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Staff Software Engineer, Docker AI Substrate (Seattle or Palo Alto)

dockerPalo Alto, CA or Seattle, WAEngineering
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Salary
$170,350 – $275,550
Job type
Full-time
Experience
Senior · 10+ yrs
Posted
7 Oct 2026
Status
Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

Docker seeks a Staff Software Engineer for the Docker AI Substrate team to build enterprise-grade infrastructure for autonomous software agents in Seattle or Palo Alto. This position suits an experienced backend specialist with a strong background in distributed systems who wants to shape the architecture of container environments at scale.

Role Overview

Docker is hiring a Staff Software Engineer to join the AI Substrate team in Seattle, WA or Palo Alto, CA. The role focuses on developing the foundational infrastructure, security boundaries, and control planes that allow enterprise customers to run autonomous AI agents reliably. Operating as part of a senior engineering group, the person in this role will define system architecture, manage production environments, and collaborate closely with cross-functional technical teams.

Key Responsibilities

Design and construct systems in Go and on Kubernetes that deploy, release, and manage the agentic platform for enterprise users.
Ensure consistent platform execution across multiple cloud providers while maintaining strict security, identity, and network boundaries.
Maintain the software supply chain and release paths to guarantee reproducible and verifiable deployments.
Handle production responsibilities including on-call duties, incident response, SLO management, and operational tooling.
Establish technical direction alongside architecture and engineering leadership and coordinate with runtime, developer experience, identity, and observability teams.
Elevate engineering standards through design reviews, testing discipline, and mentoring peers.

Requirements

Ten or more years of professional software engineering experience focusing on infrastructure, platform, or cloud services.
Demonstrated experience building and operating a cloud control and management plane in production with on-call responsibilities.
Advanced Kubernetes knowledge beyond deployment, including custom controllers, operators, reconciliation, and CRDs.
Hands-on expertise with at least one major cloud provider covering compute, networking, identity, and managed services.
Professional proficiency in the Go programming language.
Solid understanding of distributed systems design principles such as fault tolerance, consistency, observability, and idempotent reconciliation.

Nice to Have

Experience with Kubernetes resource orchestration and cloud controllers like KRO.
Background in release engineering, software supply chain security, OCI registries, digests, and license compliance.
Knowledge of private cloud connectivity tools such as PrivateLink, VPC peering, service endpoints, and egress policies.
Familiarity with OpenTelemetry pipelines, managed service creation, and isolated execution environments like Firecracker or microVMs.
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Skills and Tools

Go
Kubernetes
Cloud infrastructure and control planes
OpenTelemetry
OCI registries
MicroVMs and Firecracker

Salary and Benefits

Salary range of $170,350 to $275,550 per year plus equity for United States-based employees.
Comprehensive medical, retirement, and paid holiday benefits.
Sixteen weeks of paid parental leave after six months of employment.
Generous paid time off, quarterly Whaleness Days, and an end-of-year company break.
Financial stipends for home office setup, monthly technology expenses, and professional learning or development.

About the Company

Docker provides developer tooling used by over 20 million monthly users to build, share, and run applications through products like Docker Desktop, Docker Hub, and Docker Scout. Operating as a globally distributed and remote-first organization, the company focuses on secure infrastructure and verified container environments that make autonomous software workflows trustworthy.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should review the full job details and submit their application on the official company careers page.

Skills and tech stack

GoKubernetesOpenTelemetryKROFirecrackerDockerDistributed Systems

Questions candidates ask

Where is the position located?

The role is based out of offices in Seattle, WA or Palo Alto, CA.

What is the salary range for this role?

The salary in the United States ranges from $170,350 to $275,550 plus equity.

What programming language is required?

Professional proficiency in Go is required for the backend code and team systems.

How many years of experience are required?

Candidates must have 10 or more years of professional software engineering experience in infrastructure, platform, or cloud services.

Is visa sponsorship available?

Docker considers visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis according to business needs.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official docker careers page.

Apply on company site