Principal Backend Engineer, Hub (US East Coast)

Docker, Inc; United States; On-site; USD 195,400 - 275,550; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Freedom & flexibility; fit your work around your life

Designated quarterly Whaleness Days

Home office setup stipend

16 weeks of paid parental leave

Technology stipend

Encouraged PTO plan

Training stipend for professional development

Equity options

Docker swag

Medical benefits

Remote-first culture with offices in Seattle and Paris

Job summary

A leading container platform provider is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to architect and operate high-scale distributed systems. This role requires extensive experience in backend engineering and a strong foundation in distributed systems, Golang, and Kubernetes. The ideal candidate will thrive in a remote-first environment and will lead initiatives to enhance performance and reliability across our platform. This position offers flexibility, competitive compensation, and a commitment to diversity in the workplace.

Qualifications

• 12+ years backend engineering experience with deep expertise in distributed systems.
• Strong production experience with Golang, including large Go-based services.
• Experience designing high-scale storage systems like PostgreSQL.

Responsibilities

• Architect and operate high-scale distributed systems powering Docker Hub.
• Lead design and implementation of backend services for scalability and reliability.
• Improve performance and reliability of Docker’s container image repository.

Skills

Backend engineering

Distributed systems

Golang

Kubernetes

PostgreSQL

AWS

Event-driven systems

CI/CD

Software engineering best practices

Job description

At Docker, we make app development easier so developers can focus on what matters. Our remote-first team spans the globe, united by a passion for innovation and great developer experiences. With over 20 million monthly users and 20 billion image pulls, Docker is the #1 tool for building, sharing, and running apps—trusted by startups and Fortune 100s alike. We’re growing fast and just getting started. Come join us for a whale of a ride!

Responsibilities

Distributed Systems & Backend Engineering

• Architect, build, and operate high-scale distributed systems powering Docker Hub’s registry platform—spanning artifact storage, metadata services, indexing workflows, and performance-critical APIs.
• Lead the design and implementation of backend services with a strong emphasis on scalability, correctness, resilience, and performance.
• Drive major initiatives around multi-region replication, caching strategies, request-path optimization, and core registry reliability.

Data Infrastructure & Storage

• Design, optimize, operate the data and storage layers— for both Relational and NoSql as well as object storage and related technologies.
• Develop schemas and data models to support high-throughput, large-volume workloads.
• Own systems end-to-end—from storage-layer behavior to API design, deployment workflows, and production monitoring.

Operations, Observability & Scale

• Improve the performance and reliability of one of the world’s largest repositories of container images.
• Develop and enhance observability through metrics, traces, alerting, and dashboards.
• Lead improvements to deployment and operational tooling (e.g., Argo CD, GitHub Actions).
• Participate in on-call rotations as part of supporting critical production services.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Mentor engineers and lead design and architecture reviews.
• Partner with Product, Design, SRE, and Platform teams to deliver high-impact projects.
• Engage with open-source communities, cloud-native partners, and the broader ecosystem.

Qualifications

Required

• 12+ years backend engineering experience with deep expertise in distributed systems and large-scale backend architectures.
• Strong production experience with Golang, including designing and operating large Go-based services in cloud environments.
• Strong production experience with Kubernetes, including operating services at scale.
• Experience designing and running high-scale storage systems (PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, or equivalent) in production.
• Experience building and operating cloud-based services (AWS preferred).
• Experience with event-driven or streaming systems, such as Kafka, SNS/SQS, or equivalent.
• Strong foundation in software engineering best practices: design documentation, testing strategies, CI/CD, code review, observability.
• Comfortable functioning autonomously in a fully distributed, remote-first team and working effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Nice to Have

• Experience with OCI registries, artifact stores, or large-scale content distribution systems.
• Familiarity with search/indexing systems or metadata-rich architectures.
• Contributions to cloud-native or open-source ecosystems.

What We’re Looking For

• An engineer with deep experience in distributed systems and large-scale storage
• Someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and consistently optimizes for reliability, automation, and performance.
• A technical leader who takes ownership of complex systems and drives long-term architectural direction.
• An engineer energised by the challenges of operating a global developer platform at massive scale.

Docker considers sponsorship on a case-by-case basis based on business needs.

We use Covey as part of our hiring and / or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT. As part of the evaluation process we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound on April 13, 2024.

Please see the independent bias audit report covering our use of Covey here.

Perks

• Freedom & flexibility; fit your work around your life
• Designated quarterly Whaleness Days plus end of year Whaleness break
• Home office setup; we want you comfortable while you work
• 16 weeks of paid Parental leave
• Technology stipend equivalent to $100 net/month
• PTO plan that encourages you to take time to do the things you enjoy
• Training stipend for conferences, courses and classes
• Equity; we are a growing start-up and want all employees to have a share in the success of the company
• Docker Swag
• Medical benefits, retirement and holidays vary by country
• Remote-first culture, with offices in Seattle and Paris

Docker embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our company will be.

Compensation Range: $195,400 - $275,550