Staff Software Engineer, Image Build & Release

Royper Royco LLC

United States

Remote

USD 230,000 - 260,000

Full time

3 hours ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Inclusive Team

Growth Opportunities

Remote Work

Competitive Compensation

Health, Vision & Dental care

Job summary

Horizon3 AI is hiring a Build & Release Engineer to own the CI/CD pipelines and container image delivery for NodeZero. This staff-level role demands deep expertise in Docker, Kubernetes, image signing, and secure software supply chains, with hands-on coding and architecture work.

We are a fully remote company offering competitive compensation, equity potential, health benefits, and a culture of collaboration. Expect up to 5% travel and work across Cloud and on-prem environments.

Qualifications

8+ years of professional software engineering experience with build systems or release engineering for containers.
Expert Docker/container image construction, multi-stage builds, hardening and signing.
Experience with image signing/verification and scanning toolchains (Cosign, Trivy, Grype, Snyk).
Proven ability to design and operate CI/CD pipelines at scale (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Tekton).

Responsibilities

Build Pipeline Architecture: design and own the CI/CD pipeline for NodeZero container images.
Image Integrity & Security: define image hardening, CVE scanning, and signing strategy.
OTA Delivery Infrastructure: design delivery mechanism for updates with rollout and rollback.
Release Engineering Standards: set standards for reproducibility and release gating.
Mentorship: mentor engineers through code/design reviews and architecture discussions.
Operational Excellence: own build/release infra end-to-end and handle incidents.

Skills

CI/CD prowess

Containerization

Go/Python/Shell

Architecture leadership

Mentorship

Tools

Docker

Cosign/Notary

Trivy/Grype/Snyk

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Tekton

Kubernetes

ECR/GCR/Docker Hub/Harbor

Job description

Application facts

Application form: from 11 forms we checked, 1 asks for a cover letter; about 1 question only Horizon3 AI asks per form. What it asks
Pay benchmark: Software Engineer postings that list pay show a $175K median (22,764 postings)
Pay benchmark: Horizon3 AI postings that list pay show a $225K median (115 postings)

Get to Know Us

Horizon3 is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find, fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZero™ platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by IT Ops/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs.

We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers & operators, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools and false positives, resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox" security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn-it-alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results.

As a remote first company, we require minimum 25Mbps consumer grade broadband connection.

What You’ll Do

The Expert Engineer on the Image Build & Release team is the technical anchor for how NodeZero gets built and delivered to customer environments. NodeZero runs as a container in customer infrastructure - building that image correctly, delivering it reliably, and updating it safely across thousands of deployments is a hard systems problem with direct customer impact. You will set the technical direction for the build pipeline, the image signing and scanning strategy, and the OTA (over-the-air) delivery infrastructure that pushes updates to deployed NodeZero instances.

This is a hands-on staff-level role. You will write code, produce architecture designs, mentor engineers, and own the most consequential technical decisions for how NodeZero is packaged and shipped. The team is building from a strong starting point - you will raise the bar on automation, reliability, and delivery velocity. This role reports to the Client Platform Engineering Manager and works directly with the OTA Services team on the delivery side.

Responsibilities

Build Pipeline Architecture: Design and own the CI/CD pipeline that produces NodeZero container images - from source to signed, scanned artifact ready for distribution
Image Integrity & Security: Define the image hardening, CVE scanning, and signing strategy that ensures NodeZero images meet security and compliance requirements before they ship
OTA Delivery Infrastructure: Partner with the OTA Services team to design the delivery mechanism that pushes image updates to customer-deployed NodeZero instances reliably and safely - including rollout strategy, rollback, and version pinning
Release Engineering Standards: Set standards for build reproducibility, artifact versioning, and release gating that the full Client Platform team follows
Mentorship: Mentor P4 engineers through code review, design review, and architectural pairing; be the person the team turns to when they hit a hard systems problem
Operational Excellence: Own the build and release infrastructure end-to-end - on-call for pipeline failures, build time regressions, and delivery incidents

Build & Release Engineering

8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with deep specialization in build systems, CI/CD, or release engineering for containerized applications
Expert-level knowledge of Docker and container image construction - multi-stage builds, base image selection, layer optimization, image hardening
Experience with container image signing and verification (Cosign, Notary, or equivalent) and image scanning toolchains (Trivy, Grype, Snyk, or equivalent)
Strong track record building and operating CI/CD pipelines at scale (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Tekton, or equivalent)

Systems & Delivery

Deep understanding of Kubernetes - how images are pulled, versioned, and updated in running clusters
Experience designing and operating OTA or remote update systems - rollout strategies, delta delivery, version negotiation, rollback
Proficiency in Go, Python, or shell scripting sufficient to build and maintain pipeline tooling
Experience with artifact registries (ECR, GCR, Docker Hub, Harbor) and artifact lifecycle management

Technical Leadership

Track record of setting engineering standards that other engineers adopt - not just writing good code but making the right approach the obvious one
Ability to produce clear architecture documents and drive technical decisions across team boundaries
Experience mentoring mid-level engineers through design and code review

Nice to Haves

Experience with secure software supply chain practices (SLSA, SBOM generation, provenance attestation)
Background in cybersecurity or building software that runs in sensitive customer environments (on-prem, air-gapped, or regulated industries)
Experience with Helm chart packaging and Kubernetes operator patterns
Familiarity with eBPF or kernel-level tooling relevant to containerized security software

Travel Required

We are a fully remote company, and this job may require up to 5% of travel to be successful.

Compensation and Values

At Horizon3, we believe that our people are our greatest asset, and our compensation philosophy reflects this core value. We are committed to fostering an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and rewarded for their contributions. Our compensation structure is designed to be fair, competitive, and transparent, ensuring that every team member is recognized and compensated equitably across roles, levels, and locations.

In accordance with various State's transparency regulations, we provide the following salary range information for this position:

Base salary range: $229,500 - $260,000 annually. The exact salary will be determined based on the selected candidate's location, qualifications, experience, and relevant skills.
Additional compensation: This role may also be eligible for an equity package (in the form of stock options). If any other compensation benefits apply, they will be discussed during the interview process.

Perks of Horizon3

Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.
Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities.
Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
Remote Work: We are a 100% remote company. Enjoy the flexibility to work in the way that supports you and brings out your best.
Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary and benefits which includes health, vision & dental care for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave.

You Belong Here

Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, or any other legally protected status by law.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth.

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and we encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Come be a part of Horizon3, where your unique contributions are recognized, and your potential is limitless.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Application Note

In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

What the Horizon3 AI application asks

From 11 application forms we checked.