Principal Software Engineer, Docker Agents (London)

Job description

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. _______________________________________________________________________ We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer (Docker Agents) to join Docker’s AI engineering team to build the future of containerized AI agents. Docker containers are the perfect vehicle to host and run AI agents - providing isolation, portability, and reproducibility. You’ll be working on Docker Agent, our open-source project (https://github.com/docker/docker-agent) and expanding on it to enable developers to build, deploy, and scale intelligent agents using Docker’s container technology. This is a greenfield opportunity to shape how developers leverage containers for AI agents at massive scale. You’ll define the technical vision, lead architecture decisions, and partner with engineers and leaders across Docker to bring containerized agent capabilities into Docker’s developer experience. Please note: this role is only available to candidates currently located in the UK (we are opening an office in London soon, and would like you to be able to come into the office 1x/month). We are unable to make exceptions to this location requirement. The role is a remote-first, very flexible hybrid work environment. RESPONSIBILITIES - Technical Leadership & Architecture: Define and drive the long-term technical strategy for Docker’s containerized agent platform, including core primitives, APIs, and extensibility patterns - Build Containerized Agent Systems: Design and implement systems that leverage Docker containers as the ideal runtime for AI agents, ensuring isolation, scalability, and portability - Expand Docker Agent: Maintain and evolve the open-source cagent project, adding new capabilities for containerized agent deployment, orchestration, and lifecycle management - Agent Runtime Development: Build robust infrastructure for packaging, deploying, and managing agents in containers across local and cloud environments - Evaluation & Testing: Define evaluation frameworks to measure agent quality, reliability, and production readiness; plus the deployment effectiveness of containerized runtimes - Reliability & Operability: Establish standards for observability, performance, and operational excellence; lead critical production decision-making and incident learnings as needed - Rapid Prototyping: Iterate quickly on new agent capabilities and deployment patterns, moving from concept to production efficiently - Open Source Community: Engage with the Docker Agent community, review contributions, and help grow the ecosystem - Cross-functional Collaboration: Lead cross-functional technical discussions and influence architectural decisions across Docker’s AI initiatives (including sister teams and platform efforts) - Mentorship & Enablement: Mentor senior engineers, raise the bar through design reviews, and accelerate team execution through clear technical direction and coaching - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience - 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. QUALIFICATIONS - 10+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years in technical leadership roles (Staff/Principal level or equivalent scope) - Go Expertise: Strong proficiency in Go is highly desired (if you're not proficient, then we will look for your ability/willingness to ramp up and work in Go - this is Docker's primary language for backend systems) - AI/ML Knowledge: Practical experience with large language models (LLMs) and agent development patterns; hands-on experience using AI for Software development - System Architecture: Proven ability to design scalable, distributed systems in production environments - Container Technology: Deep understanding of Docker, containerization best practices, and container orchestration - Cloud/Platform Depth: Experience building and operating platform services with strong foundations in observability, CI/CD, and security principles - Operational Excellence: Experience operating and evolving high-availability production systems with a focus on reliability and performance - Influence & Communication: Exceptional communication skills and ability to influence across technical and business domains - AI Frameworks: Experience with CrewAI, AGNO, ADK, LangChain/LangGraph or similar AI orchestration frameworks (preferred) - Python Proficiency: Experience with Python for AI prototyping and tooling (preferred) - Experience with Kubernetes or container orchestration platforms (preferred) - Open source contributions and community engagement (preferred) - Experience with agent evaluation, reliability, and observability techniques (preferred) WHAT TO EXPECT FIRST 30 DAYS - Integrate into our AI engineering team building containerized agent infrastructure - Deep dive into Docker Agent's architecture, project roadmap, and the developer problems we’re solving - Identify the highest-leverage architectural and execution risks/opportunities; align with stakeholders on priorities - Contribute initial improvements to Docker Agent and the containerized agent runtime foundations FIRST 90 DAYS - Lead significant platform features or architectural improvements to Docker Agent and our containerized agent ecosystem - Establish (or materially improve) technical standards for evaluation, reliability, and operability of agent systems - Drive alignment across internal teams on APIs, integration points, and a cohesive developer experience - Mentor engineers through design reviews and help accelerate onboarding and execution ONE-YEAR OUTLOOK - Drive major architectural decisions for our containerized agent platform that will impact millions of Docker users - Shape the long-term technical vision and execution plan for Docker’s agent ecosystem (open-source and product surfaces) - Establish repeatable engineering practices for quality, performance, and operational excellence in agent systems - Lead initiatives to expand containerized agent capabilities for enterprise use cases and broader platform integrations - Grow the team’s technical capabilities through mentorship, strategy, and pragmatic delivery Docker does not offer visa sponsorship for this role. ______________________________________________________________________ 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. ______________________________________________________________________ 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. #LI-REMOTE