Software Engineer, AI Gateway

CloudDevs; Town of Italy (NY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading cloud API technologies provider seeks a Software Engineer for their AI Gateway Team. In this role, you will develop and maintain software for managing APIs in AI environments, focusing on innovative features such as load balancing and performance tuning. The ideal candidate will have over 3 years of experience, strong Linux skills, and knowledge of Rust. This position offers a dynamic and collaborative work environment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of programming in server-side applications and components.
• Experience building and debugging highly scalable applications.
• Solid technical expertise in Linux systems troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with AI LLM concepts.
• Hands-on experience with Rust.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain API management software for AI.
• Implement features including proxying capabilities and load balancing.
• Perform bugs troubleshooting and performance tuning.
• Collaborate with a distributed team.

Skills

Programming in server-side applications

Linux systems troubleshooting

Distributed systems

APIs development

Communication skills

Rust programming

Tools

NGINX

Envoy

Kong

Job description

Are you ready to power the World’s connections?

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:

You will join the engineering team that builds the Kong AI gateway, empowering companies and developers around the world to govern every step of their AI & LLM based innovation.

As a Software Engineer in the AI Gateway Team, you will be working on core features such as multi-LLM routing and balancing, semantic caching and routing, MCP, and more.

What you’ll be doing:

• Responsible for building and maintaining API management software for AI and LLMs and its underlying stack.
• Implement new innovative features including proxying capabilities, load balancing, databases support that extend Kong AI Gateway’s offering.
• Bugs troubleshooting, performance tuning and low-level optimizations.
• Fill the gaps between Kong and third-party deployment platforms and tooling.
• Any additional tasks required by manager.

What you’ll bring:

• 3+ years of programming in server-side applications and components.
• Experience building and debugging applications that are highly scalable, distributed, reliable and resilient.
• Solid hands‑on low‑level technical expertise in Linux systems troubleshooting, and profiling.
• Experience in distributed systems, Linux networking stack and computer systems programming, Kong works with APIs on both L7 and L4 transports and protocols, so this expertise and knowledge are required.
• Comfortable working with a remotely distributed team.
• Strong sense of ownership and excellent verbal and written communication skills — engineers at Kong write the documentation for their products.
• Familiarity with AI LLM concepts and applications development.
• Hands on experience with Rust.

Bonus Points:

• Hands on experience with NGINX/OpenResty/Kong/LuaJIT.
• Hands on experience with Envoy or Istio.

#LI-BR2

About Kong:

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. For more information about Kong, please visit or follow us on X @thekonginc.