Staff Software Engineer, AI Gateway - Shanghai

📋 Description

• • Are you a seasoned software engineer with a passion for building foundational infrastructure that powers global connections and the burgeoning AI landscape? Kong Inc. is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, AI Gateway to join our dynamic team in Shanghai. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to an open-source project with a massive global adoption, working on core features that define the future of API and AI connectivity.
• • As a Staff Software Engineer on our Core Team, you will be instrumental in designing, building, and maintaining our cutting-edge API management software and its intricate underlying stack. Your work will directly impact how developers and architects worldwide leverage Kong in production environments, tackling a wide array of complex use-cases.
• • You will architect, design, and implement innovative new features that push the boundaries of what's possible. This includes enhancing our proxying capabilities, refining load balancing mechanisms, and expanding our database support to meet the evolving demands of the industry. Your contributions will be crucial in extending Kong's offering and solidifying its position as a leader in API and AI gateway technology.
• • A significant part of your role will involve deep-dive troubleshooting of bugs, meticulous performance tuning, and executing low-level optimizations. You will engage directly with our vibrant open-source community, incorporating their feedback and contributions to extend Kong's core functionalities and ensure it remains at the forefront of industry trends.
• • You will also play a key role in bridging the gaps between Kong and various third-party deployment platforms and tooling. This involves developing integrations and solutions that ensure seamless interoperability and enhance the overall user experience for our diverse customer base.
• • This position offers the chance to work on highly scalable, distributed, reliable, and resilient applications. You will be expected to possess and apply solid, hands-on low-level technical expertise in Linux systems troubleshooting and profiling, ensuring the robustness and efficiency of our platform.
• • Your responsibilities will extend to working with distributed systems, the Linux networking stack, and computer systems programming. Given that Kong operates with APIs on both L7 and L4 transports and protocols, a deep understanding and practical experience in these areas are essential for success in this role.
• • We foster a collaborative environment where engineers are empowered to take ownership of their work. You will be expected to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, as engineers at Kong are responsible for documenting the products they build. This ensures knowledge sharing and maintains the high quality of our technical documentation.
• • Furthermore, this role presents an exciting opportunity to delve into the world of Artificial Intelligence. You will gain familiarity with AI LLM concepts and contribute to application development within this rapidly advancing field, helping to shape the future of AI connectivity.
• • We are looking for individuals who are comfortable working with a remotely distributed team, demonstrating adaptability and strong collaboration skills across different geographies and time zones.
• • If you are driven by a strong sense of ownership, possess a deep technical acumen, and are eager to make a significant impact on a globally recognized open-source project, we encourage you to apply. Join us in building the infrastructure that powers the agentic era and unlocks the full potential of AI and API connectivity.