Requirements and responsibilities
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.Join Docker's AI engineering team to build the future of containerized AI agents. Docker containers are the perfect vehicle to host and run AI agents - providing isolation, portability, and reproducibility.You’ll be working on Docker Agent, our open-source project (https://github.com/docker/docker-agent) and expanding on it to enable developers to build, deploy, and scale intelligent agents using Docker’s container technology.This is a greenfield opportunity to shape how developers leverage containers for AI agents at massive scale. You'll work alongside a team of seasoned engineers, collaborating with our sister teams working on Ask Gordon and Docker's broader AI platform. This is a unique opportunity to combine cutting-edge AI techniques with container technology to solve real-world developer problems.Please note: this role is only available to candidates currently located in London (or reasonable commuting distance to London). We are unable to make exceptions to this location requirement.ResponsibilitiesAs a Staff Engineer, you will partner with the engineering leadership to help set technical direction and serve as a guide and mentor as the team grows and maturesBuild Containerized Agent Systems: Design and implement systems that leverage Docker containers as the ideal runtime for AI agents, ensuring isolation, scalability, and portabilityExpand cagent: Maintain and evolve the open-source cagent project, adding new capabilities for containerized agent deployment and orchestrationAgent Runtime Development: Build robust infrastructure for packaging, deploying, and managing agents in containersRAG Integration: Enhance agent capabilities with Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems to provide contextual knowledge and domain expertise (secondary focus)Evaluation & Testing: Design robust evaluation frameworks to measure agent performance, reliability, and containerized deployment effectivenessRapid Prototyping: Iterate quickly on new agent capabilities and deployment patterns, moving from concept to production efficientlyOpen Source Community: Engage with the cagent community, review contributions, and help grow the ecosystemCross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with product managers, designers, and engineers across Docker's AI teams to integrate containerized agent capabilities into Docker's developer experienceThis role may require participation in an on-call rotation to provide support outside of standard business hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, as needed.QualificationsGo Expertise: Strong, demonstrated, professional proficiency in Go (this is absolutely required) - Docker's primary language for backend systemsAI/ML Knowledge: Practical experience with large language models (LLMs) and agent developmentSystem Architecture: Proven ability to design scalable, distributed systemsContainer Technology: Deep understanding of Docker, containerization best practices, and container orchestrationRAG Systems: Experience building Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems (secondary focus)Rapid Iteration: Demonstrated ability to prototype quickly and iterate based on feedbackAI Frameworks: Experience with CrewAI, AGNO, ADK, LangChain/LangGraph or similar AI orchestration frameworks (peferred)Python Proficiency: Experience with Python for AI prototyping and tooling (prefered)Experience with Kubernetes or container orchestration platforms (preferred)Open source contributions and community engagement (preferred)Experience with agent evaluation, reliability, and observability techniques (preferred)8+ years of directly applicable experienceBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experienceWhat to expectFirst 30 daysIntegrate into our dynamic AI engineering team building containerized agent infrastructureDeep dive into cagent's architecture and our containerized agent deployment roadmapContribute your first enhancements to cagent with the help of your teamUnderstand our technical stack and begin collaborating with sister AI teamsFirst 90 daysLead significant features or improvements to cagent and our containerized agent platformEnhance agent deployment capabilities and container-based orchestration patternsCollaborate with the open-source community on cagent developmentHelp other new team members onboardRegularly interact with internal stakeholders and analyze user feedbackOne Year OutlookDrive major architectural decisions for our containerized agent platform that will impact millions of Docker usersContinue to help grow the team and develop efficient agent development processesContribute to evaluation frameworks and performance optimization across our agent systemsLead initiatives to expand containerized agent capabilities for enterprise use casesGrow your skills in enterprise-grade containerized AI system architecture and deploymentShape the future direction of cagent and Docker's agent ecosystemDocker does not offer visa sponsorship for this role.PerksFreedom & flexibility; fit your work around your lifeDesignated quarterly Whaleness Days plus end of year Whaleness breakHome office setup; we want you comfortable while you work16 weeks of paid Parental leave (after 6 months of employment)Technology stipend equivalent to $100 USD net/monthPTO plan that encourages you to take time to do the things you enjoyTraining stipend for conferences, courses and classesEquity; we are a growing start-up and want all employees to have a share in the success of the companyDocker SwagMedical benefits, retirement and holidays vary by countryRemote-first culture, with offices in Seattle and ParisDocker 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.
Optionally, you can add more information later (benefits, pre-screening questions, etc.)