Sr. Staff Event Gateway Product Manager

Sr. Staff Event Gateway Product Manager 
Europe (UK and Mainland) or US remote - Eligible for work authorization sponsorship
Kong is building the future of API management for developers, empowering organizations to connect their services and systems with speed, security, and reliability. As a fast-growing and well-funded company, we take pride in our happy customers, motivated employees, and innovative products that shape the API landscape.As a Senior Staff Product Manager for Kong’s Event Native Gateway, you will lead the charge in a highly strategic product area, driving the development of cutting-edge event-based API management capabilities. You will collaborate closely with a talented and focused engineering team while maintaining 360-degree ownership of the product, engaging with engineering, field teams, other product managers, and customers to deliver value. At Kong, your contributions will have an outsized impact, as our small and agile environment amplifies the influence of every team member.

What you’ll do:

• Define and Drive Product Vision: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineering, design, and field teams, to establish and execute a clear vision for Kong’s Event Gateway, ensuring alignment with customer needs and long-term production plans.
• Lead Execution: Partner with engineering and design leaders to scope, define, and deliver capabilities for the product’s releases that bring customer value and support the promotion of Kong Event Gateway as a major feature. 
• Customer-Focused Planning: Develop a deep understanding of customer needs and use cases, supported by solid data and evidence. Translate this understanding into artifacts outlining target use cases, milestone plans, and timelines to guide the product roadmap.
• Ensure Cross-Functional Alignment: Work closely with engineering, design, and marketing teams to align on use case execution, milestone delivery, and launch plans. Foster collaboration and ensure clarity in planning and execution across all relevant stakeholders.
• Develop Roadmaps and Plans: Create and maintain a comprehensive external-facing roadmap and related materials that clearly communicate the product direction and milestones. Collaborate with Product Marketing Management (PMM) to develop and execute a clear launch plan, ensuring all deliverables are approved and on track.
• Champion Communication and Transparency: Serve as the central point of communication, keeping internal and external stakeholders informed on progress, milestones, and expectations. Build strong relationships with field teams to ensure project updates and outcomes are effectively communicated.

What you’ll bring:

• Experience: 6+ years in product management, working with technical products and end-users.
• Deep understanding of customer needs, onboarding, and product adoption.
• Strong grasp of API and Kafka eventing space, with strategic insights shaped by customer, field, and engineering feedback.
• Proficient in writing requirements, collaborating with engineers, and communicating technical concepts (Kafka, event-driven architectures).
• Effectively engaging with stakeholders, identifying core pain points, and articulating a clear product vision.
• Execution-Driven

Kong has different base pay ranges for different work locations within the United States, which allows us to pay employees competitively and consistently in different geographic markets. Compensation varies depending on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to specific candidate location, role, skill set and level of experience. Certain roles are eligible for additional rewards including sales incentives depending on the terms of the applicable plan and role. Benefits may vary depending on location. US based employees are typically offered access to healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan, short and long term disability benefits, basic life and AD&D insurance, among others. The typical base pay range for this role in the US is $177,030 - $243,393.
About Kong: 
Kong is THE cloud native API platform with the fastest, most adopted API gateway in the world (over 300m downloads!). Loved by developers and trusted with enterprises’ most critical traffic volumes, Kong helps startups and Fortune 500 companies build with confidence – allowing them to bring solutions to market faster with API and service connectivity that scales easily and securely. 
83% of web traffic today is API calls!  APIs are the connective tissue of the cloud and the underlying technology that allows software to talk and interact with one another.  Therefore, we believe that APIs act as the nervous system of the cloud.  Our audacious mission is to build the nervous system that will safely and reliably connec