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:
Chainguard is securing the open source software supply chain, the infrastructure every modern engineering team depends on. We're growing fast, and how we hire technical talent will define the shape of our engineering and product organizations for years to come. We're looking for a Technical Recruiting Manager who can raise the bar on technical hiring, build the infrastructure that doesn't exist yet, and operate as a genuine thought partner to our CPO, Head of Engineering, and CISO. If you've watched an engineering org double in size and know exactly what breaks at that inflection point, this is your role.
What you'll do
- Lead and develop a team of technical recruiters: coach for quality over throughput, hold a high bar on technical screening and debrief quality, and invest in each person's growth, including those who are already strong.
- Partner directly with engineering and product leadership: build trusted working relationships with our CPO, Head of Engineering, and Head of Security; push back constructively when you disagree; bring data and honest assessments to every conversation.
- Standardize technical interviewer training: build a program that's practical and low-lift for interviewers and tied to real calibration outcomes for the engineers who interview frequently at Chainguard.
- Own recruiting strategy across engineering, product, and security: set sourcing strategy, hiring timelines, and quality thresholds for your function; know when a req needs a different approach and have the credibility to drive that conversation.
- Manage a high-volume, high-complexity pipeline: keep your team focused, unblocked, and making good decisions in an environment where priorities shift, and the quality bar is high.
What we're looking for
- 8+ years in technical recruiting, including at least 2 years managing a team, you've supported an engineering org through significant scale and know what had to be built at each stage.
- An independent, developed point of view on what strong engineering and PM talent looks like, you can coach your recruiters to hold that same bar and have a credible conversation with a skeptical engineering leader about what recruiting can actually improve.
- Infrastructure builder, not just a process runner, you've stood up at least one of the following from scratch: interview committees, interviewer training programs, or calibration frameworks.
- Stakeholder credibility, you push back when you're right, bring data when you disagree, and build trust with leaders who have high standards.
- Strong team developer, you know how to coach high-performing ICs to get stronger and manage through performance issues without letting them drag the team.
- Closer and seller, you know how to position Chainguard against a late-stage pre-IPO, a FAANG team, and an early-stage startup, and you've closed candidates who had better-known options.
We live and breathe our company values:
- 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 (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
- 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.
If your experience is close but doesn't fulfill all requirements, please apply. We're building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring "Chainguardians" with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
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.
©2026 Chainguard. All Rights Reserved.
Skills Required
- 8+ years in technical recruiting, including at least 2 years managing a team
- Proven ability to evaluate and coach on engineering and product management talent
- Experience building recruiting infrastructure from scratch (interview committees, interviewer training, or calibration frameworks)
- Strong stakeholder credibility with engineering, product, and security leaders; able to push back constructively using data
- Demonstrated team development and performance management skills for high-performing individual contributors
- Successful track record closing senior technical candidates against competitive alternatives (FAANG, late-stage, early-stage)
- Ability to manage a high-volume, high-complexity pipeline and make sound prioritization decisions
Chainguard Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Chainguard and has not been reviewed or approved by Chainguard.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as fully paid for employees and dependents, including medical, dental, and vision. This reduces out-of-pocket costs and materially elevates total compensation.
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Parental & Family Support — Parental leave policies and family-planning support (adoption, IVF, egg freezing, surrogacy) are presented as generous and flexible. This breadth supports different family needs and enhances perceived rewards beyond base pay.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Stock options are granted at hire and promotion with a long exercise window, improving flexibility and usability. This design can make equity more accessible and valuable over time.
Chainguard Insights
What We Do
Chainguard is the secure foundation for building with open source software. The company's portfolio of secure, minimal container images helps organizations embrace a new culture of software development where starting left with security, not shifting left, is the reality. Chainguard was founded by the industry's leading experts on software supply chain security, open source, software, and cloud-native development. We aren't a traditional security vendor. It's container images provide secure-by-default infrastructure that introduces zero friction to developer workflows. That's why developers love and CISOS trust Chainguard. Its customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and leading technology and security companies, including Anduril, Canva, Domino Data Lab, Checkmarx, HPE, GitLab, Snowflake, and Wiz. Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia, and Spark Capital.
Why Work With Us
Security is our mission, but having fun is our mantra. Since our founding, we've increased +1M memes, sung 900+ hours of Kubernetes-themed karaoke, and created 774+ whacky Slack emojis. Beyond this, Chainguard's innovation and leadership in open source and software supply chain security has been recognized by industry leaders.
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