Senior Director of Product, Kong
AI Middleware
$232.3-280.7k
Offers Equity + Offers Bonus
Microservice API gateway
Job no longer available
Microservice API gateway
501-1000 employees
Job no longer available
$232.3-280.7k
Offers Equity + Offers Bonus
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To build the nervous system that will safely and reliably connect all of humankind!
Role
Who you are
- Experience: 12+ years in product management, including experience managing teams and owning multi-product portfolios in infrastructure, developer platforms, or AI/ML systems
- Leadership: Proven ability to hire, mentor, and grow product managers and lead cross-functional execution in complex environments
- Technical Depth: Strong understanding of APIs, middleware, and distributed systems. Familiarity with AI infrastructure, LLMs, or orchestration frameworks (e.g., MCP, RAG pipelines, function calling)
- Enterprise GTM Acumen: Experience scaling enterprise products, driving pricing and packaging strategy, and working closely with field teams on adoption and expansion
- Strategic Clarity and Communication: Excellent storyteller able to connect product strategy with company vision, influence executives, and represent Kong externally
- Bias for Impact: Comfortable operating in emerging markets with high ambiguity, balancing technical rigor with rapid execution
What the job involves
- As Senior Director of Product for AI Middleware, you will lead Kong’s portfolio of products that form the foundation of AI connectivity across enterprises — including Kong AI Gateway, AI Manager, and the emerging MCP-based agentic infrastructure
- These products define how organizations securely integrate, orchestrate, and govern AI workloads and agentic applications at scale
- This role combines strategic leadership, hands-on product direction, and people management
- You will build and lead a small team of product managers while working closely with engineering, design, and field leaders
- You’ll partner directly with Kong’s CTO and co-founder to shape the company’s long-term vision for AI infrastructure and ensure that Kong remains the market leader in this fast-evolving space
- You’ll operate at the intersection of infrastructure, AI, and developer experience, guiding the strategy and execution of a portfolio that’s central to Kong’s growth and differentiation
- Define and Evolve the AI Middleware Vision:
- Lead the multi-product strategy spanning AI Gateway, AI Manager, and AI-based integration tools. Establish Kong’s leadership position in AI connectivity, governance, and agentic orchestration
- Build and Lead a High-Performing Team:
- Manage and mentor a team of product managers and collaborate with design and engineering leads. Foster an environment of clarity, ownership, and innovation aligned with Kong’s culture and product principles
- Drive Portfolio Execution and Integration:
- Ensure seamless alignment and interoperability across Kong’s runtimes (Gateway, Event Gateway, Mesh) and AI products. Balance short-term delivery with long-term architectural differentiation
- Accelerate Customer Adoption:
- Work with key enterprise customers and design partners to validate use cases and shape product-market fit across AI governance, cost optimization, and orchestration capabilities
- Shape the Enterprise GTM and Product Narrative:
- Partner with Marketing, Sales, and Enablement to position Kong’s AI Middleware products as the definitive infrastructure layer for enterprise AI adoption. Craft messaging that connects technical depth with business value
- Ensure Cross-Functional Alignment and Accountability:
- Lead roadmap and strategy reviews with the executive team. Maintain clear communication on priorities, metrics, and risks. Translate complex technical concepts into actionable business decisions
Our take
Kong provides a cutting-edge API and service lifecycle management platform tailored for modern architectures, such as microservices, containers, cloud, and serverless environments. With a focus on flexibility, scalability, speed, and performance, Kong allows developers and Global 5000 enterprises to securely connect and orchestrate microservice APIs for today's sophisticated applications.
The core products offered by Kong include Kong, an open-source API and Microservices management solution Galileo, a platform for API analytics and debugging; Gelato, a platform for creating developed portals for PIs and Microservices; and API Marketplace, a hub for discovering and publishing cloud APIs. Additionally, the recent introduction of a new collection of AI plug-ins in Kong Gateway 3.6 enhances the platform's capabilities further, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and advancement.
In pursuit of growth, the company is prioritizing expanding its marketing efforts, bolstering its customer service team, and accelerating product development. By focusing on these key areas, Kong aims to continue providing unparalleled solutions and support to its ever-expanding user base in the rapidly evolving landscape of modern application development.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Nov 2024
$175m
SERIES E
Feb 2021
$100m
SERIES D
Total funding: $344.1m
Company benefits
- Flexible time off: Take time to take care of yourself and the things that matter most
- Stock options: We want you to share in our success. That's why stock options are offered to most Kongers
- U-First Fridays: Get 4 hours a month for continuous learning with a book, podcast, or course of your choice
- Virtual events: Stay connected with Donut chats, trivia, fitness challenges, guided meditations, and more
- Dedicated unplug days: Silence those notifications. Enjoy some well-deserved long weekend where the entire team unplugs
- Home office stipend: Build a home office environment tailored to support your productivity
Company HQ
The East Cut, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Augusto Marietti
(CEO)Previously founded Mashape API Marketplace. Before Mashape, Augusto was an SF homeless immigrant from Italy.
Janet Phillips
(Vice President of People)Previously Director at SonicWALL for 5 years and Senior Director at Symantec for 7 years.
Marco Palladino
(CTO)Previously co-founded MemboxX, an online service for storing documents and small pieces of personal data.
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