Enterprise Account Executive - Growth (SFO)

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. Why Kong? Every enterprise building microservices, cloud-native architectures, and generative AI workloads runs on APIs. Kong is the cloud-native API and AI connectivity company, trusted by Fortune 500s and millions of developers worldwide. If you sell infrastructure, dev tools, or data platforms, you know what developer mindshare is worth. At Kong, you aren’t evangelizing unproven tech from scratch. You’re monetizing an existing open-source groundswell and partnering with enterprise architecture, security, and engineering leaders to power mission-critical API traffic. What makes this role high-leverage: • A proven land-and-expand engine: Convert open-source and developer adoption into strategic, multi-year enterprise platform commitments (Kong Konnect, AI Gateway, Service Mesh). • High-impact deals: Run complex, multi-threaded enterprise cycles (100k–1M+ ACV) across CTO, VP of Platform/Architecture, and CISO personas. • Modern AI and cloud relevance: Put Kong at the center of the enterprise stack, securing, managing, and routing LLM traffic alongside traditional microservices. • True cross-functional support: Backed by world-class Solutions Engineers, dedicated SDRs, Customer Success, and an active developer community. • Full-cycle ownership: Your territory, your pipeline, your deals. You run everything from first outreach through negotiation to close. • A voice in the product: What you hear from customers goes straight to product and marketing, and it shapes what we build and how we take it to market. • Visibility: Represent Kong at industry events, conferences, and customer meetings. What You'll Bring: • Enterprise software track record: 5+ years of full-cycle closing with mid-market and enterprise logos (>1,000 employees), and consistent quota overachievement. • Ecosystem literacy: Direct experience in modern B2B SaaS or infrastructure, ideally across commercial open source (COSS), developer platforms, cloud/networking, APIs, Kubernetes, or observability. • Multi-persona discovery: You can work bottoms-up with technical champions (engineers, architects) and top-down with executive economic buyers (CTO, VP Eng, CISO). • Strategic territory ownership: A disciplined MEDDPICC or Command of the Message approach to pipeline generation, accurate forecasting, and deal execution. • Consultative selling: You find the customer’s actual problem, tie the solution to a business outcome, and tailor every demo to match. • Negotiation under pressure: You’re comfortable in high-stakes conversations and build relationships that last past the signature. • Account planning and CRM discipline: You research accounts and industry trends before you call, and you keep Salesforce (or similar) current enough to forecast from. • Builder mindset: You thrive in a fast-moving, early-stage environment, take ownership of your territory, and adjust when the market shifts. Why top sellers join us: • Clear category winner: Gartner Leader with top-tier adoption metrics and continuous product momentum. • Uncapped upside: Highly competitive base/variable structure, accelerators, and equity. • Culture of execution: Autonomous, fast-moving, and low on bureaucracy. Built for builders and closers. LI-MM2 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. Compensation: $260K - $320K