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:
Are you ready to sit at the epicenter of the API and AI connectivity revolution? As a Staff Solutions Engineer at Kong, you won’t just be selling a platform — you’ll be a trusted technical advisor helping the world’s most innovative enterprises architect secure, scalable API ecosystems while navigating the transition into the agentic AI era. Kong sits at the intersection of API management and AI connectivity, and you’ll be the person who makes that story real for customers.
What you’ll be doing:
Support field sales in helping customers understand the value of the Kong API and AI connectivity platform.
Conduct discovery conversations to understand customer requirements and map them to Kong solutions, from initial product reviews through to production.
Support POCs throughout the entire evaluation process, owning technical validation and stakeholder alignment.
Ensure customer satisfaction across your assigned set of accounts.
Collaborate with support, product, and engineering teams to advocate for customer needs.
Create technical documentation for DevOps, implementations, and services engagements.
Lead and support API Management and AI Goverance evaluations, including scoping API/AI use cases, LLM traffic management, and governance requirements.
Deliver demonstrations of Kong’s API & AI governance and agentic connectivity capabilities, including Model Context Protocol (MCP) governance, semantic caching, prompt guardrails, and shadow AI detection.
Run API & AI-focused Technical Feasibility Workshops (TFWs) to validate Kong’s fit for modern and/or AI/agentic architectures.
Own the technical strategy for complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise deals from qualification through close.
Mentor and coach junior SEs on technical skills, discovery methods, and deal strategy.
Drive thought leadership by authoring technical blogs, hosting webinars, speaking at industry events and conferences such as AWS re:Invent, Google Next, API & AI summit, and regional events
Influence product direction by synthesizing customer feedback and market signals into actionable input for the product team.
And any additional tasks required by manager.
What you’ll bring:
7+ years of software engineering and/or solutions engineering experience at a SaaS, open source, or enterprise software company.
Proven track record owning complex, enterprise-level deals with multiple technical and executive stakeholders.
Experience mentoring or coaching other SEs or technical team members.
Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-native platforms.
Experience with REST and GraphQL APIs, CI/CD pipelines, and API security patterns (OAuth2, OIDC, mTLS).
Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tooling — Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI Codex, or equivalent is required.
Working knowledge of AI/LLM architectures, including model routing, rate limiting, semantic caching, and prompt governance.
Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and agentic AI patterns.
Solid understanding of cloud computing trends and open source business models.
Strong listener and communicator — you can confidently lead discussions with engineers, architects, and executives.
Enthusiasm for working in a high-profile, fast-paced environment at the intersection of API and AI connectivity.
#LI-TS1
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
- 7+ years software engineer and/or sales engineer management experience at SaaS, Open Source or Enterprise Software company.
- Solid understanding of cloud computing trends and open source business models.
- Strong listening and communication skills.
- Ability to lead discussions with Product Managers, Engineers, and Executives.
- Enthusiasm for working in a high profile, fast-paced startup culture.
- Experience with Docker, Kubernetes and other cloud native platforms.
- Experience with APIs, CI/CD automation frameworks, and AI/LLM technologies.
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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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive for many roles, particularly in senior and technical positions, with bonuses and overtime enhancing earnings for some. Compensation is generally described as strong across a range of functions.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Policies such as flexible time off, company Unplug Days, U‑First Fridays, and a paid sabbatical create multiple avenues for rest and personal development. These offerings support work‑life balance for a distributed workforce.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Stock options and an employee stock purchase plan enable broad participation in company equity. Equity is positioned as a meaningful component of total rewards alongside cash compensation.
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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