Kai Arrowood
About Kai Arrowood
Kai Arrowood is a Senior Software Engineer at Kong Inc., where he leads the development of the Kongponents component library and the Konnect web application. He has a strong background in computer science, having earned both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from Appalachian State University, and has held various roles in academia and industry.
Work at Kong
Currently, Kai Arrowood holds the position of Senior Software Engineer at Kong Inc., where he has been employed since 2020. In this role, he serves as the lead maintainer of the Kongponents component library. He has led the development of new features, testing, and bug fixes for the Konnect web application, which is a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering. Additionally, he plays a significant role in running agile ceremonies, including retrospectives and scrums. Arrowood participates in on-call rotations for Konnect and is involved in Incident Commander training and documentation. He also contributes to the team by interviewing, mentoring, and onboarding new coworkers.
Education and Expertise
Kai Arrowood earned his Master of Computer Science from Appalachian State University, where he studied from 2009 to 2012. Prior to that, he completed a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, and Sociology at the same institution from 2004 to 2009. His educational background provides a solid foundation in software engineering principles and practices, which he applies in his current role at Kong Inc.
Background
Before joining Kong Inc., Kai Arrowood gained diverse experience in the tech industry. He worked at IBM as a Software Developer from 2012 to 2020, where he contributed to various projects. His earlier roles included internships at NetApp as a Summer Intern in Quality Assurance (Automation) and at IBM as a Summer Intern in Software Development. Additionally, he worked at Appalachian State University in various capacities, including Graduate Student Instructor, Instructional Assistant, and Computer Science Tutor, from 2007 to 2012.
Achievements
During his career, Kai Arrowood has made significant contributions to software development and team processes. At Kong Inc., he has been instrumental in leading the development of features for the Konnect web application and maintaining the Kongponents library. His involvement in agile methodologies and incident management has enhanced team efficiency and responsiveness. His experience in mentoring and onboarding new employees reflects his commitment to fostering a collaborative work environment.