Principal Software Engineer, Developer Tools (US West Coast)
Docker · Remote · United States · 3mo ago
About Docker
Docker has been one of the most loved brands in developer tooling, trusted by more than 20 million monthly users and over 20 billion container image pulls. From solo founders to the world's largest companies, developers rely on Docker to build, share, and run their applications across our suite of products including Docker Desktop, Docker Hub, and Docker Scout.
We are a globally distributed, remote-first team building the tools that define how software gets built and delivered. As AI agents redefine software development, Docker is at the center of that shift, providing the sandboxed environments, verified images, and secure infrastructure that make autonomous workflows trustworthy by default.
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Docker seeks a Principal Software Engineer to define the technical vision and architecture for our internal Developer Tools team. This is a rare opportunity to establish how software is designed, built, shipped, and operated at Docker. With the addition of AI we are modernizing our SDLC and building the mechanisms that make the right way the easy way for every engineer.
You'll own the technical strategy across four interconnected pillars:
Platform Engineering & Self-Service: Design and build the internal developer platform that empowers teams across Docker to unblock themselves, rapidly scaffolding, prototyping, deploying, and operating their own services and tools.
CI/CD & Build Systems: Define Docker's technical approach to continuous integration, delivery, and build infrastructure. Establish architectural standards for pipeline tooling, GitOps deployment patterns, build substrate, and release engineering.
As Principal Software Engineer, you'll partner with engineering leadership across Docker, principal engineers, Security, Infrastructure, and the service teams to author the SDLC tenets that underpin all of this work, and build the mechanisms those tenets run through.
Reporting to the Sr Manager of Developer Tools, you'll collaborate closely with engineering leadership across Docker, product engineering teams, platform teams, and ultimately customers as internal tools evolve into product offerings.
What Would Make Someone Successful in This Role
You're a technical leader who excels at the intersection of developer experience, platform engineering, and systems design. You think in platforms and golden paths, building once and enabling dozens of teams to move faster. You have strong opinions on what makes developer tools great: invisible by default, indispensable once adopted, and measurable in the workflows engineers already use.
You have deep experience across the breadth of the developer tooling stack, CI/CD, build systems, observability infrastructure, and developer platforms, and working knowledge of LLM integration and AI agent development. You understand the nuances of internal platforms: designing for adoption, not mandate; plugging into existing workflows before standing up new ones; and earning trust through data before expanding scope.
You have exceptional judgment on when to build custom solutions versus integrate existing tools, and you're comfortable navigating a rapidly evolving landscape across both AI and developer infrastructure. You balance technical excellence with pragmatism, shipping iteratively while maintaining high quality bars. Most importantly, you lead through influence and mentorship, elevating the entire engineering organization's technical capabilities.
Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Architecture
Define the long-term technical vision and architecture for Docker's developer tooling platform spanning platform engineering, CI/CD, and AI-powered tools
Lead authoring of SDLC tenets in partnership with other principal engineers, Security, and Infrastructure and build the mechanisms those tenets bind to (design gates, code review gates, pipeline standards, visibility)
Establish architectural patterns, technical standards, and best practices across the developer tooling stack
Design highly available, scalable infrastructure for hosting developer tools, agents, and platform services
Drive technical decisions on tooling choices, provider strategies, build/deploy substrate, and agent orchestration frameworks
Partner with Senior Manager and product leadership to align technical architecture with business objectives and productization opportunities
Systems Design & Implementation
Architect and build Docker's internal developer platform, the self-service substrate enabling teams to scaffold, deploy, and operate services with minimal friction
Design and implement CI/CD and build infrastructure that supports Docker's SDLC tenets and GitOps deployment patterns
Establish reliability, security, and performance standards across developer tooling including SLOs, monitoring, incident response, and cost management
Design integration points between developer tools and existing infrastructure (CI/CD pipelines, observability platforms, deployment systems)
Strategic Impact & Innovation
Evaluate emerging technologies across developer tooling, platform engineering, AI/LLM, and agent frameworks to inform Docker's technical strategy
Define and enforce the golden path, the concrete, left-to-right walkthrough of how Docker builds software, and identify where tooling closes gaps vs. where human process does
Drive technical standards for measuring developer tool effectiveness: adoption metrics, productivity gains, pipeline performance, and developer satisfaction
Lead cross-functional technical discussions influencing company-wide developer tooling architecture
Define technical approach for productizing successful internal developer tools into customer-facing offerings
Leadership & Mentorship
Mentor senior and staff engineers on platform engineering, CI/CD patterns, design, and AI/LLM integration
Lead design reviews and technical decision-making across all developer tooling work
Foster culture of technical excellence, experimentation, and rapid prototyping within the Developer Tools team
Serve as primary technical contact and thought leader for developer tooling across Docker's engineering organization
Collaborate with platform teams (Infrastructure, Security, Agentic Platform, Supply Chain Security) to establish shared technical standards and integration patterns
This role may require participation in an on-call rotation to provide support outside of standard business hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, as needed.
