Expertise Needed for API Documentation & Tooling Setup

We’re building a modern design-first SaaS platform with 30+ microservices and need targeted help from an expert to set up clean, industry-standard API documentation and tooling.

We already have a backend team in place — this job is not to replace or rewrite anything, but to support the team with specific expertise and best practices in:

gRPC + .proto files
GraphQL SDL
OpenAPI / Swagger
Buf (especially Buf Schema Registry)
Tilt-based local development environments

We do not want to build or maintain a custom Express/NestJS server. Instead, we want to integrate existing tooling (Swagger UI, Apollo Gateway, Buf UI) in the cleanest and most scalable way.

Your Role:
-Help configure Swagger UI, Apollo Gateway, and Buf Schema Registry (self-hosted) for local development
-Make it possible for developers to:
-View and browse all API schemas without running the actual services

-Work locally on 3–5 services while still accessing centralized API docs
-Integrate this into our existing Tilt setup and DevEnv tooling
-Ensure documentation is accessible via a single local domain (e.g. docs.localhost)
-Support and advise our current backend dev (you’re not doing it alone)

Requirements:
-Strong experience with gRPC + Buf
-Solid knowledge of GraphQL SDLs and Apollo Gateway
-Familiar with OpenAPI and Swagger UI
-Experience with Tilt, Docker, and service-based development
-Clear communication and documentation
-A focus on best practices and maintainability

What this is not:
-This is not a full backend role
-You won’t be writing business logic
-You won’t be building a custom Express/NestJS server — we explicitly do not want that

Project Scope:
This is a short-term, high-impact setup task to get our team running with the right tools.
If things go well, there may be follow-up support — but the goal is setup and handoff, not long-term dev work.