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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:
We are seeking an experienced and mission-driven Federal Account Executive to join our growing U.S. Public Sector team. In this role, you will be a key driver of Kong’s Federal growth strategy — responsible for landing new agencies, expanding existing relationships, and helping government customers securely modernize their mission systems with Kong’s API and AI Gateway solutions.
This position is ideal for a sales professional with deep experience in the U.S. Federal market who thrives in complex, dynamic environments and understands the unique challenges of the Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community, and Civilian agencies. You will play a critical role in aligning Kong’s technology with Federal digital modernization, Zero Trust, and multi-cloud initiatives.
At Kong, we offer UNCAPPED COMMISSIONS with MASSIVE UPSIDE, competitive benefits, and equity in a company with huge growth potential.
What You’ll Be Doing:
Drive Federal expansion: Develop and execute a Federal go-to-market strategy that targets key DoD, IC, and Civilian agencies to drive new revenue and sustainable account growth.
Own the full sales cycle: Manage all stages of the sales process — from opportunity identification and outreach through capture, negotiation, and close — while consistently meeting or exceeding Federal revenue targets.
Engage with ecosystem partners: Work closely with systems integrators, resellers, and contract vehicle partners to accelerate deal velocity and ensure compliance with Federal acquisition processes.
Build trusted relationships: Establish and maintain strong executive and program-level relationships with mission owners, technical leads, and contracting officers across accounts.
Collaborate internally: Partner with Product, Federal Solutions Engineering, Customer Success, Marketing, and Legal to deliver seamless customer experiences and ensure alignment to mission needs.
Strategic account planning: Research target agencies, identify mission priorities and funding streams, and build comprehensive capture strategies that position Kong as a modernization partner.
Pipeline management: Maintain disciplined pipeline development and forecasting in Salesforce, providing accurate visibility to leadership.
Stay informed on policy and technology: Track Federal IT initiatives to align Kong’s value proposition with agency priorities.
Represent Kong Federal: Act as a brand ambassador at industry and government events to expand awareness and foster new relationships.
What You’ll Bring:
7+ years of enterprise sales experience within the U.S. Federal market (DoD, IC, or Civilian), with a track record of exceeding targets and closing complex, multi-stakeholder software or cloud deals.
Proficiency in Federal acquisition and procurement processes, including experience with IDIQs, GWACs, OTAs, and partner-led contract vehicles.
Strong consultative sales skills, with the ability to understand mission challenges and map Kong’s solutions to deliver measurable outcomes.
Experience selling to senior executives, including CIOs, CTOs, and Program Managers, with an ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments.
Excellent communication and negotiation skills, capable of managing high-value opportunities and fostering long-term customer trust.
Experience working with CRM tools (Salesforce preferred) for pipeline development and forecasting.
Knowledge of open source, API, infrastructure, or cybersecurity technologies is highly advantageous.
Self-starter with a Federal growth mindset, able to operate independently while collaborating across teams to drive success.
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About Kong:
Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, is building the infrastructure that powers the agentic era. Trusted by the Fortune 500 and startups alike, Kong's unified API and AI platform, Kong Konnect, enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI models. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.