---
title: 'Senior Security Engineer (Security Champion), Runtimes at Kong'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-security-engineer-security-champion-runtimes-kong-milan-90tx92k89y38'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Senior Security Engineer (Security Champion), Runtimes at Kong

- **Company:** [Kong](https://feeny.ai/companies/kong)
- **Location:** Milan, Italy
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-10-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kong/8fb34850-c2c7-48fe-9f95-b8e114977ddc

## Job description

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:

At Kong, our API and AI Gateway sits at the center of how Fortune 500 enterprises and AI-native startups secure and govern the flow of intelligence. Every request into a company's infrastructure goes through the Gateway first. Security isn't a side concern here, it's the top priority: you're guarding the front door. You'll be securing AI traffic while the playbook is still being written: prompt injection, agentic authorization, MCP. These are problems nobody has fully solved yet. We're looking for a Software Engineer with a security specialization to join our Runtimes team as a Security Champion: an engineer who writes real code and makes security a built-in part of how we ship.

What You'll Do:

- Run security-focused code audits, threat modeling, and secure design reviews across our AI Gateway and API Gateway capabilities
- Own vulnerability management end-to-end: triage, reproduction, remediation, verification
- Partner with AI Gateway engineering on emerging AI/LLM threat patterns (ie: prompt injection, data leakage, model abuse)
- Coach engineers on secure coding practices, turning security findings into lasting team habits
- Contribute hands-on to Gateway feature work, with security built-in from day one

What You'll Bring:

- 3+ years building production software, with 2+ years in a dedicated security role (AppSec, vulnerability research, or pentesting);
- Solid coding skills in a object oriented language (Rust, Java, Python, Go, or similar);
- Practical threat-modeling experience;
- Working knowledge of cybersecurity (especially L7 security and authentication);
- Basic knowledge of AI attack vectors.

Nice-to-have:

- Familiarity with L7 proxies/API gateway architecture (Nginx, OpenResty, Envoy, HAProxy or Kong);
- Experience with Lua;
- Open-source contributions;
- Willingness to learn Rust is important for where our platform is heading: we'll help you get there.

What we offer:

- A permanent contract under the CCNL Commercio (Quadro)
- Bonus and welfare system
- Hybrid work from our Milan Hub at Talent Garden Isola, and a seat at the table where security decisions actually shape what millions of API calls run through every day.

## #LI-EA1

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).

## About Kong

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kong provides a unified API and AI platform that connects, secures, and manages APIs, events, and AI agents for modern architectures.
- **Entity Type**: Private – Series E, post‑money valuation $2B (2023)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2017 (company formalized; roots as Mashape go back to 2009)
- **Founders**: Augusto “Aghi” Marietti (CEO) and Marco Palladino (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: API management, AI connectivity, cloud infrastructure
- **Target customers**: B2B – enterprises, platform engineering teams, developers, and product managers building API‑driven or AI‑agent applications
- **Mission / Purpose**: To be the AI connectivity company – enabling organizations to connect, govern, and monetize APIs, events, and AI workloads at scale.