Qualifications
Required:
10+ years software engineering experience with 3+ years in Staff or Principal Engineer roles
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Proven track record architecting and operating developer-facing platforms, internal tools, or developer productivity systems at scale
Deep expertise in CI/CD systems, build infrastructure, and GitOps deployment patterns
Production experience with cloud-native infrastructure including Kubernetes, observability systems (Prometheus, Grafana, Loki), and deployment tooling
Experience designing self-service platforms, developer portals, or golden path tooling that enable other teams to move faster
Working knowledge of AI/ML technologies and hands-on experience with LLM APIs or AI agent development
Proficiency in Go (preferred), Rust, Java, or Python with strong software engineering fundamentals
Exceptional product and platform mindset considering developer experience, business outcomes, and technical/security trade-offs
Strong communication skills with ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders
Track record of technical mentorship and elevating engineering teams' capabilities
Ownership mentality with bias for action and iterative delivery in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
Comfortable with autonomous work in distributed, remote-first teams across multiple time zones
Preferred:
Experience with MCP (Model Context Protocol) or similar AI agent integration standards
Background in DevOps, SRE, or platform engineering domains
Contributions to open source developer tooling, platform engineering, or observability projects
Experience productizing internal platforms into commercial offerings
Deep knowledge of security, compliance, and operational best practices for production systems
Experience with infrastructure-as-code frameworks (Terraform, Pulumi) and multi-cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Track record driving org-wide adoption of developer tooling and engineering standards
What to Expect
First 30 Days
Understand Docker's current developer tooling landscape: AI tools, CI/CD state, platform engineering gaps, and the foundational SDLC gap
Meet with engineering leadership, principal engineers, and key technical stakeholders across product engineering, Security, Infrastructure, and Agentic Platform
Conduct deep technical assessment of current developer tooling infrastructure to identify opportunities and constraints across all four pillars
Review existing tools in production and understand what's working, what isn't, and the technical lessons learned
Partner with Senior Manager to define initial technical priorities and 90-day technical roadmap across pillars
First 90 Days
Define and document technical architecture for the Developer Tools platform across: system design, technology choices, integration patterns, and operational model
Ship first production deliverable, either an extension of existing tooling or a net-new tool with architectural patterns and standards that scale to future work
Establish technical foundations for the self-service platform: deployment pipeline, security controls, and cost management
Lead or contribute to the SDLC tenets working session with principal engineers, Security, and Infrastructure
Define success metrics and instrumentation strategy for measuring developer tool adoption, effectiveness, and productivity impact
Create architectural decision records and best practices guides for teams building on the platform
First Year Outlook
Establish mature technical architecture for the Developer Tools platform with multiple production tools demonstrating value
Build production-ready self-service platform enabling multiple teams to build, deploy, and operate their own tools with minimal friction
Define and implement technical standards for measuring developer productivity improvement: design quality, commit frequency, PR velocity, deployment reliability, and incident response times
Lead technical strategy for productizing successful internal tools into customer-facing offerings
Position Developer Tools as Docker's technical center of excellence for developer productivity, with regular technical talks, demos, and knowledge sharing
Define multi-year technical roadmap including advanced platform capabilities, expanded AI tooling, and emerging technology adoption
Docker considers visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis based on business needs.
Compensation & Equity
United States: $198K – $319K + equity
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Posting Information
Open vacancy: This posting is for an existing open role.
AI in hiring: Docker may use AI-assisted tools during our recruiting process.
Interview recordings: Candidates will be invited to opt in to interview recordings to support interviewer calibration and consistent evaluations. Recordings are optional and require explicit consent.
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Perks & Benefits
Remote-first by design – Work from your home, with offices in Seattle and Paris for connection and collaboration.
Flexibility that fits your life – We trust you to manage your schedule while delivering great work.
Time to recharge – Generous PTO, designated quarterly Whaleness Days, and a designated end-of-year Whaleness break.
Home office support – Set up your workspace for comfort and success.
Technology stipend – Equivalent to US$100 net per month to help support your work.
Learning & development – Annual stipend for conferences, courses, certifications, and continued learning.
Parental leave – 16 weeks of paid parental leave after six months of employment.
Equity for all full-time employees – Share in Docker's long-term success as we continue to grow.
Comprehensive benefits – Medical, retirement, and paid holidays vary by country.
Docker swag – Because representing the whale never gets old.
Docker is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe diverse teams build better products, make better decisions, and better serve our global community.
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