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Principal Software Engineer, Developer Tools (US West Coast)

Docker· Engineering
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Remote$198k - $319kFull-timePosted 3mo ago

About the role

Docker seeks a Principal Software Engineer to define the technical vision and architecture for the internal Developer Tools team, owning SDLC tenets and the platform across platform engineering, CI/CD, and AI-powered tools.

Responsibilities

  • 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
  • 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)
  • 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
  • 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

  • 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

Skills

Required:CI/CD systemsGoSystem designLeadership & mentorshipCommunication & collaborationAI/LLM knowledge
Nice to have:Security, Reliability, cost management

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
Last updated Aug 19, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Docker

Accelerated Container Application Development

Docker is a platform designed to help developers build, share, and run container applications. We handle the tedious setup, so you can focus on the code.

ContainerizationDevOpsCloud InfrastructureSecurityOpen Source
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