Kong · 5 months ago
Sr. Director of Product, AI Middleware
San Francisco, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$232K/yr - $281K/yr
12+ years expKong is a leading developer of cloud API technologies, focused on enabling companies to adopt AI securely. As the Senior Director of Product for AI Middleware, you will lead the portfolio of products that facilitate AI connectivity, managing a team of product managers and collaborating closely with engineering and design teams to drive product strategy and execution.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Cloud ComputingCloud Data ServicesDeveloper APIsEnterprise SoftwareOpen Source
Responsibilities
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
Qualification
Required
12+ years in product management, including experience managing teams and owning multi-product portfolios in infrastructure, developer platforms, or AI/ML systems
Proven ability to hire, mentor, and grow product managers and lead cross-functional execution in complex environments
Strong understanding of APIs, middleware, and distributed systems
Familiarity with AI infrastructure, LLMs, or orchestration frameworks (e.g., MCP, RAG pipelines, function calling)
Experience scaling enterprise products, driving pricing and packaging strategy, and working closely with field teams on adoption and expansion
Excellent storyteller able to connect product strategy with company vision, influence executives, and represent Kong externally
Comfortable operating in emerging markets with high ambiguity, balancing technical rigor with rapid execution
Company
Kong
Kong is a cloud-native platform that powers API-led connectivity for developer productivity, automating security, and microservices.
501-1000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Kong has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (8)
2024 (6)
2023 (4)
2022 (12)
2021 (6)
2020 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$344.1MKey Investors
Tiger Global ManagementIndex VenturesAndreessen Horowitz
2024-11-19Series E· $175M
2021-02-08Series D· $100M
2019-03-28Series C· $43M
Leadership Team
Augusto Marietti
CEO & President, Co-Founder
Marco Palladino
Co-Founder and CTO
Recent News
New Enterprise Associates
2026-01-05
Company data provided by crunchbase