Senior Solutions Engineer, API & AI Connectivity

Kong; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong Inc. – the AI Connectivity Company – is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer to serve as a trusted technical advisor for enterprises seeking secure, scalable API ecosystems and AI-ready architectures.

You’ll guide complex deals, mentor other SEs, and help shape product direction at the intersection of API management and AI connectivity. You will engage with engineers, architects, and executives, run technical feasibility workshops, and contribute to thought leadership through blogs, webinars,

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering or solutions engineering experience at SaaS/open source/enterprise software.
• Proven track record owning complex enterprise 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 (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI Codex).
• Knowledge of AI/LLM architectures, model routing, rate limiting, semantic caching, and prompt governance.
• Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and agentic AI patterns.
• Strong listener and communicator; able to lead discussions with engineers, architects, and executives.

Responsibilities

• Support field sales in articulating the value of Kong API and AI connectivity platform.
• Lead discovery conversations to map customer requirements to Kong solutions.
• Support POCs, owning technical validation and stakeholder alignment.
• Ensure customer satisfaction across assigned accounts.
• Collaborate with support, product, and engineering to advocate for customer needs.
• Create technical documentation for DevOps, implementations, and services engagements.
• Lead API Management and AI governance evaluations and workshops.
• Demonstrate Kong’s API & AI capabilities and governance features.
• Drive multi-stakeholder enterprise deals from qualification to close; mentor junior SEs.

Skills

APIs REST/GraphQL

CI/CD pipelines

API security patterns

AI tooling experience

LLM architectures

MCP patterns

Mentoring

Communication

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Cloud-native platforms

AI tooling platforms

Job description

Kong Inc. – the AI Connectivity Company – is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer to serve as a trusted technical advisor for enterprises seeking secure, scalable API ecosystems and AI-ready architectures.

You’ll guide complex deals, mentor other SEs, and help shape product direction at the intersection of API management and AI connectivity. You will engage with engineers, architects, and executives, run technical feasibility workshops, and contribute to thought leadership through blogs, webinars,