experience.
- 3-5 years of general IT experience, with 2 or more years of experience in API development, integration engineering, API gateway administration, or a related platform role preferred.
- Experience with API gateways such as Azure API Management, Kong, Apigee, MuleSoft, or comparable technologies.
- Demonstrated ability to translate business needs into practical technical solutions.
- Strong communication, analytical, troubleshooting, and organizational skills.
- Ability to work independently on moderately complex assignments and support multiple priorities.

Preferred Qualifications:

- AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals.
- API Academy Practitioner.
- Postman Student Expert.
- Additional certifications such as SC-900, Network+, AZ-104, or AZ-400.
- Experience with cloud networking, identity systems, enterprise platform governance, or large-scale platform administration.

Employee Benefits: We aim to protect the wellbeing of our employees and their families with a broad benefits offering. In addition to offering comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance, we support emotional wellbeing through mental health benefits and an employee assistance program. Work/life balance is important and Protective offers a variety of paid time away benefits (e.g., paid time off, paid parental leave, short-term disability, and a cultural observance day). The financial health of our employees is just as important as physical and emotional health.  Some of the financial wellbeing benefits include contributions to healthcare accounts, a pension plan, and a 401(k) plan with Company matching. All employees are encouraged to protect their overall wellbeing by engaging in ProHealth Rewards, Protective’s platform to improve wellbeing while earning cash rewards.

Eligibility for certain benefits may vary by position in accordance with the terms of the Company’s benefit plans.

Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability: If you require an accommodation to complete the application and recruitment process due to a disability, please email eric.hess@protective.com. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application and recruitment process.

Please note that the above email is solely for individuals with disabilities requesting an accommodation.  General employment questions should not be sent through this process.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to being inclusive and attracting, retaining, and growing an inclusive workforce.

## About Protective

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Protective is a financial services company providing life insurance, retirement solutions, employee benefits, and asset protection products to individuals and businesses.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc., TSE:8750)
- **Headquarters**: Birmingham, Alabama, United States
- **Founded**: 1907
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Insurance (Life, Annuity, Asset Protection, Employee Benefits)
- **Target customers**: B2C (individuals) and B2B (employers, partners)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "To help everyone deserve confidence through life's moments — big, small and everything in between." [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us)

## Products & Services
- **[Life Insurance]**: Offers term life, whole life, and universal life policies for individuals and families.
- **[Retirement Solutions]**: Fixed and variable annuities, retirement income planning products.
- **[Asset Protection]**: Commercial mortgage investments, structured settlements, and stable value products via Protective Asset Division.
- **[Employee Benefits]**: Group life, disability, and other workplace benefit programs for employers.
- **[Acquisitions & Stable Value]**: Manages and acquires in-force blocks of life insurance and annuity policies.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, TSE:8750)
- **Key Metric**: $6.4B annual revenue (PLICO financials) [wellfound.com](https://linkedin.com/company/protective-life)
- **Total Assets**: $142 billion as of December 31, 2025 [protective.com](https://investor.protective.com/Company-Overview/default.aspx)
- **Net Income**: $389 million USD (2024) [linkedin.com](https://linkedin.com/company/protective-life)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Parent company Dai-ichi Life Holdings (Japan), one of the largest life insurers globally.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Over 14.4 million customers served.
  - 61 acquisitions in company history. [protective.com](https://investor.protective.com/Company-Overview/default.aspx)
  - ~32 million policies and contracts in force.
  - $1 trillion life insurance in force.
  - 3,800+ employees as of Jan 1, 2026 (up from 3,800 reported in 2023).
  - Fastest growing core site in the greater Cincinnati area. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)

## Competitive Advantages
- **115+ Years of Stability**: Founded in 1907, the company has a long track record of financial strength and reliability.
- **Parent Backing**: As part of Dai-ichi Life Group, a global top-tier insurer, Protective has access to significant capital and a long-term strategic focus.
- **Diversified Portfolio**: Multiple business segments (Protection, Retirement, Asset Protection, Acquisitions) create revenue stability and cross-selling opportunities.
- **Strong Financial Ratings**: A focus on conservative risk management and a large asset base ($142B) provides market confidence.
- **Scale and Distribution**: A massive in-force block ($1T life insurance) and a large, established customer base.

## Strategic Focus
- **Organic & Inorganic Growth**: Continues to acquire blocks of policies and companies (61 in history) while expanding its core product lines.
- **Virtual Workforce Expansion**: More than half of employees are now remote, signaling a commitment to a flexible, distributed workforce. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Digital Transformation**: Investments in technology and data to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
- **Talent Development**: Strong focus on internal mobility, continuous learning, and career enrichment programs.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Emphasizes a "protector" mindset, focusing on service to customers, colleagues, and communities. Recognized for workplace engagement and inclusivity. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Hybrid/Remote Work**: Over 50% of the workforce is remote/virtual. Three core sites in Birmingham (HQ), Greater Cincinnati, and St. Louis offer hybrid options. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Benefits**: Comprehensive package including medical/dental/vision with HSA/FSA, a pension plan funded by the company, 401(k) with employer match, paid time off, paid parental leave, short- and long-term disability, adoption assistance, and life insurance. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Career Development**: Company-sponsored education courses, tuition reimbursement, scholarship opportunities for dependents, and a semi-annual "Pulse Survey" to shape culture and learning opportunities. [protective.com](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
- **Notable Perk**: Pension plan remains a differentiator in the current job market.

## Sources
1. [protective.com - Company Overview](https://www.protective.com/about-us)
2. [protective.com - Careers Page](https://www.protective.com/about-us/careers)
3. [investor.protective.com - Company Overview](https://investor.protective.com/Company-Overview/default.aspx)
4. [linkedin.com - Protective Life](https://linkedin.com/company/protective-life)
5. [jobs.lever.co/protective - Job Listings](https://jobs.lever.co/protective)

## Other roles at Protective

- [2027 Actuarial Summer Internship Program](https://feeny.ai/job/2027-actuarial-summer-internship-program-protective-birmingham-6yfqs6xv0apg) — Birmingham, AL
- [2027 Business Analytics Summer Internship](https://feeny.ai/job/2027-business-analytics-summer-internship-protective-birmingham-qyr213smb8pz) — Birmingham, AL
- [Commercial Real Estate Legal Assistant (Hybrid Birmingham, Alabama)](https://feeny.ai/job/commercial-real-estate-legal-assistant-hybrid-birmingham-alabama-protective-p4qgzbw9a5dy) — Birmingham, AL
- [Installation Technician- StarGard](https://feeny.ai/job/installation-technician-stargard-protective-los-angeles-brgqd300jmkv) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Regional Finance & Insurance Performance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/regional-finance-insurance-performance-manager-protective-california-z7skhck3jka0) — California
- [Customer Service Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-service-specialist-protective-chesterfield-1jrhtr6y1a6k) — Chesterfield, MO
- [Customer Service Specialist- Bilingual](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-service-specialist-bilingual-protective-remote-hqk4bq4v4r1d)
- [Senior Associate- Product & Channel Marketing (Remote)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-associate-product-channel-marketing-remote-protective-remote-xnh717pay7fm)
- [Senior Sales Consultant – Inside Sales](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-sales-consultant-inside-sales-protective-remote-zpt9wapz8qby)
- [Customer Experience Advocate](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-experience-advocate-protective-nebraska-1zf6rtw0mf9b) — Nebraska