Are you ready to unlock intelligence?
If you don’t think you meet all of the criteria below but are still interested in the job, please apply. Nobody checks every box - we’re looking for candidates that are particularly strong in a few areas, and have some interest and capabilities in others.
About the Role:
As a Staff/Senior Customer Success Manager, you will set the standard of what great looks like in our CS organization. You will master your craft by focusing on the disciplined execution of the Customer Post-Sales Process, directly driving adoption, expansion, and risk mitigation. This role is strategic, requiring you to blend technical knowledge with an executive mindset to deliver exceptional business value.
What You'll Do:
Drive Strategic Customer Success: Develop comprehensive success plans covering use cases, roadmaps, and positive business outcomes.
Value realization: Take customers through a value-based engagement model, and gain a clear understanding of Kong’s impact on their business.
Navigate Complex Organizations: Map customer organizations by building power and influence charts to identify key champions and decision-makers.
Leverage Partner Ecosystems: Utilize partners to uncover new personas within the customer organization and expand stakeholder alignment.
Harness Data & Analytics: Use utilization metrics, Leading Indicators, and tools like Tableau, SFDC, Clari, and Hex to monitor health, identify risks, and extract actionable insights.
Master the Message: Run impactful QBRs/EBRs by adopting an executive mindset, clearly articulating the value of the Kong platform in alignment with the customer’s business needs.
Command the Platform: Confidently articulate the unique value of Kong's components (Dedicated Cloud Gateway, API Gateway, AI Gateway, Mesh Manager, etc.).
Manage Renewals & Forecasting: Collaborate closely with the broader account team to validate renewal timelines, surface cross-sell opportunities, and maintain strong SFDC hygiene
What You'll Bring:
Grit & Determination: Customer obsession and the resilience to bounce back from setbacks, relentlessly pursuing customer goals and overcoming issues.
Curiosity: An inquisitive mindset paired with active listening and probing skills to ask layered, open-ended questions that uncover root causes.
Team-Oriented Mindset: A deeply collaborative approach to achieving shared company goals, rather than focusing solely on individual wins.
Prioritization: Experience managing multiple customers at a time while focusing on attention to detail and delivering results across multiple initiatives, such as driving expansion, customer satisfaction, feature adoption, and retention.
#LI-TR1
About Kong:
Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.
Skills Required
- Excellent communication skills and ability to concisely articulate complex technical issues
- Practical working knowledge of APIs and microservices architectures
- Previous experience with Kubernetes
- Previous experience with Cloud technologies (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- Ability to use data-driven storytelling to articulate business value
- Strong collaboration and teamwork with cross-functional teams
- Proven ability to tackle technical problems with little or no direct supervision
- Experience managing multiple projects concurrently and driving adoption, expansion, and retention
Kong Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Kong and has not been reviewed or approved by Kong.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Flexible PTO, company-wide Unplug Days, and a four‑week paid sabbatical after five years are prominently offered to support rest and work–life balance. These programs are presented as meaningful perks beyond base pay and are highlighted across official materials and third‑party summaries.
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Healthcare Strength — U.S. medical, dental, and vision coverage is described as strong, with plan quality drawing positive sentiment. Solid healthcare appears to contribute meaningfully to overall satisfaction with the total package.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Stock options are offered to most employees, creating ownership upside alongside cash compensation. Equity is positioned as a visible component that helps keep offers competitive for certain technical and go‑to‑market roles.
Kong Insights
What We Do
Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, is building the connectivity layer for AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500 and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. No AI without APIs.
Why Work With Us
It starts with how we show up for each other. We’ve created a workplace that’s intentionally flexible, deeply inclusive, and built for meaningful collaboration — whether virtual or in person. We trust our teams to own their work, and we give them the support, tools, and freedom to grow.
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