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Kong Inc.

Staff Solutions Engineer – AI Specialist

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Remote from
USA
Salary
USD 222k–250k / yr
Department
Sales
Employment
Full Time
Experience
Director
Published
Apply before
27 Nov 2026
Listing views
33
Application actions
3
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AI Summary

The role, at a glance.

Kong is hiring a Staff Solutions Engineer specializing in AI connectivity, API management, and enterprise technical sales. The role partners with field sales to run discovery, demonstrations, technical feasibility workshops, and proofs of concept for complex customer evaluations. It requires strong hands-on knowledge of cloud-native platforms, APIs, API security, CI/CD, LLM architectures, and agentic AI patterns. The successful candidate will own technical deal strategy, mentor other solutions engineers, influence product direction, and represent Kong through technical thought leadership.

Role DNA

A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.

Job Complexity

5/5
EasyHard

Pace & Pressure

5/5
RelaxedFast-paced

Autonomy Level

5/5
GuidedFull ownership

Communication Load

5/5
IndependentCollaborative
AI insightThis is a senior, customer-facing technical role requiring deep expertise across enterprise architecture, APIs, cloud-native systems, security, and emerging AI governance. It also carries strategic deal ownership, executive communication, mentoring, and external thought-leadership responsibilities.

Salary analysis

Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.

Estimated job median (per year)Highly competitive
$236,000
US market range (per year)$190k–$275k
AI insightThe employer discloses an annual base-pay range of $222,000–$250,000 USD, with a midpoint of $236,000. The estimated US market range for a staff-level AI/API solutions engineering role is $190,000–$275,000 annually; total compensation may vary through commission, equity, and other incentives not included in the posted base range.

Core skills

Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.

Solutions EngineeringTechnical SalesAPI ManagementArtificial IntelligenceLLM ArchitectureKubernetesDockerREST APIsGraphQLCI/CDAPI SecurityOAuth 2.0OpenID ConnectModel Context ProtocolEnterprise Architecture
Sample interview questions
How would you structure a technical discovery for an enterprise evaluating an API and AI connectivity platform?

I would identify business goals, priority use cases, current architecture, security constraints, operational requirements, and decision stakeholders. I would then map those findings to measurable technical success criteria and agree on a validation plan for the evaluation.

Describe how you would validate an AI governance use case during a proof of concept.

I would define the supported models, application flows, user roles, data sensitivity, policy requirements, and observability needs. The POC would demonstrate controls such as authentication, rate limiting, prompt guardrails, routing, logging, and governance reporting against agreed success metrics.

What API security patterns would you recommend for exposing services to internal and external consumers?

I would use OAuth 2.0 and OIDC for identity and delegated authorization, mTLS where strong service-to-service authentication is needed, and scoped access policies at the gateway. I would also apply rate limits, schema validation, threat protection, audit logging, and secret-management practices.

How do you manage technical alignment in a complex deal with both engineering and executive stakeholders?

I maintain a shared account plan that separates executive outcomes from technical validation criteria while connecting both to the same business case. I provide concise progress updates, surface risks early, document decisions, and ensure each stakeholder understands the value and next steps.

How would you mentor a junior solutions engineer on a challenging enterprise evaluation?

I would involve them in discovery preparation, allow them to lead defined sections of the workshop or demo, and debrief afterward using specific feedback. I would help them build a repeatable approach for qualification, success criteria, stakeholder mapping, and technical storytelling.

This analysis is generated from the job description. Salary estimates, role characteristics and sample answers are guidance, not employer-provided facts.
Opportunity details

About this role.

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 be doing:

  • 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.

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. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.

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