Principal Software Engineer, AI Tools and Security (Seattle or SF Bay Area)
Docker · Seattle · $198,000–$319,000 (stated in the posting)
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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The Role
Docker’s AI Tools & Security team is building the foundation for the next generation of secure, developer-friendly AI infrastructure. Our flagship product, the MCP Gateway, empowers developers to connect, observe, and secure AI agents and tools across the entire lifecycle—from prototype to production. We’re defining how developers safely harness the power of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in real-world environments.
We’re looking for a Principal Backend Engineer who thrives at the intersection of AI, security, and developer experience. You’ll lead the technical direction of the Gateway and related services, collaborating closely with Product, Design, and Security to deliver elegant frameworks and APIs that developers love to use. This is a high-velocity, high-ownership environment: you’ll ship fast, iterate constantly, and help shape the future of secure agent-based development.
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Responsibilities
Define the technical solution for a new product
Help shape the product with peers in Product and Design
Mentor other technical team members
Be the technical point of contact for the team
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.
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Qualifications
Required
10+ years of backend engineering experience, including extensive work on production-grade, distributed systems at scale.
Technical leadership across multiple teams or domains, with a proven ability to drive architectural vision, set technical direction, and influence long-term product strategy.
Exceptional product and platform mindset—you think beyond implementation details to how technology shapes developer and business outcomes.
Expertise in designing and evolving large-scale, cloud-native systems, with deep knowledge of distributed computing, service-oriented architecture, and performance optimization.
Demonstrated experience building secure, resilient, and high-throughput backend services, with a strong grasp of reliability engineering principles (SLOs, observability, incident response).
Fluency in Go (preferred) or another modern systems language (Rust, Java, C++, etc.), with the ability to lead technical design reviews and mentor others in language-specific best practices.
Strong grasp of software engineering fundamentals—CI/CD, testing strategy, source control, and deployment automation—applied in complex, multi-service environments.
Proven track record of technical mentorship and cross-functional collaboration, enabling teams to deliver high-impact, high-quality software efficiently.
Deep experience with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, 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.
Bonus
Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, and microservices architecture
Prior experience with OpenAI, Anthropic, or similar LLM APIs, and the MCP specification
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What to expect
First 30 days
Meet team members
Build context about the problem space and prior art
Provide feedback on current exploration and propose next steps in line with Product and Design
First 90 days
Work with Product and Design on defining the product
Attend customer calls
Meet people across the company
Help grow the team by participating in hiring loops
One Year Outlook
Bring the product to market
Visa sponsorship: Docker considers visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis based on business needs.
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Compensation & Equity
All full-time roles include equity. Final compensation is determined on factors including but not limited to experience, skills, qualifications, and location.
United States: $198K – $319K base
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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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