Staff Solutions Engineer: API & AI Connectivity

Kong; Town of Texas (WI); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Kong is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer to sit at the epicenter of the API and AI connectivity revolution. You will be a trusted technical advisor helping the world's most innovative enterprises secure, scale, govern, and monetize API and AI traffic across models and clouds.

In this role you will own complex multi-stakeholder deals, mentor junior SEs, lead technical discovery and POCs, and craft technical content while influencing product direction.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software/solutions engineering in SaaS, open source, or 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.
• Working knowledge of 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.

Responsibilities

• Support field sales in helping customers understand Kong's API and AI connectivity platform.
• Conduct discovery conversations to map customer requirements to Kong solutions.
• Lead technical feasibility workshops and manage POCs throughout evaluation.
• Own technical strategy for multi-stakeholder enterprise deals from qualification through close.
• Mentor junior SEs on skills, discovery methods, and deal strategy.
• Create technical documentation for DevOps, implementations, and services engagements.
• Deliver demonstrations of Kong's governance and agentic connectivity capabilities.

Skills

Enterprise deals

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

Communication

Leadership

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Cloud-native platforms

REST APIs

GraphQL APIs

CI/CD

API security patterns

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Job description

Kong is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer to sit at the epicenter of the API and AI connectivity revolution. You will be a trusted technical advisor helping the world's most innovative enterprises secure, scale, govern, and monetize API and AI traffic across models and clouds.

In this role you will own complex multi-stakeholder deals, mentor junior SEs, lead technical discovery and POCs, and craft technical content while influencing product direction.