Senior Product Manager (Kubernetes)
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.
About The Role:
Kong is looking for an experienced and self-motivated technical product manager to join our growing global team to be responsible for the core Kubernetes engine at the heart of Kong’s offerings. We are looking for a person who can both define vision and drive execution of a software product that is by developers and for developers. We are targeting a senior level product manager, but can offer flexibility with specific title for the right candidate.
Ideally you are a customer facing technologist who is as comfortable in front of a variety of audiences as you are tinkering at the command line. You have a deep understanding of networking principles and have experience with Kubernetes and/or a demonstrable willingness to learn quickly.
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 roadmap of the popular Kong Kubernetes ingress controller, Kong Kubernetes gateway, Kubernetes operator, helm chart, and other Kubernetes-related offerings for both open source and enterprise use cases
- Collaborating with the Kong Konnect team and driving the vision of how the various Kong kubernetes tools integrate with Kong’s newest SaaS offering (Konnect)
- Working with internal stakeholders, 3rd party partners, the open source Kong community, the enterprise Kong community, and the Kubernetes community on defining what Kong should be in the context of Kubernetes.
- Working closely with product marketing and field teams on enablement, messaging, and go-to-market approaches. This includes evangelizing Kong + Kubernetes to 3rd party analyst firms like Gartner/Forrester.
- Working with our developer advocacy team on engaging and exciting the Kong user base.
- Working alongside the rest of our product management, development, and go-to-market teams to define how features should be licensed (open source, free but not open source, paid, or SaaS-only).
- Helping the rest of the company and our users and customers understand the Kubernetes trajectory and the important work we’re helping drive in the GitOps/APIOps motion.
What You'll Bring
- Background in product management (ideally 3+ years).
- Note: for the right candidate with extensive networking/kubernetes knowledge and customer facing experience (5-7+ years) this could be an opportunity for a first product role
- Experience in the Kubernetes ecosystem - this could include a professional or personal application or potentially self guided learning - curious people are always welcome at Kong!
- Experience working with developers as a primary product audience (ideally: familiarity with either the API gateway space or the networking space).
- Understanding of how B2B go-to-market motions work (ideally experience helping manage products that have both SaaS and on-premise offerings or networking/security B2B experience).
- Experience in open core/open source is preferred: we need to figure out sustainable business practices built on top of open source as a team.
- Excellent communication skills: both written and verbal.
- Flexibility to a changing set of opportunities and fluency in a fast-paced environment.
- A desire to own a critical component in a rapidly growing business with an exciting trajectory
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 is $140,000 - 210,000.
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.