Talent Development & Engagement Specialist

Are you ready to power the World's connections?

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:

Kong is seeking a Talent Development & Engagement Specialist that will play a critical role in driving the professional growth and development of our employees. You will be responsible for designing, delivering, and evaluating training programs that enhance the skills, knowledge, and performance of our workforce. Your work will directly contribute to creating a culture of continuous learning and innovation at Kong. This role will partner closely with the HR Business Partners, other members of the People team, and business leaders.

Why should you want to work at Kong?  

Market Opportunity - We are on a quest to build a $10b+ software company over the next few years and need YOUR help!

Why APIs Matter? APIs have been enabling innovation for decades!

Strong VC team, Series D, strong year over year revenue growth!

Technical Leadership - We are recognized as the leader in innovation in the connectivity space.

Marco, our CTO/co-founder - “We are the Cisco of L4 and L7” - CUBE Conversation, March 2021

We are the leading innovator in the connectivity space!

Amazing Team & Culture - Come be a "Konger" and find out what we mean.

Great Place to Work Certified in 2020 & 2021

Kong employees exemplify our culture at our 2022 Sales Kickoff

2022 Forbes Cloud 100 Honoree

Building Great Products - Learn why the world's largest companies love our tech!

Kong Named in the Leaders Quadrant of the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for API Management for the Fourth Consecutive Year

Over 250m+ downloads of our open source API gateway!  Over 40k+ stars on Github between Kong API and Kong Insomnia!

• Field Onboarding Improvement: Partner with the field enablement team to uplevel the Field onboarding experience
• Onboarding Administration: Manage the pre-boarding and onboarding administration
• Administer Engagement & Listening Strategy : Manage the quarterly engagement and pulse surveys and provide targeted training interventions 
• Onboarding Revamp: Manage the corporate onboarding program and improve the program by adding new hire cohorts, AMAs, and workshops on Kong education. In addition, build new hire and manager onboarding Journeys in Workday
• Enhance Leadership Development: Build leadership courses on specific skill gaps identified in the business, i.e. coaching and performance management. 
• Support Talent Management: Support the evaluation of the Talent Management process at Kong by creating role-specific training plans and functional personas

• Partner with the HR business partners to deliver training based on regional and department needs 
• Lead training sessions and workshops, both in-person and virtually
• Utilize and manage learning management systems (LMS) and other digital platforms to deliver and track training initiatives
• Measure and evaluate the effectiveness of training programs through feedback, assessments, and performance metrics
• Partner with HR and leadership teams to ensure alignment of learning initiatives with overall business strategies and goals
• Ensure Kong’s onboarding programs meets the needs of scaling a global workforce

• Support the HR business partners and Senior Director of Talent Development to deliver targeted training for the annual and mid-year performance cycle
• Continue to build out Kong’s job architecture and supporting infrastructure

• Provide education and resources to employees on talent development programs 
• Develop and deliver communication strategies to ensure employees understand Kong values, ways of working, key HR initiatives, and programs

• Create, revamp, and socialize remote-first and hybrid best practices for individuals, teams & leaders
• Build new processes for asynchronous work, tasks, and performance management
• Innovate and redesign conventional work practices

• Develop, distribute, and analyze employee engagement and pulse surveys and other feedback mechanisms to assess the overall engagement levels and identify areas for improvement
• Develop and execute communication plants to keep employees informed and engaged with action areas, company initiatives, values, and goals 
• Use data and analytics to measure the effectiveness of engagement initiatives and make data-driven recommendations for improvement
• Serve as a liaison between employees and management, advocating for employee needs and concerns to ensure they are heard and addressed 

• Championing inclusion and diversity programs

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 $110,000 - 130,000.

What is a Konger? 

We are a group of makers, thinkers, and doers focused on helping today’s developers build tomorrow’s technology. Our teams work on the bleeding edge of API innovation to provide our users with a central nervous system for data and services. 

We put design at the heart of everything we do, and we’re relentlessly focused on creating beautiful experiences for our customers. That’s why technology companies, major banks, e-commerce innovators, and government agencies put Kong in front of their most important web applications. 

We believe in the power of Open Source and everything it stands for. That’s why developers around the world enthusiastically contribute on top of our open-source platform. 

We are passionate about solving challenges that will fundamentally shape the future of technology, and we’re looking for the right people to join us on our mission. If you believe in taking ownership of your work, making an impact, and having fun along the way, we would love to talk to you.

Kong Core Values: 

We are CUSTOMER CHAMPIONS. Customers are everything, we put them at the center of everything we do. We are all empowered to make an impact.

We are OWNERS. We are drivers, not passengers and own the quality and outcomes of our work.

We are UNSTOPPABLE. We work with purpose, obsession, and grit. It takes muscle to do hard things and doing hard things builds muscle.

We are REAL. We are genuine, principled, and confident without arrogance. Show respect and kindness, especially in tough moments.

We Are ACCELERATORS. We prioritize speed, iteration, and results.

We are GLOBAL. We work together from anywhere to achieve our common goals. Our differences make us stronger.

We are EXPLORERS. We value ideas over hierarchy. Never accept the status quo. We make bold bets, fail, and learn everyday. There is always a way.

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 connect all of humankind!  

For more information about Kong, please visit konghq.com or follow @thekonginc on Twitter.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.