Sr. Director of Product, AI Middleware

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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 Job:

Kong is building the future of API and AI infrastructure, empowering developers to connect, secure, and scale their applications with speed and intelligence. As a fast-growing and well-funded company, we take pride in our innovative products, happy customers, and strong values-driven culture.

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.

What you’ll do:

• 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.

What you’ll bring:

• 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.

About Kong:

Kong Inc., a leading developer of cloud API technologies, is on a mission to enable companies around the world to become “API-first” and securely accelerate AI adoption. Kong helps organizations globally — from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises — unleash developer productivity, build securely, and accelerate time to market. For more information about Kong, please visit www.konghq.com or follow us on X @thekonginc.

Compensation Range: $232.3K - $280.7K