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Sr. Technical RecruiterLocation: Remote U.S.
We are seeking a highly strategic Senior Technical Recruiter to join our team. This role is crucial for scaling our most complex and critical technical teams and will be a key driver in shaping Kong’s future talent strategy.
Join us in building Kong's future! Reporting to the Sr. Manager of Technical Recruiting, you will serve as a critical, trusted advisor to Engineering, Product, and Professional Services leadership across North America. Your mission is to solve the most challenging scaling problems, own the hiring for highly specialized and senior roles, and drive innovation in our recruiting processes. You will also be key in shaping our employer brand and leading executive-level recruiting readouts.
Architect and drive specialized sourcing strategies to secure world-class, typically hard-to-find, talent for senior-level (Senior, Staff, Principal) and highly specialized technical roles.
Serve as a talent consultant to executives and senior leadership, leveraging deep market intelligence to advise on organizational design, compensation structures, and global talent mapping.
Lead the end-to-end recruitment process for your critical roles, including complex offer negotiation, while ensuring an exceptional, consistent candidate experience.
Design and implement scalable recruiting initiatives (e.g., referral programs, interview training, process documentation) that improve efficiency and quality of hire across the entire talent acquisition function.
Proactively build and maintain a hyper-focused pipeline of passive candidates, positioning Kong as an employer of choice in competitive markets.
Conduct thorough screenings and interviews to assess candidates' technical skills and cultural fit, acting as a steward for our hiring bar.
Maintain meticulous job postings and candidate data within our Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
5+ years of progressive, full-cycle technical recruiting experience, with at least 2 years focused on Senior/Staff/Principal level hiring within a high-growth SaaS or cloud-native environment.
Deep mastery of the highly competitive North American technical landscape, with a proven ability to successfully compete for talent against top-tier late-stage start-ups and public companies.
Proven ability to use data—both quantitative and qualitative—to influence senior leaders and executives.
Demonstrated ownership of core TA programs or significant process improvements across the recruiting lifecycle.
Expert command of advanced sourcing and candidate engagement techniques, moving beyond standard LinkedIn Recruiter usage.
Ability to challenge ideas and effectively influence others.
Ability to distill complex information into a consumable and organized format with a focus on content, tone, and structure.
Great collaborator and partner to HRBPs, Finance, and other internal stakeholders.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Experience recruiting across EMEA is a plus.
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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 of progressive, full-cycle technical recruiting experience
- At least 2 years recruiting Senior, Staff, or Principal-level candidates
- Experience in a high-growth SaaS or cloud-native environment
- Deep knowledge of the North American technical talent market
- Proven ability to compete for technical talent against leading startups and public companies
- Experience using quantitative and qualitative data to influence senior leaders and executives
- Ownership of core talent acquisition programs or significant recruiting-process improvements
- Advanced sourcing and candidate-engagement expertise beyond standard LinkedIn Recruiter usage
- Ability to challenge ideas and influence stakeholders
- Ability to distill complex information into organized, consumable formats
- Strong collaboration with HR business partners, Finance, and internal stakeholders
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Experience recruiting across EMEA
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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