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.
The MissionThe AI Gateway team is on a mission to build the central nervous system for the agentic era, enabling developers to securely and reliably connect, observe, and manage their AI and ML services at scale. We are architecting the foundational layer that will power the next generation of intelligent applications. Your work will directly impact developer delight and ensure our infrastructure is the most trusted path for AI traffic in the world.
What You’ll DoDesign, own, and lead the development of critical, high-performance components for Kong’s AI Gateway using Golang.
Influence the technical roadmap and architecture, ensuring our systems are scalable, resilient, and prepared for future challenges.
Architect solutions that prevent technical debt and maintain our commitment to 99.99% uptime and reliability.
Mentor and guide other engineers on the team, fostering a culture of technical excellence and collaborative problem-solving.
Drive best practices in testing, observability, and continuous integration/delivery within a complex, distributed environment.
Collaborate cross-functionally with product management, SRE, and other engineering teams to deliver a world-class developer experience.
Resolve complex technical issues and conduct deep-dives into system performance, identifying and addressing bottlenecks.
Extensive professional experience building software in a systems language like Golang or Python.
Deep understanding of distributed systems, microservice architectures, and API design principles.
Proven experience with cloud-native technologies, including Kubernetes and Docker.
Experience with or a strong interest in AI/ML infrastructure, such as LLM orchestration, vector databases, or model serving.
Solid knowledge of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, HTTP/2, gRPC).
Ownership: You are a proactive problem-solver with a bias for action, taking full ownership of your work from concept to production.
Urgency: You thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, and you are driven to deliver results quickly and efficiently.
Collaboration: You are an excellent communicator who works effectively with a globally distributed team to achieve shared goals.
Contributions to open-source software projects.
Experience with Nginx, Lua, or service mesh technologies.
Familiarity with AI frameworks like LangChain, PyTorch, or TensorFlow.
Prior experience building API gateways, developer platforms, or large-scale infrastructure-as-a-service products.
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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
- Extensive professional software development experience using a systems language such as Golang or Python.
- Deep understanding of distributed systems, microservice architectures, and API design principles.
- Professional experience with cloud-native technologies, including Kubernetes and Docker.
- Experience with or strong interest in AI/ML infrastructure, including LLM orchestration, vector databases, or model serving.
- Solid knowledge of networking fundamentals, including TCP/IP, HTTP/2, and gRPC.
- Contributions to open-source software projects.
- Experience with Nginx, Lua, or service mesh technologies.
- Familiarity with LangChain, PyTorch, or TensorFlow.
- Experience building API gateways, developer platforms, or large-scale infrastructure-as-a-service products.
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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