## Products & Services
- **[Kong Konnect](https://konghq.com/)**: Managed, unified API and AI platform covering the full lifecycle – design, test, publish, govern, monetize – across any cloud or environment. SaaS.
- **[Kong Gateway](https://konghq.com/)**: Open‑source (and enterprise) API gateway, the world’s most adopted, used for traffic management, security, and observability. Open‑source hybrid.
- **[Kong AI Gateway](https://konghq.com/)**: Extension for managing and securing AI traffic – token consumption, cost control, and agent governance. SaaS / add‑on.
- **[Kong Mesh](https://konghq.com/)**: Enterprise service mesh for Kubernetes and VMs (based on Kuma, donated to CNCF). Infrastructure.
- **[Insomnia](https://konghq.com/)**: API design and testing tool (acquired and integrated into the Kong ecosystem). Desktop / CLI.
- **[OpenMeter](https://konghq.com/)**: Usage‑based billing, entitlements, and invoicing for APIs, events, and AI (acquired 2025). SaaS.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: $2 billion (as of late 2023 Series E round) – not publicly traded.
- **Key Metric**: Surpassed **$100M ARR** in late 2023; processes **+1 trillion API/AI requests per day**; **600+ employees** in 25+ countries (LinkedIn reports 738 employees with +23.5% YoY growth).
- **Total Funding**: **$344.1M** across 6 rounds (including Series D $100M at $1.4B, and Series E $175M led by new investors).
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Include large institutional investors; partners include cloud providers and enterprises such as United Airlines (cited as customer). Open‑source community with 182K+ community users.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Most adopted open‑source API gateway** – strong developer mindshare and large community.
- **Unified platform** covering the entire API lifecycle plus AI agent management, reducing fragmentation for enterprises.
- **High‑performance, low‑latency** – proven at hyper‑volume (+1T requests/day), 99.99% availability SLA.
- **Strategic acquisitions** (Kuma, Insomnia, OpenMeter) that plug gaps in service mesh, developer tooling, and usage‑based billing.
- **Strong enterprise DNA** – trusted by global brands for mission‑critical applications.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI connectivity** – building the layer to manage LLM traffic, agent security, token cost, and real‑time data streams.
- **Monetization** – enabling customers to monetize APIs and AI consumption (chargeback, entitlements, pricing).
- **Developer productivity** – accelerating onboarding and reducing costs (claims 15% faster development, 57% operational cost reduction).
- **Global scale** – growing remote workforce and entering new geographic markets (e.g., Italy, ANZ roles posted).

## Why Work Here
- **Remote‑first culture** – 600+ employees across 25+ countries; strong emphasis on global collaboration.
- **Perks & benefits** (from [careers page](https://konghq.com/company/careers)):
  - Stock options for most employees
  - 4‑week paid sabbatical every 5 years
  - Flexible time off
  - Home office stipend
  - Regular “unplug days” (company‑wide long weekends)
  - Virtual events (Donut chats, trivia, fitness challenges)
- **Engineering culture** – values “owners, explorers, real, unstoppable” and encourages individual innovation. Focus on shipping fast and high trust.
- **Growth trajectory** – company is scaling (+23.5% headcount YoY) and is a unicorn with clear product‑market fit in a hot market (AI + API management).
- **Open roles** – 93 open positions across engineering, sales, solutions, customer success, and marketing.

## Sources
1. [konghq.com](https://konghq.com/)
2. [konghq.com/company/careers](https://konghq.com/company/careers)
3. [konghq.com/company/about-us](https://konghq.com/company/about-us)
4. [linkedin.com/company/konghq](https://www.linkedin.com/company/konghq)
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/kong](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kong)

## Other roles at Kong

- [Enterprise Account Executive - Dallas](https://feeny.ai/job/enterprise-account-executive-dallas-kong-texas-z1bzq60fxb5d) — Texas, United States
- [Staff Customer Success Manager, UK](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-customer-success-manager-uk-kong-england-691bvwcphr5p) — England, United Kingdom
- [Field Marketing Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/field-marketing-manager-kong-delhi-h87z1spmms2m) — Delhi, India
- [Director, Performance Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/director-performance-marketing-kong-san-francisco-fms6npjwrsg4) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior PLG Digital Growth Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-plg-digital-growth-manager-kong-san-francisco-zjsb9t54bfxd) — San Francisco, CA
- [Account Development Representative (Chicago, IL) (Hybrid)](https://feeny.ai/job/account-development-representative-chicago-il-hybrid-kong-illinois-ttpjmh5kh58z) — Illinois, United States
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-kong-bengaluru-8qy1dbn4hz9a) — Bengaluru, India
- [Staff Product Manager, AI Management](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-product-manager-ai-management-kong-san-francisco-bd3txyv6f7nk) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Technical Writer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-writer-kong-milan-cw41mjv5gt3b) — Milan, Italy
- [Senior Technical Writer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-writer-kong-poland-kcw2tps9gjhv) — Poland