Are you ready to power the World's connections?
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. We are exploring candidates coming from different backgrounds of varying expertise at either the Senior or Principal level.
A bit about Kong
Kong powers trillions of API transactions for leading organizations globally. With Kong’s end-to-end API platform, developers can connect APIs and microservices easier and faster than ever.
Kong is a well-financed Series D company, backed by some of the world’s most respected VCs, including Index, CRV, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Why this opportunity?
This position offers a fast-paced environment on a tight knit team. Here you will have the opportunity to shape the keystone Kong product, Kong Gateway, with a SaaS-first approach. You will lead the experience for our users while also delving into some of the most technically interesting problems out there.
Who is a good fit?
Kong is looking for a self-motivated product manager who bridges the business, design, and technical worlds. A good fit is a person who can both define vision and drive execution of a software product that is by developers and for developers.
If you thrive in positions with large scope and ownership, derive energy from both quantitative and qualitative research and synthesis, and feel fulfilled when you drive the creation of a product that is used and loved by users, we encourage you to apply.
What is leadership like for this role? What is the structure and culture of the team like?
The hiring manager for this role is Gabriella Angiolillo, Director of Product Management. With over a decade of experience in enterprise SaaS software, she leads the Konnect Platform product team. The Konnect Platform team is made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds who share their ideas, explore the world with curiosity, and desire to work with best-in-class talent to bring products that solve meaningful problems to market.
Why should you want to work at Kong?
Market Opportunity - We are on a quest to build a $10b+ software company over the next few years and need YOUR help!
Why APIs Matter? APIs have been enabling innovation for decades!
Strong VC team, Series D, strong year over year revenue growth!
Technical Leadership - We are recognized as the leader in innovation in the connectivity space.
Marco, our CTO/co-founder - “We are the Cisco of L4 and L7” - CUBE Conversation, March 2021
We are the leading innovator in the connectivity space!
Amazing Team & Culture - Come be a "Konger" and find out what we mean.
Great Place to Work Certified in 2020 & 2021
Kong employees exemplify our culture at our 2022 Sales Kickoff
Building Great Products - Learn why the world's largest companies love our tech!
Kong Named a Leader in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant
Over 250m+ downloads of our open source API gateway! Over 40k+ stars on Github between Kong API and Kong Insomnia!
What You'll Be Doing
- Driving the overall strategy and roadmap for your area, including defining the priorities and tracking the success of the features.
- Establish product requirements based on an intimate knowledge of the specific target customers, the competitive landscape, and key data.
- Define and analyze metrics that inform the success of products. Identify and track key performance metrics.
- Work in a cross-functional and collaborative role spanning multiple teams including product, design, analytics, engineering, sales, and professional services.
- Be a technical, strong and eloquent product advocate that thinks API first.
- Partner closely with design to create an efficient and straightforward user experience that delights users.
- Conduct customer research to inform product prioritization and requirements.
What You'll Bring
- 3 years of Product Management experience, preferably in SaaS or enterprise software.
- Proven ability to:
- Use data and research to inform product decisions.
- Work cross-functionally, particularly with engineering, to drive an initiative through to completion.
- Reach out to customers so as to develop deep empathy with users and design clean experiences that solve their problems in a technically efficient way.
- Synthesize research and document your findings clearly and completely.
- Develop a strategy that guides prioritization in an ambiguous situation.
- Launch products with the field team and answer complex post-sale inquiries.
- Understand how B2B go-to-market motions work.
- High bar of excellence in output and execution.
- Preferred qualifications:
- 1+ years of design or development experience.
- Experience working with API products and developers as a primary product audience.
- Familiarity with the Cloud Native ecosystem and Kubernetes.
Kong has different base pay ranges for different work locations within the United States, which allows us to pay employees competitively and consistently in different geographic markets. Compensation varies depending on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to specific candidate location, role, skill set and level of experience. Certain roles are eligible for additional rewards including sales incentives depending on the terms of the applicable plan and role. Benefits may vary depending on location. US based employees are typically offered access to healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan, short and long term disability benefits, basic life and AD&D insurance, among others. The typical base pay range for this role in the US and is $180,000 USD - 204,000 USD.
What is a Konger?
We are a group of makers, thinkers, and doers focused on helping today’s developers build tomorrow’s technology. Our teams work on the bleeding edge of API innovation to provide our users with a central nervous system for data and services.
We put design at the heart of everything we do, and we’re relentlessly focused on creating beautiful experiences for our customers. That’s why technology companies, major banks, e-commerce innovators, and government agencies put Kong in front of their most important web applications.
We believe in the power of Open Source and everything it stands for. That’s why developers around the world enthusiastically contribute on top of our open-source platform.
We are passionate about solving challenges that will fundamentally shape the future of technology, and we’re looking for the right people to join us on our mission. If you believe in taking ownership of your work, making an impact, and having fun along the way, we would love to talk to you.
Kong Core Values:
Be Inclusive. We work together from anywhere to achieve our common goals. Our differences make us stronger.
Be Authentic. We are genuine, principled and confident without arrogance. Show respect and kindness, especially in tough moments.
Be Relentlessly Resourceful. We work with purpose, obsession and grit. It takes muscle to do hard things and doing hard things build muscle.
Be Customer Obsessed. We care. Customers are everything, we put them at the center of everything you do. We are all empowered to make an impact.
Be Curious. We value ideas over hierarchy. Never accept the status quo. We make bold bets, fail, and learn everyday. There is always a way.
Be an Owner. We are drivers not passengers and own the quality and outcomes of our work.
About Kong:
Kong is THE cloud native API platform with the fastest, most adopted API gateway in the world (over 300m downloads!). Loved by developers and trusted with enterprises’ most critical traffic volumes, Kong helps startups and Fortune 500 companies build with confidence – allowing them to bring solutions to market faster with API and service connectivity that scales easily and securely.
83% of web traffic today is API calls! APIs are the connective tissue of the cloud and the underlying technology that allows software to talk and interact with one another. Therefore, we believe that APIs act as the nervous system of the cloud. Our audacious mission is to build the nervous system that will safely and reliably connect all of humankind!
For more information about Kong, please visit konghq.com or follow @thekonginc on Twitter.
We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.