Commercial Account Executive

Kong; Lombardia; On-site; EUR 67,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong is seeking an Account Executive to drive mid-market enterprise sales of the Kong Konnect Platform. You will be the primary face to prospects, responsible for building a robust book of business from initial contact to closing, and working with cross-functional teams to advance opportunities.

This is a high-growth role with uncapped commission and earnings potential in a fast-paced startup environment, helping enterprises leverage Kong’s AI connectivity platform across APIs and AI traffic.

Qualifications

• Proven track record selling enterprise software to mid-market/enterprise accounts.
• Ability to build and manage a book of business from qualification to closure.
• Experience in a fast-growth startup or entrepreneurial setting is a plus.
• Fluency in English is required; Italian and other languages are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Sell Kong Konnect Platform as part of Commercial sales team.
• Meet or exceed quota, objectives and KPIs.
• Own and manage your book of business, documenting buying criteria and process; drive leads to closure.
• Collaborate with pre/post-sales, channel partners, customer success and leadership.

Skills

Direct sales experience

Effective communicator

Negotiation

Presentation skills

Closing skills

Startup/fast-growing experience

Territory planning

New business development

MEDDIC / Challenger

Bilingual English/Italian advantage

Job description

Are you ready to unlock intelligence?

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

We are looking for an experienced sales professional, ideally with open source experience who will be selling into mid market enterprise accounts. The ideal candidate has been a part of the sales efforts for other early‑stage enterprise products in an entrepreneurial setting. The Account Executive will be integral to our growth plan and in acquiring new customers. Kong’s Account Executive will be the primary point of contact and the face of Kong for our prospects.

The role provides an opportunity to have real impact in a company scaling within a high-growth market plus uncapped commission and earnings potential.

Kong has the tech, the timing and the territory. Come and join our talented team!

What You’ll Do

• Sell Kong Konnect Platform as a member of Kong’s Commercial sales team.
• Meet and/or exceed individual quota, objectives and KPIs.
• Take ownership to build and manage your book of business, which includes understanding and documenting the buying criteria and process, determining the appropriate motion and patterns, ensuring pipeline accuracy based on evidence, and working the leads to closure.
• Collaborate and leverage an ecosystem of resources including pre sales, post sales, channel partners, customer success and leadership to promote Kong and drive new business.

What You’ll Ring

• A true desire to see customers benefit from the investment they make with Kong.
• Direct sales experience selling enterprise software to small to mid-size organisations ideally with open source, APIs, and/or infrastructure software.
• Effective communicator and strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent negotiation, presentation and closing skills.
• Experience with fast growing startups is a plus.
• Strong background in territory planning and revenue generated from outbound pipeline.
• You have a measurable track record in new business development and over achieving sales targets.
• Knowledge of MEDDIC and Challenger methodologies is a plus.
• Fluent English and Italian, Spanish and/or French is a big plus.

Preferred

• A top performer with experience hunting and closing net new logos.
• Experienced with creatively sourcing companies outside of your CRM.
• Structured approach to sales and pipeline generation.
• You have previously worked in an early‑stage company and you know how to navigate and be successful in a fast-growing organization.
• Motivated, collaborative, driven and results oriented.

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.

Compensation Range: €66,810 - €82,530