Senior Software Engineer (Containers)

Chainguard; United States; On-site; USD 157,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible & Remote-First Culture

Stock options

100% Covered Health Insurance

Flexible Time Off

18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave

Job summary

Chainguard is seeking a Software Developer to enhance its core product, Chainguard Images. The role involves collaborating with a cross-functional team to create innovative services and improving tooling for image builds. Candidates should have 5+ years of experience in software development, particularly with containers (Docker, Kubernetes), and proficient in Go. A flexible remote-first culture with great benefits, including 100% covered health insurance and generous parental leave, is also offered.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in software development, data structures, algorithms, compilers, Makefiles, and toolchains.
• Expertise with containers, container registries, Docker, and Kubernetes ecosystems.
• Communication skills and ability to work autonomously.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with team to design innovative services and features.
• Develop tools and services to improve the image build system.

Skills

Software development

Containers and Kubernetes

Terraform

Communication

Go programming

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

Tools

Docker

Infrastructure as Code

Job description

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production‑ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.

Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.

Chainguard is venture‑backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

The Role, In a Nutshell

The successful candidate will be part of our Containers team, whose mission is to develop new features for our customers, build and improve tooling and infrastructure, and maintain product quality standards for our core product – Chainguard Images. You'll collaborate closely with team members, guide technical decisions, and promote a culture of excellence.

What You’ll Do

Collaborate with teammates and cross‑functional teams to design innovative services and features that enhance the core product, making it more compelling and valuable. Develop robust tools and services to continue to improve our image build system as it scales.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years of experience in software development, data structures, algorithms, compilers, Makefiles, and toolchains
• Expertise with containers, container registries, Docker, Kubernetes and its greater ecosystem
• Experience with Terraform or other Infrastructure as Code, and proficiency in creating modules and organizing resources logically for reuse
• Experience writing services or tools in Go
• Strong communication skills, proficiency in English, ability to work autonomously, take initiative, and seek help proactively when necessary

Nice to haves

• Author and/or contributor to open‑source projects

Explore Our Work

• Chainguard Academy
• https://www.chainguard.dev

Base Salary Range: $157,000—$184,000 USD

About Us

• We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
• We have a bias for intentional action — We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
• We don’t take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) — We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
• We trust each other and assume good intentions — We’re transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well‑informed decisions.

A Few Of The Benefits We Offer

• Flexible & Remote‑First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi‑annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs.
• Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options.
• 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck.
• Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
• 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non‑birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child’s first year.

Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard’s Global Candidate Privacy Notice.