Staff Solutions Engineer - West

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

Are you ready to unlock intelligence?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:

Are you ready to sit at the epicenter of the API and AI connectivity revolution? As a Staff Solutions Engineer at Kong, you won't just be selling a platform - you'll be a trusted technical advisor helping the world’s most innovative enterprises architect secure, scalable API ecosystems while navigating the transition into the agentic AI era. Kong sits at the intersection of API management and AI connectivity, and you'll be the person who makes that story real for customers.

What You’ll Do:

• 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 product reviews through to production.
• Support POCs throughout the entire 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 Goverance evaluations, including scoping API/AI use cases, LLM traffic management, and governance requirements.
• Deliver demonstrations of Kong’s API & AI governance and agentic connectivity capabilities, including Model Context Protocol (MCP) governance, semantic caching, prompt guardrails, and shadow AI detection.
• Run API & AI-focused Technical Feasibility Workshops (TFWs) to validate Kong’s fit for modern and/or AI/agentic architectures.
• Own the technical strategy for complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise deals from qualification through close.
• Mentor and coach junior SEs on technical skills, discovery methods, and deal strategy.
• Drive thought leadership by authoring technical blogs, hosting webinars, speaking at industry events and conferences such as AWS re:Invent, Google Next, API & AI summit, and regional events
• Influence product direction by synthesizing customer feedback and market signals into actionable input for the product team.
• And any additional tasks required by manager.

What You’ll Bring:

• 7+ years of software engineering and/or solutions engineering experience at a SaaS, open source, or enterprise software company.
• 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 is required.
• Working knowledge of AI/LLM architectures, including model routing, rate limiting, semantic caching, and prompt governance.
• Familiarity with Model Context Protocol (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.

#LI-MP1About 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. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.