Senior Director, Finance Systems & Applications

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. THE MISSION: As Kong accelerates toward an IPO and the next stage of enterprise growth, finance systems must evolve from operational tools into strategic business enablers. We are seeking a visionary Finance Systems leader to define the strategy, architecture, and execution of our financial technology ecosystem. In this role, you will build a scalable, resilient, and AI-powered finance platform that delivers trusted data, streamlined operations, and the controls required to support a world-class public company. WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Own the strategy, administration, and long-term roadmap for our core finance systems, including NetSuite, Celigo, Brex, Pigment, and Zip, ensuring reliability, scalability, and operational excellence.
• Design, build, and govern mission-critical integrations across the enterprise ecosystem—including Salesforce, Workday, Ashby, and other business applications—to ensure accurate, timely, and seamless data flow.
• Establish best-in-class governance, controls, and monitoring to maintain data integrity, strengthen audit readiness, and ensure SOX-compliant financial processes.
• Champion AI-driven transformation within Finance by designing intelligent automations that eliminate manual work, improve reporting accuracy, and accelerate business decision-making.
• Partner closely with Accounting, FP&A, Revenue Operations, HR, and IT to translate evolving business requirements into scalable systems and process solutions.
• Lead enterprise-wide finance systems initiatives—including implementations, upgrades, migrations, and vendor evaluations—from strategy through successful deployment and adoption.
• Drive operational excellence by managing a robust support model with defined SLAs, proactive issue resolution, and strong strategic partnerships with key technology vendors.
• Continuously optimize the finance technology landscape by identifying opportunities to simplify processes, improve user experience, and enable business growth. WHAT YOU'LL BRING: EXPERIENCE
• 12+ years of progressive experience leading Finance Systems in high-growth SaaS organizations, with demonstrated ownership of enterprise financial platforms.
• Proven success scaling finance systems through rapid growth, ideally supporting organizations from $100M to $750M+ ARR, including both pre-IPO and public company environments.
• Deep hands-on expertise administering NetSuite and modern integration platforms such as Celigo, Workato, or Boomi.
• Strong experience implementing and integrating finance applications across ERP, FP&A, spend management, procurement, CRM, and HRIS platforms, including tools such as Brex, Pigment (or Anaplan), Zip, Salesforce, and Workday.
• Demonstrated success designing and delivering AI-powered automation solutions that drive measurable improvements in finance operations, rather than simply adopting AI tools.
• Strong SQL and analytical skills, with the ability to independently investigate data issues, validate system outputs, and ensure financial data accuracy.
• A strategic mindset combined with hands-on technical expertise, capable of balancing long-term architecture with day-to-day operational excellence.
• Excellent cross-functional communication and stakeholder management skills, with a proven ability to influence executives and collaborate across Finance, IT, and business teams. #LI-NS1 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.

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