Staff Solutions Engineer
Kong · Hybrid · England, UK
Posted today
New Business + Account Growth: you win new customers and grow existing ones.
- Base
- Not disclosed
- OTE
- Not disclosed
- Posted
- Today
Still open · checked 3h agoon Kong's careers page
The job
- What you'd do
- Help sales reps win new and existing customers in the UK by running demos and trial projects that show how the software works. You'll also write blog posts and host webinars to bring in leads.
- What you'd sell
Helps companies secure and manage how their apps connect
When apps need to reach other software, there are many connections to set up and watch. The problem is, one unguarded connection can let hackers in or let errors slip by. Kong sits at the front of those connections and decides who gets through, so the software stays safe and running.
In plain English, from their own job posts. Something wrong? Tell me · More Developer & IT tools companies →
- Who you'd sell to
- Product managers, engineers and C- or Director-level executivesIn their words: “Confident ability to present and lead discussions with C or Director level executives as well as Product Managers and Engineers.”
- Where deals come from
- Mostly handed to you: inbound leads or a set list of customers.
The Braun Read
Worth a lookSolid on the basics. Use the first call to fill in the gaps.
- Pay
- No pay listed at all.
- Transparency
- Shares 1 of 5. Mentions territory. Ask about quota, attainment, deal size and sales cycle.
- Time on market
- Brand new.
- Company hiring
- Ramping up: posted 11 sales roles in the last 30 days.
Red lights
- Pay. No pay listed at all.
Green lights
- Gets leads from SDRs. You won't be building all of your own pipeline from zero.
Based only on what the posting says. Lights are a starting point for your first call, not a final judgment.
Questions to ask on the first call
Built from what this posting leaves out. How they answer tells you as much as what they say.
- 1.
What percentage of fully ramped reps hit quota last year?
OTE is what you could earn. This is how likely you are to earn it.
- 2.
What are the base and the OTE for this role?
No point investing hours before you know the number.
- 3.
What's the annual quota, and how was it set?
A quota built from real data is a target. Otherwise it's a hope.
- 4.
How long is ramp, and what's the quota during it?
Full quota on day one means you start behind.
- 5.
What's a typical deal size and sales cycle?
Together they tell you how many deals it takes to hit your number.
Got an offer from Kong? Not sure about it?Ask me. I read every message myself. · JoshAsk Josh
Rather talk it through? Call or text me: 954-695-0844 (text)
Full posting
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.
About the Role:
As part of our Sales organisation, Kong's Solution Engineers play an instrumental role in our continued growth and success as they align with our Account Executive team and lead the technical sale cycle with both new and existing customers. This is a position supporting Commercial accounts within the UK region. If you are someone who is motivated by the opportunity to drive new business while learning and evangelising our cutting-edge technology, we want to speak to you!
What You'll Do:
- Support field sales in helping customers understand the value of the Kong API Management & Connectivity solutions.
- Grow trusted client relationships throughout the entire sales lifecycle from initial discovery/ requirement gathering, to product reviews/ demos, and into production.
- Support PoCs throughout the entire evaluation process.
- Onboard and train new customers and establish revenue potential with existing customers.
- Coordinate with support, product, and engineering teams to prioritize customer needs and ensure 100% satisfaction across assigned set of accounts.
- Create technical documentation for DevOps, implementations, and services engagements.
- Participate in creative lead generating activities such as creating blog posts, leading webinars, working industry events, etc.
- And any additional tasks required by manager.
What You'll Bring:
- 7+ years of pre-sales Solution Engineering or relevant experience at a SaaS, Open-source or Enterprise Software company.
- Experience working with Open-source technology.
- Foundational knowledge/ understanding of API Management & Integration, Cloud computing trends, Open-source business models.
- Confident ability to present and lead discussions with C or Director level executives as well as Product Managers and Engineers.
- Enthusiasm for working in a high profile, fast-paced startup culture.
Bonus Points:
- Previous experience with API Gateway or Service Mesh is preferred.
- Experience with Docker or Kubernetes.
- Strong knowledge of NGINX, HTTP, AWS, Postgres, and/ or Cassandra.
- Fluency working on Linux OSes.
- Familiarity with DevOps and CD/CI pipeline.
- Any knowledge on DCOS/Mesos and Docker Swarm is a plus.
#LI-TR1
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.