Staff Product Manager, AI Management

Kong

San Francisco, CA

On-site

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have experience in AI infrastructure and leading cross-functional teams.

Best fit for

Candidates with 7-10 years of experience in technical product management for developer tools or AI infrastructure
— “7-10 years of technical product management experience owning and shipping technical products in developer tools, API platforms, or AI infrastructure.”
Individuals who have led cross-departmental strategy and managed global teams
— “Proven track record driving execution and managing dependencies across globally distributed R&D teams.”
Professionals with a background in agentic AI development and runtime governance
— “Direct experience with agentic AI development, including AI agents, AI gateways, LLM routing, AI observability, prompt management, guardrails, MCP servers, and A2A communications.”

Things to consider

This role may require frequent cross-functional coordination and high-pressure delivery timelines
— “Speed up the clock on high-velocity delivery cadences in close partnership with engineering leads”
The position demands ownership of product outcomes and runtime performance
— “You act as a driver, not a passenger, holding yourself accountable for product outcomes, runtime performance, and customer success.”

How to stand out

Highlight your experience in aligning technical innovation with enterprise governance
— “Bridge high-impact technical innovation with enterprise runtime governance”
Demonstrate your ability to manage technical debt while delivering new features
— “Own the full lifecycle of your product modules by writing precise specs, prioritizing backlogs, and balancing new feature delivery against technical debt”
Showcase your ability to write clear product specs and manage cross-functional roadmaps
— “Own the full lifecycle of your product modules by writing precise specs, prioritizing backlogs, and balancing new feature delivery against technical debt and platform dependencies.”
Demonstrate your ability to surface blockers and keep roadmaps on schedule
— “Deep project management instincts to track work, surface blockers early, and keep cross-functional roadmaps on schedule.”

Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

architecting product vision
executing product roadmap
driving cross-product work
supporting regional field activities

Typical background

technical product managementAPI platformsAI infrastructure

Skills & requirements

Required

Technical Product ManagementProduct VisionRoadmap ExecutionCross-departmental StrategyProduct Lifecycle ManagementHigh-velocity DeliveryCustomer EngagementSales Enablement

Preferred

Agentic AI DevelopmentEnterprise Platform EngineeringKubernetesCloud-native ArchitecturesControl PlanesData Planes

Stack & domain

Product ManagementTechnical Product ManagementAPI PlatformsAI InfrastructureAgentic AILLM RoutingContext ManagementDeveloper Platform ExperienceProduct VisionRoadmap DevelopmentBacklog PrioritizationCross-product WorkData Plane And Control Plane IntegrationHigh-velocity DeliveryCustomer-facing EngagementsSales EnablementTechnical StrategyProject ManagementModel Context ProtocolRequest RoutingData Plane ArchitecturesTransport Trade-offsEnterprise Platform EngineeringKubernetesCloud-native ArchitecturesControl PlanesData PlanesCommunicationCollaborationProblem-solvingTeamworkTime ManagementAdaptabilityLeadershipAI ConnectivityAPI ManagementAI ObservabilityPrompt ManagementGuardrailsMCP ServersA2A Communications

About the role

Original posting from Kong via Ashby

Are you ready to unlock intelligence?
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.
THE MISSION
At Kong, we are building the future of AI connectivity, empowering developers to connect, secure, govern, and scale their AI applications with speed and intelligence. As a Staff Product Manager for AI Management, you will own the product direction for our fastest-growing agentic AI portfolio—including our flagship AI Gateway—serving as a critical strategic lever in the Agentic Era. You will bridge high-impact technical innovation with enterprise runtime governance, context management, and developer platform experience to turn APIs and AI connectivity into an organizational innovation factory.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Architect and execute the product vision and roadmap for AI Management modules, driving core capabilities around agentic harnesses, LLM routing, policies, context, guardrails, and evaluation.
Lead cross-departmental strategy as a multiplier across engineering, design, product marketing, and executive leadership to align shared roadmaps without operational friction.
Own the full lifecycle of your product modules by writing precise specs, prioritizing backlogs, and balancing new feature delivery against technical debt and platform dependencies.
Drive cross-product work connecting AI Management to Kong’s core platform infrastructure, enabling seamless data plane and control plane integration.
Speed up the clock on high-velocity delivery cadences in close partnership with engineering leads to scope work, navigate trade-offs, and accelerate time to market.
Support regional field activities, customer-facing technical engagements, and sales enablement to validate product-market fit and ensure developer delight.
WHAT YOU’LL BRING
7-10 years of technical product management experience owning and shipping technical products in developer tools, API platforms, or AI infrastructure.
Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical challenges—such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, request routing, data plane architectures, and transport trade-offs—into actionable product requirements.
Proven track record driving execution and managing dependencies across globally distributed R&D teams.
Strong written and verbal communication skills to articulate technical strategy across multiple functions and seniority levels.
Deep project management instincts to track work, surface blockers early, and keep cross-functional roadmaps on schedule.
THE KONG DNA
Ownership: You act as a driver, not a passenger, holding yourself accountable for product outcomes, runtime performance, and customer success.
Urgency: You model speed and efficiency in everything you do, navigating the fast-paced pre-IPO landscape with grit and focus.
Collaboration: You lead like an API by working cross-functionally, breaking down silos, and building alignment across global teams.
BONUS POINTS
Direct experience with agentic AI development, including AI agents, AI gateways, LLM routing, AI observability, prompt management, guardrails, MCP servers, and A2A communications.
Familiarity with enterprise platform engineering, Kubernetes, cloud-native architectures, control planes, and data planes.
#LI-MP1
About Kong:
Kong Inc., the AI Connectivity Company, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com http://www.konghq.com.

Source: Kong careers (Ashby)