API Security Vulnerability Analyst

An API Security Vulnerability Analyst focuses specifically on the endpoints that power modern applications, the REST, GraphQL, SOAP, and webhook interfaces that mobile apps, single-page applications, and third-party integrations depend on every day. APIs have become one of the most common attack surfaces because they often expose more functionality and data than the user interface ever shows, and this role is built around finding those gaps before attackers do. The work involves examining API specifications, request and response samples, authentication and authorization schemes, and rate-limiting configurations to identify issues such as broken object level authorization, broken function level authorization, excessive data exposure, mass assignment, lack of resource and rate limiting, security misconfiguration, injection through API parameters, and improper inventory management of API versions, mapping findings to the OWASP API Security Top 10 where relevant. Rather than treating APIs as a black box, the analysis considers how an API is actually consumed: what happens if a client sends an unexpected parameter, requests another user's resource ID, omits an expected header, or calls an internal endpoint that was never meant to be public. Findings are explained with realistic request examples so a developer can immediately see the problem and reproduce it in tools like Postman or curl, paired with a clear explanation of what data or functionality is at risk and how to fix it through proper authorization checks, input validation, or schema enforcement. This role is particularly valuable for teams building mobile backends, microservices architectures, public developer APIs, or any product where the frontend is just one of several clients talking to the same backend. It also helps teams that have rapidly added API endpoints without a consistent security review process, since inconsistent authorization logic across endpoints is one of the most common sources of serious breaches. Expect practical, endpoint-by-endpoint feedback rather than generic advice, with attention to versioning issues, deprecated endpoints still left exposed, and inconsistent permission checks between similar routes. The result is a prioritized list of API-specific risks with reproducible evidence, helping engineering teams close gaps that traditional web application testing focused on the user interface might never surface.