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 Senior Security Engineer, you will serve as the technical security lead for securing the world’s most popular API gateway. You will apply deep expertise in high-performance networking and distributed systems to shape the security posture of the Kong Cloud. You’ll spend your time architecting the evolution of our security capabilities—specifically focused on leveraging Open Source (OSS) and building state of the art network and application security solutions..
What You'll Do:
Threat Defense Leadership: Architect and implement next-generation WAF, IDS, and IPS capabilities at the gateway level to protect against OWASP Top 10, zero-day exploits, and sophisticated API abuse.
Multi-Cloud Security: Design and implement "Zero Trust" security models that operate seamlessly across hybrid and multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP, On-prem).
Strategic Roadmap: Partner with Product and Architecture leads to define the multi-year security roadmap for Kong Gateway, balancing the needs of the OSS community with Enterprise requirements.
Incident Resolution: Lead the response to complex, multi-faceted security challenges—from supply chain vulnerabilities in open-source dependencies to high-stakes CVE remediations.
Mentorship & Influence: Champion a "Security-First" culture by mentoring engineers on secure coding practices and influencing the long-term cybersecurity maturity of the entire organization.
What You'll Bring:
5+ years’ experience in Cybersecurity Engineering, with a focus on high-traffic infrastructure or API management.
Cloud-Native & Multi-Cloud: Expert-level knowledge of multi-cloud solution design, specifically securing traffic across disparate cloud providers and Kubernetes environments.
Security Domain Specialist: Proven track record in designing/deploying WAF, IDS, and IPS systems at scale, with an understanding of signature-based vs. ML-based detection.
Programming Proficiency:Python, Go or Rust
Open Source Contributor: Experience contributing to or maintaining open-source security projects is a significant asset.
Design Excellence: Ability to produce high-quality, high-performance security designs that do not compromise the "millisecond-latency" promise of the gateway.
#LI-EA1
About Kong:
Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, is building the infrastructure that powers the agentic era. Trusted by the Fortune 500 and startups alike, Kong's unified API and AI platform, Kong Konnect, enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI models. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.
Skills Required
- 5+ years' experience in Cybersecurity Engineering, focused on high-traffic infrastructure or API management
- Expert-level knowledge of multi-cloud solution design (AWS, Azure, GCP) and securing Kubernetes environments
- Proven experience designing and deploying WAF, IDS, and IPS systems at scale
- Programming proficiency in Python, Go, or Rust
- Experience contributing to or maintaining open-source security projects
- Ability to produce high-performance, low-latency security designs for gateway environments
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 cloud API technologies, is on a mission to enable companies around the world to become “API-first” and securely accelerate AI adoption. Kong helps organizations globally — from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises — unleash developer productivity, build securely and accelerate time to market.
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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