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

Docker4 months ago

Location

Seattle, WA

Workplace

Remote

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 232,000 – 319,000

Level

Principal

Role

Principal Software Engineer

Posted

Nov 17, 2025

Full TimeRemotePrincipal

The role

Summary

Docker is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the technical direction of their AI Tools & Security team, focusing on developing the MCP Gateway. The ideal candidate will drive architectural innovation in secure, developer-friendly AI infrastructure, combining deep technical expertise with strong leadership skills in distributed systems and cloud-native technologies.

What you'll do

Technical Leadership: Define technical solutions for new product development and shape product strategy

System Architecture: Design and evolve large-scale, cloud-native systems with focus on performance and security

Team Mentorship: Provide technical guidance, conduct design reviews, and mentor team members

Incident Management: Participate in on-call rotations, respond to production incidents, and drive system reliability improvements

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with Product, Design, and Security teams to deliver innovative developer tools

What we look for

Technical

Systems DesignExpertise in designing distributed, scalable backend services

Security EngineeringStrong background in building secure and resilient systems

Education

Computer ScienceBachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Experience

Backend Engineering10+ years of production-grade backend engineering experience

Technical LeadershipProven track record of leading technical teams and driving architectural vision

Skills

Required skills

Distributed SystemsExtensive experience designing and implementing large-scale, cloud-native distributed systems

Backend Engineering10+ years of production-grade backend engineering experience

Cloud PlatformsDeep expertise with AWS, Azure, or GCP

Systems ProgrammingProficiency in Go, Rust, Java, or C++

Reliability EngineeringStrong understanding of SLOs, observability, and incident response

Nice to have

KubernetesExperience with container orchestration and microservices architecture

AI InfrastructureFamiliarity with LLM APIs and AI development tools

MCPUnderstanding of Model Context Protocol specification

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 232,000 – 319,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Remote Work

Fully remote-first culture with flexible work arrangements

Equity

Stock options as part of compensation package

Professional Development

Training stipend for conferences, courses, and continuous learning

Parental Leave

16 weeks of paid parental leave

Technology Stipend

$100 monthly technology allowance

Home Office Setup

Support for creating comfortable home workspace

Whaleness Days

Quarterly dedicated wellness days and end-of-year break

Interview process

1
Initial Screening — Phone or video call with recruiting team to assess background and fit
2
Technical Interview — Deep dive into technical skills, system design, and architectural approach
3
Leadership Interview — Assessment of mentorship, collaboration, and strategic thinking capabilities
4
Final Panel — Comprehensive interview with team leaders and potential colleagues