Senior Principal Software Engineer, Infrastructure

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. _______________________________________________________________________ Docker is seeking a Senior Principal Engineer to serve as the technical visionary and architect for our Bridge organization—the foundational platform that powers accounts, billing, data, developer tools and enterprise governance across all Docker products. This is one of the most impactful individual contributor roles at Docker, responsible for defining and driving the technical strategy that enables Docker's transformation from a collection of individual products into a unified enterprise platform capable of supporting our next phase of growth. As Senior Principal Engineer, you will establish strategic technical plans that span multiple engineering organizations, make critical architectural decisions that affect Docker's entire product portfolio, and drive execution of cross-company programs that directly enable revenue generation. You'll work at the intersection of Accounts, Billing, Data, Platform Infrastructure, Developer Tools and Enterprise Governance, ensuring these foundational systems work together seamlessly to support Docker's business model evolution from seat-based to usage-based pricing, our expansion into AI and security products, and our growth from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of enterprise customers. This role requires someone who combines deep technical expertise across multiple domains with the business acumen to translate Docker's commercial strategy into platform capabilities. You'll be recognized across Docker as the definitive expert on platform architecture, consulted by executives on strategic technical decisions, and responsible for ensuring that every product team can launch enterprise-ready features rapidly because the platform handles the complexity underneath. RESPONSIBILITIES Technical Vision & Strategic Planning - Define and own the multi-year technical vision for Docker's foundational platform, encompassing accounts, billing, data, enterprise governance, and infrastructure - Establish strategic plans and objectives for major platform initiatives, making architectural decisions that ensure effective achievement of Docker's business objectives - Contribute to and drive the strategic vision in collaboration with the VP of Engineering, translating organizational strategy into technical roadmaps that span multiple teams and years - Identify and prioritize platform investments that provide maximum leverage—capabilities built once that enable rapid iteration across all Docker products - Develop architectural principles and standards that guide technical decisions across the Bridge organization and influence product engineering teams - Anticipate future business needs and ensure platform architecture provides the flexibility to support Docker's evolving commercial models Cross-Company Technical Leadership - Lead large cross-company programs that require coordination across Desktop, Hub, AI, Security, Cloud, and Platform teams - Architect the unified platform interfaces ("Control Planes") that enable product teams to answer canonical questions like "Can this user access this feature?" or "How much has this organization consumed?" without understanding underlying complexity - Drive convergence of fragmented systems across Docker—replacing product-specific implementations with shared platform capabilities for authentication, authorization, billing, and observability - Establish technical contracts between platform and product teams that enable independent velocity while ensuring consistency and reliability - Lead architectural reviews for major initiatives across Docker, ensuring alignment with platform strategy and long-term maintainability - Proactively identify and solve problems that impact critical areas of the business before they become blockers Billing & Monetization Platform Architecture - Architect the Billing Control Plane that enables Docker to launch new product SKUs in weeks instead of months - Design the Usage-Based Billing platform that supports sophisticated pricing models combining base fees, per-seat charges, consumption pricing, and volume discounts - Ensure billing architecture supports Docker's commercial flexibility—enabling bundle pricing, enterprise contract structures, and rapid pricing experimentation - Define the metering infrastructure where products simply report usage events and the platform handles aggregation, rating, invoicing, and revenue recognition - Architect billing systems that scale to support Docker's growth while maintaining the accuracy and audibility that enterprise customers and finance require Accounts & Identity Platform Architecture - Design the metadata-driven identity platform that serves as the single source of truth for authentication, authorization, and access control across all Docker products - Architect account infrastructure that supports Docker's enterprise requirements—domain-based account ownership, organization lifecycle management, and namespace separation - Define the Centralized Access Control Service that becomes the standard authorization point for all Docker products, replacing fragmented team-specific solutions - Ensure identity architecture supports both consumer simplicity and enterprise complexity—from individual developers to organizations with thousands of managed accounts - Design migration paths that transition millions of existing users seamlessly while introducing new capabilities progressively Enterprise Governance Platform Architecture - Architect the Unified Internal Access Control Endpoint that abstracts entitlements, permissions, settings, policies, and feature flags into a single source of truth for all product teams - Design the Enterprise Command Center architecture that provides consolidated administrative experience across all Docker products - Define group management and RBAC architecture that supports global, group, and user-level policy scoping with IdP synchronization - Architect high-volume audit logging infrastructure and observability platform that meets enterprise compliance requirements (SOC 2, ISO 27001) and integrates with enterprise SIEM tools - Ensure governance architecture enables Docker to launch any new product "enterprise-ready" from day one with baseline governance controls Data Platform Architecture - Define canonical data models that serve as the foundation for analytics, reporting, and machine learning across Docker - Architect real-time streaming infrastructure that enables immediate reactions to customer behavior—usage spikes, security