Staff Solutions Engineer - AI Specialist

Kong • San Francisco, CA

2d • $222,000 - $250,000

About The Position

Kong is seeking a Staff Solutions Engineer specializing in AI to advise customers on architecting secure, scalable API ecosystems and adopting AI connectivity. The role supports field sales by demonstrating the value of Kong’s API and AI connectivity platform, translating customer requirements into solutions, and guiding customers from initial product reviews through production. The engineer owns technical validation and stakeholder alignment for proofs of concept, supports customer satisfaction across assigned accounts, and collaborates with support, product, and engineering teams to represent customer needs.

The role leads API management and AI governance evaluations, including defining API and AI use cases, LLM traffic management, and governance requirements. It delivers demonstrations of API and AI governance and agentic connectivity capabilities, including MCP governance, semantic caching, prompt guardrails, and shadow AI detection, and runs technical feasibility workshops for modern and AI/agentic architectures. The Staff Solutions Engineer owns technical strategy for complex enterprise deals, mentors junior solutions engineers, contributes thought leadership through written and public speaking engagements, and provides actionable customer and market feedback to influence product direction. Additional tasks may be assigned by the manager.

Requirements

• 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 involving multiple technical and executive stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring or coaching other solutions engineers 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 such as OAuth2, OIDC, and mTLS.
• Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tooling such as 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 Model Context Protocol (MCP) and agentic AI patterns.
• Solid understanding of cloud computing trends and open source business models.
• Strong listening and communication skills, including the ability to 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 explaining the value of Kong’s API and AI connectivity platform.
• Conduct customer discovery and map requirements to Kong solutions, from initial product reviews through production.
• Support proofs of concept throughout the evaluation process, owning technical validation and stakeholder alignment.
• Ensure customer satisfaction across assigned 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 API and AI use cases, LLM traffic management, and governance requirements.
• Demonstrate Kong’s API and AI governance and agentic connectivity capabilities, including MCP governance, semantic caching, prompt guardrails, and shadow AI detection.
• Run API- and AI-focused Technical Feasibility Workshops to validate Kong’s fit for modern and AI/agentic architectures.
• Own technical strategy for complex, multi-stakeholder enterprise deals from qualification through close.
• Mentor and coach junior solutions engineers on technical skills, discovery methods, and deal strategy.
• Author technical blogs, host webinars, and speak at industry events and conferences.
• Synthesize customer feedback and market signals into actionable input for the product team.
• Perform additional tasks as required by the manager.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed