Manager of Customer Experience

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

You will be be based in Nordics or DACH, working at a hectic and fast paced startup as a Manager of the Customer Experience team. This organization has roles that are responsible for interfacing with our customers across the pre and post-sales lifecycle, and you will be responsible for those teams within your region with direct reporting and P&L responsibility. Our CX teams are looking to lead the way in the industry and shape how companies in our space engage with customers for the next 20 years.

As a leader on the team you will act as a trusted partner and sponsor for our largest and most critical customers. Ensuring all successful day to day operations for the Customer Experience Management (CXM), Field Engineering (FE) and Technical Account Management (TAM) teams in the region.

In this role you will have the opportunity to interface with everyone in the customer environment from Developers to Executives and represent Kong culture and values everyday. You will also be responsible for ensuring the regional CX teams execute on this vision.

This is one of the most challenging roles in the industry, and we are trying to do things differently. Your existing playbook and experience will be useful, but expect the need to innovate and be creative in how we address everything from titles to billable project structure.

Working at Kong presents a unique opportunity to combine those operational and people challenges with helping to modernize enterprise software and learn about how businesses are running in the digital age.

• Above all you'll be acting as a stellar leader and mentor for the rest of Kong.
• 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!
• APIs are driving innovation across every industry!
• 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 discuss our culture at our 2020 Company Kickoff
• Building Great Products - Learn why the world's largest companies love our tech!
• Kong Named a Leader in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant
• Over 250m+ downloads of our open source API gateway! Over 40k+ stars on Github between Kong API and Kong Insomnia!

What You'll Be Doing:

• Own regional CX execution including hiring, staffing, growth and day to day operations
• Define and pitch effective solutions for our customers Connectivity problems
• Collaborate with Sales leadership to effectively drive deals to close and good customer experience throughout the lifecycle
• Hire, lead and collaborate with a diverse team of people
• Deliver insights and assistance on process, reporting and strategy elements
• Accurately and consistently provide revenue and utilization forecasts for post sales teams
• Ensure successful execution of all projects and post sales events
• Manage escalations without supervision
• Act as a technical mentor for the team, while this is a managerial role you should have some relevant insight and experience to provide the team with authentic mentorship
• Understand how to effectively present executives (internal and external) with data and business cases / justification

What We Are Looking For:

• Above all - a leader who loves growing their team
• Show passion and determination about technology
• Enjoy working with others and collaborating
• Operate with the utmost transparency and authenticity both internally and externally
• Self awareness and strong communication skills are a must
• 10+ years of relevant experience required
• Familiarity with modern software constructs and architectural patterns and how to discuss them with humans - but know your limits and hand off to the team when necessary
• Proven ability to write and present on complex topics
• Proven track record of exceeding key business goals including bookings, revenue, margin, NDR and similar
• Prior experience in Open Source companies is highly preferred
• Prior experience managing customer facing teams with financial goals is highly preferred
• Ability to travel to customer and Kong locations as-needed (post COVID)

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:

• Be Inclusive. We work together from anywhere to achieve our common goals. Our differences make us stronger.
• Be Authentic. We are genuine, principled and confident without arrogance. Show respect and kindness, especially in tough moments.
• Be Relentlessly Resourceful. We work with purpose, obsession and grit. It takes muscle to do hard things and doing hard things build muscle.
• Be Customer Obsessed. We care. Customers are everything, we put them at the center of everything you do. We are all empowered to make an impact.
• Be Curious. We value ideas over hierarchy. Never accept the status quo. We make bold bets, fail, and learn everyday. There is always a way.
• Be an Owner. We are drivers not passengers and own the quality and outcomes of our work.

About Kong:

Kong creates software and managed services that connect APIs and microservices natively across and within clouds, Kubernetes, data centers and more using intelligent automation. Built on an open source core, Kong's service connectivity platform enables digital innovation by allowing organizations to reliably and securely manage the full lifecycle of APIs and services for modern architectures, including microservices, serverless and service mesh. By providing developer teams with unprecedented architectural freedom, Kong accelerates innovation cycles, increases productivity, and seamlessly bridges legacy and modern systems and applications. For more information about Kong, please visit konghq.com or follow @thekonginc on Twitter.