Staff Software Engineer, Security Engineering

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

In the Runtime Organization at Kong we build an array of Data Planes that are the key ingredients for our API platform for platform builders: Kong Gateway, Kong AI Gateway, Kong Mesh, Kong Event Gateway.

We are looking for a driven Staff Engineer who specialises in security domains to oversee security across our portfolio of Data Plane products, working with different engineering teams to harden our code and infrastructure.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role that demands a blend of profound technical expertise and exceptional communication.

What You'll Do:

• Act as a liaison between the Kong Runtime engineering teams and the security org to develop innovative requirements for the security roadmap.
• Evangelize security best practices across the Kong Runtime engineering org.
• Research, design, implement and own security oriented frameworks and features with the common goal of hardening Kong’s dataplane and protecting Kong’s customers.
• Routinely provide security engineering designs and code reviews for sensitive paths.
• Break down complex problems into sub-tasks while prototyping rapidly and iteratively contributing to security initiatives using agile practices.
• Coach and mentor Kong Runtime engineers on security best practices.

What You'll Bring:

• 8+ years working in and leading teams to develop, deliver, and maintain complex software solutions, with a focus on security.
• Expertise in Golang or Rust.
• Expertise in security at all levels of the TCP/IP stack.
• Strong understanding of concepts such as Test-Driven development, Secure SDLC, Secure code reviews and the ability to identify and mitigate threat vectors and vulnerabilities in code and infrastructure.
• Good understanding and experience in using cloud service providers such as AWS and GCP.
• Developing and maintaining technical documentation such as cookbooks, design and architecture docs.
• Ability to meticulously analyze complex technical environments, accurately identify risks, and design practical, scalable, and effective security solutions.
• Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex security needs and translate them into clear processes and requirements for different engineering teams.

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 or follow us on X @thekonginc.