Software Engineer AI Gateway

Kong; United States; Remote; USD 72,000 - 89,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong Inc. is seeking a Software Engineer for the AI Gateway Team to help build the Kong AI gateway, enabling global governance of AI and LLM-based innovations. You will contribute to multi-LLM routing, semantic caching, MCP, and related core features.

Ideal candidates have 3+ years in server-side development, experience with Golang or Rust, and strong Linux performance and distributed systems skills. This role supports a remotely distributed team and emphasizes ownership and clear communication.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in server-side applications and components.
• Hands-on experience with Golang or Rust.
• Experience building and debugging highly scalable distributed systems.
• Solid low-level Linux troubleshooting and profiling skills.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain API management software for AI/LLMs and its underlying stack.
• Develop new features including proxying, load balancing, and database support for Kong AI Gateway.
• Troubleshoot bugs, optimize performance, and conduct low-level optimizations.
• Bridge Kong with third-party deployment platforms and tooling.
• Execute additional tasks as directed by management.

Skills

Golang

Rust

Distributed systems

APIs

Linux

Tools

NGINX/OpenResty

LuaJIT

Envoy

Istio

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

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 Do

• 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.
• Hands on experience with either Golang or Rust.
• 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.

Bonus Points

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

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.

Compensation Range: €63,750 - €78,750