Principal Software Engineer, AI Tools and Security (US West Coast)

About the Role

The AI Tools & Security team at Docker is responsible for developing innovative solutions that enable developers to connect, observe, and secure AI agents and tools across the entire lifecycle. As a key member of this team, you will be responsible for leading the technical direction of the Gateway and related services, ensuring that they meet the highest standards of security, scalability, and usability.

Docker's commitment to remote-first work environments means that you will have the flexibility to work from anywhere, collaborating with a global team of talented professionals who share a passion for innovation and great developer experiences.

What You Will Do

• Define the technical solution for new products, collaborating with Product and Design peers to shape the product vision and roadmap.
• Mentor other technical team members, providing guidance on best practices, design principles, and software engineering fundamentals.
• Serve as the technical point of contact for the team, representing the technical interests and vision of the group.
• Participate in on-call rotations, responding to incidents, debugging production issues, and driving continuous improvement of system reliability.
• Design and evolve large-scale, cloud-native systems, applying expertise in distributed computing, service-oriented architecture, and performance optimization.
• Develop secure, resilient, and high-throughput backend services, leveraging knowledge of reliability engineering principles, such as SLOs, observability, and incident response.
• Lead technical design reviews, ensuring that solutions meet the highest standards of quality, scalability, and maintainability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Security, to ensure that solutions are aligned with company-wide security policies and standards.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, ensuring that knowledge is shared across the organization and that solutions are well-documented.

What We Are Looking For

• 10+ years of backend engineering experience, including extensive work on production-grade, distributed systems at scale.
• Proven technical leadership across multiple teams or domains, with a demonstrated ability to drive architectural vision, set technical direction, and influence long-term product strategy.
• Expertise in designing and evolving large-scale, cloud-native systems, with deep knowledge of distributed computing, service-oriented architecture, and performance optimization.
• Strong grasp of software engineering fundamentals, including CI/CD, testing strategy, source control, and deployment automation, applied in complex, multi-service environments.
• Fluency in Go or another modern systems language, with the ability to lead technical design reviews and mentor others in language-specific best practices.
• Experience with major cloud platforms, including AWS, Azure, or GCP, and infrastructure-as-code tooling.
• Ownership mentality, with a bias for action and iterative delivery, balancing short-term impact with long-term architectural health.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Comfortable operating autonomously in distributed, remote-first teams, and leading through influence rather than authority.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and microservices architecture.
• Prior experience with OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar LLM APIs, and the MCP specification.
• Knowledge of machine learning principles and practices, including model training, deployment, and management.
• Experience with agile development methodologies, including Scrum or Kanban.
• Certification in cloud computing, cybersecurity, or a related field.

Benefits and Perks

• Competitive salary and equity package, reflecting your experience and contributions to the company.
• Flexible, remote-first work environment, allowing you to work from anywhere and collaborate with a global team.
• Comprehensive health insurance, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Generous PTO policy, ensuring that you have time to rest and recharge.
• Professional development opportunities, including training, conferences, and workshops, to help you grow your skills and stay up-to-date with industry trends.
• Access to the latest tools and technologies, including cloud platforms, infrastructure-as-code tooling, and software development frameworks.
• Opportunity to work with a talented, passionate team of professionals who share a commitment to innovation and great developer experiences.

• To stand out in this role, focus on demonstrating your technical leadership, vision, and collaboration skills, as well as your passion for creating developer-centric solutions.
• Make sure your resume and online profiles showcase your expertise in distributed systems, cloud platforms, and software engineering fundamentals.
• Prepare to discuss your experience with designing and evolving large-scale, cloud-native systems, and how you apply reliability engineering principles to ensure high-throughput and secure backend services.
• Be ready to walk through your approach to technical design reviews, and how you ensure that solutions meet the highest standards of quality, scalability, and maintainability.
• Highlight any experience you have with machine learning principles and practices, including model training, deployment, and management, as this is a growing area of focus for Docker.
• Consider creating a personal project or contributing to open-source initiatives that demonstrate your skills in AI-driven development, and be prepared to discuss these projects during the interview process.