.NET RESTful API Development

I need a seasoned .NET backend developer to build a suite of RESTful APIs that will power our next release. The core of the job is pure API development—no UI work—so you should feel completely at home writing clean, well-structured C# code in .NET (preferably .NET 6 or later), wiring it up with Entity Framework or Dapper for data access, and documenting everything with Swagger / OpenAPI.

Here’s what the APIs must handle:
• User authentication (token-based, ideally JWT)
• Full CRUD operations for our primary data models
• Smooth third-party integrations, starting with two vendors that expose JSON endpoints

I’ll provide the database schema, access credentials, and a concise list of integration endpoints on kickoff. You’ll return:
1. Source code in a Git repo with clear commit history
2. An up-to-date Swagger spec that reflects every endpoint and model
3. A short README explaining local setup, environment variables, and build/run commands
4. Postman or RestClient collection for quick testing

Acceptance criteria: every endpoint returns the agreed payload shape, passes the test suite, and meets a basic performance benchmark (≤200 ms average response on local environment with sample data).

If this fits your wheelhouse, let’s get started—I’m ready to review your approach and timeline.