[Remote] Principal Software Engineer, Developer Tools (US West Coast)

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Docker is a globally distributed, remote-first company building developer tools and infrastructure used to build, share, and run applications. The Principal Software Engineer will define the technical vision and architecture for the Developer Tools team, leading platform engineering, CI/CD, build systems, and AI-powered tooling. The role will establish SDLC standards, design self-service platforms, guide technical strategy, and mentor engineers across the organization.


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

Skills

  • • 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
  • • Background in DevOps, SRE, or platform engineering domains
  • • Deep knowledge of security, compliance, and operational best practices for production systems
  • • Track record driving org-wide adoption of developer tooling and engineering standards
  • • Proficiency in Go (preferred)
  • • Experience with MCP (Model Context Protocol) or similar AI agent integration standards
  • • Contributions to open source developer tooling, platform engineering, or observability projects
  • • Experience productizing internal platforms into commercial offerings
  • • Experience with infrastructure-as-code frameworks (Terraform, Pulumi) and multi-cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)

Benefits

  • Docker considers visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis based on business needs.
  • 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.

Company Overview

  • At Docker, we simplify the lives of developers who are making world-changing apps. It was founded in 2011, and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA, with a workforce of 501-1000 employees. Its website is

    • Company H1B Sponsorship

  • Docker, Inc has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 2 in 2026, 1 in 2025, 1 in 2023, 1 in 2022, 2 in 2021, 1 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.

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