anomalies, expansion opportunities - Design self-service data capabilities that democratize access while maintaining governance and accuracy - Ensure data architecture supports both operational needs (real-time dashboards, alerts) and analytical needs (business intelligence, forecasting) - Drive convergence to eliminate conflicting metrics that undermine trust in business decisions Infrastructure & Developer Experience Architecture - Define the infrastructure platform vision that removes infrastructure as a bottleneck to innovation—enabling teams to deploy experimental services in minutes, not weeks - Architect standardized deployment patterns that encode best practices for security, scaling, monitoring, and reliability - Design infrastructure that specifically supports AI and agent initiatives—rapid deployment, programmatic environment creation, consistent APIs - Establish observability standards that provide distributed tracing, metrics, log aggregation, and error tracking out of the box for every service - Drive cost optimization across platform infrastructure while maintaining performance and reliability standards Technical Excellence & Influence - Work with senior managers and directors across the Bridge organization to drive operations and strategy - Mentor and develop Staff and Principal engineers, raising the technical bar across the organization - Represent Docker's platform architecture externally through blog posts, conference talks, and technical community engagement - Participate in executive-level discussions on technical strategy, providing architectural perspective on business decisions - Drive build-vs-buy decisions for critical platform components, evaluating vendor solutions against Docker's specific requirements - 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 REQUIRED Technical Expertise - 12+ years of software engineering experience with demonstrated expertise across multiple platform domains (identity, billing, data, infrastructure) - Proven track record architecting and delivering large-scale distributed systems serving millions of users and thousands of enterprise customers - Deep expertise in at least two of: identity/access management systems, billing/monetization platforms, data platforms, or cloud infrastructure - Broad working knowledge across all platform domains with ability to make sound architectural decisions spanning multiple areas - Expert-level understanding of API design, service architecture, and system integration patterns at scale - Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and modern infrastructure patterns (Kubernetes, service mesh, infrastructure-as-code) - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience Strategic & Business Impact - Track record of establishing strategic technical plans that directly enabled business outcomes (revenue growth, cost reduction, market expansion) - Experience translating business strategy into technical architecture and roadmaps - Demonstrated ability to identify and prioritize investments that provide maximum platform leverage - Understanding of SaaS business models, enterprise sales cycles, and how platform capabilities influence commercial success - Experience making build-vs-buy decisions for critical platform components Leadership & Influence - Proven ability to drive large cross-company technical programs requiring coordination across multiple engineering organizations - Experience working with VPs and executives to set and execute technical strategy - Track record of influencing technical direction without direct authority—building consensus across teams with different priorities - Strong communication skills with ability to present to executives, influence leadership, and drive alignment at all levels - Experience mentoring senior engineers and developing technical leadership Enterprise Platform Experience - Experience building platforms that serve enterprise customers with complex governance and compliance requirements - Knowledge of enterprise security requirements, compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001), and their architectural implications - Experience with identity federation (OIDC, SAML, SCIM) and enterprise SSO integration at scale - Understanding of enterprise billing complexity—contract management, usage-based pricing, revenue recognition PREFERRED - Experience at developer tools, infrastructure software, or B2B SaaS companies at significant scale - Background with container technologies, Docker, Kubernetes, or developer productivity platforms - Experience building billing platforms that support multiple pricing models (seat-based, consumption, hybrid) - Track record of successfully migrating legacy systems while maintaining business continuity - Experience with data platform architecture including real-time streaming, data warehousing, and analytics - Knowledge of FinOps and infrastructure cost optimization at scale - Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field - External recognition as a technical leader (conference speaking, publications, open source contributions) KEY SUCCESS METRICS Platform Leverage & Velocity - Product teams can launch enterprise-ready features in <2 weeks (vs. 6+ months today) by leveraging platform capabilities - New product SKUs can be created and launched in weeks instead of months through Billing Control Plane - Single unified access control endpoint replaces 5+ fragmented APIs that product teams currently integrate Business Enablement - Platform architecture directly enables $10M+ in enterprise revenue through governance capabilities that unblock deals - Usage-based billing platform supports new AI and cloud product monetization models - Billing accuracy and flexibility supports complex enterprise contract structures that Sales requires Technical Excellence - Platform systems achieve 99.9%+ uptime for business-critical workflows - Canonical data models eliminate conflicting metrics that undermine business decisions - Infrastructure platform reduces deployment time for new services from 2-4 weeks to <1 day Organizational Impact - Recognized across Docker as the definitive technical authority on platform architecture - Successfully drive convergence of fragmented systems, reducing technical debt and operational burden - Develop multiple Staff and Principal engineers who can own major platform domains Docker considers visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis based on business needs. Compensation & Equity United States: $219K – $352K + equity ______________________________________________________________________ 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