Senior Software Engineer, Docker Desktop, Go/Backend Focus (East Coast)

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.

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Docker Desktop is one of the core pillars of the Docker suite - powering the workflows of millions of developers worldwide. According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey,

Docker has been ranked the most-used, most-desired, and most-admired developer tool for multiple years running.

Join the Docker Desktop team - we are shaping the experience behind one of the most loved tools in modern software development!

Please note: This is a 100% remote role. However, this role is currently only open to candidates currently living in the East Coast time zone (US or Canada).

We are unable to make exceptions to this location requirement.

More about the Docker Desktop team:

The Desktop Platform team is responsible for the core lifecycle of Docker Desktop, including installation, updates, startup, and key shared components used by every Docker Desktop feature team.

Our work ensures that Docker Desktop is reliable, and easy to adopt, while providing the modular foundations that enable other teams to build and ship with confidence.

About this role:

In this role, you will design and build backend and platform systems that power Docker Desktop.

You’ll focus on shared components, system reliability, telemetry, and architectural improvements that support all Desktop teams.

The successful candidate must have a strong professional backend and/or platform engineering experience, and demonstrated professional experience and proficiency in Go.

You'll be thinking in terms of modular systems, understand how their work impacts other teams, and end customers too.

Our work on lifecycle ( installers, updater, startup) is directly user-facing, so we are looking to hire someone who is comfortable owning cross-cutting problems from design through delivery.

Responsibilities for this Role:

• Design, develop, and maintain core platform systems that support the Docker Desktop lifecycle.

• Build and evolve shared components such as settings, feature flags, and internal platform services.

• Improve system reliability, performance, and observability through telemetry and diagnostics.

• Collaborate with teams to ensure platform capabilities support feature development.

• Contribute to architectural discussions and long-term technical direction of the Desktop platform.

• Write high-quality Go code with strong test coverage and support engineering best practices.

• Drive initiatives end to end, from problem definition through implementation and iteration.

• 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.

Minimum Required Qualifications:

• 6+ years of experience building backend software, with recent demonstrated hands-on Go (Golang) proficiency. We are looking for strong backend and platform engineering experience for this role.

• Demonstrated professional, hands-on experience with Go (Golang) in a production environment.

• Experience designing and building modular systems used across multiple teams.

• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work through ambiguity and cross-cutting challenges.

• Experience working with observability, telemetry, or system health metrics.

• Demonstrated ownership of projects from design through delivery.

• Excellent communication skills, including technical documentation and cross-team collaboration.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• Nice-to-have Experience:

• Experience with developer tooling or platform engineering.

• Familiarity with virtualization, networking, or container technologies.

• Experience with CI/CD systems, release pipelines, or build systems.

• Exposure to desktop environments or local development tooling.

What to Expect

First 30 Days

• Meet your team, your onboarding buddy, and key collaborators across Docker Desktop.

• Set up your development environment and become familiar with the Desktop Platform architecture, lifecycle systems, and key internal components.

• Contribute your first small changes—bug fixes, reliability improvements, or performance tweaks.

• Participate in design discussions and pair programming to gain exposure to our tooling and workflows.

First 90 Days

• Drive or co-drive a larger feature, from design to development.

• Present findings, technical proposals, or insights to the team through proposal reviews or internal demos.

• Influence roadmap priorities based on what you’ve learned about the system’s strengths, gaps, and opportunities.

One Year Outlook (First Year)

• Deliver measurable impact with the team.

• Lead architectural or cross-cutting platform initiatives that improve development velocity or user experience.

• Help shape long-term technical direction with well-considered proposals and influence cross-team engineering practices.

• Become a go-to engineer for complex issues and a trusted partner to teams building on top of the platform.

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

Compensation & Equity

Canada: CA$225,300 – CA$361,750 + equity

United States: $160,900 – $260,700 + equity

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• 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.

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• 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.

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