Staff Solutions Engineer – API & AI Connectivity

konghq.com; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong Inc. is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer to be at the epicenter of the API and AI connectivity revolution in the United States.

You will serve as a trusted technical advisor, guiding large enterprises through secure, scalable API ecosystems while navigating the agentic AI era. You will support field sales, lead POCs, validate technical feasibility, and own multi-stakeholder deals from qualification to close.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software engineering or solutions engineering in SaaS/open source/enterprise software.
• 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.
• Working knowledge of AI/LLM architectures, including model routing, rate limiting, semantic caching, and prompt governance.
• Familiarity with 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.

Responsibilities

• 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 reviews through production.
• Support POCs throughout the 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 Governance evaluations, including scoping use cases and governance requirements.
• Deliver demonstrations of Kong’s API & AI governance and agentic connectivity capabilities.
• Run API & AI-focused Technical Feasibility Workshops to validate Kong’s fit for modern architectures.
• Own the technical strategy for complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise deals from qualification through close.
• Mentor and coach junior SEs on technical skills and deal strategy.
• Drive thought leadership by authoring technical blogs, hosting webinars, and speaking at industry events.
• Influence product direction by synthesizing customer feedback into input for the product team.
• And any additional tasks required by manager.

Skills

Enterprise deals

Stakeholder management

Mentoring SEs

Technical storytelling

REST & GraphQL APIs

CI/CD

Cloud-native platforms

AI tooling

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Agentic AI patterns

Communication

Leadership

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenAPI

Cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Security patterns (OAuth2, OIDC, mTLS)

GitHub Copilot

Claude Code

OpenAI Codex

Semantic caching

Job description

Kong Inc. is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer to be at the epicenter of the API and AI connectivity revolution in the United States.

You will serve as a trusted technical advisor, guiding large enterprises through secure, scalable API ecosystems while navigating the agentic AI era. You will support field sales, lead POCs, validate technical feasibility, and own multi-stakeholder deals from qualification to close.