Senior Principal Engineer, Infrastructure

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 rideDocker is seeking aSenior Principal Engineerto serve as the technical visionary and architect for our Bridge organization—the foundational platform that powers accounts, billing, data, developer tools and enterprise governance across all Docker products. This is one of the most impactful individual contributor roles at Docker, responsible for defining and driving the technical strategy that enables Docker's transformation from a collection of individual products into a unified enterprise platform capable of supporting our next phase of growth.As Senior Principal Engineer, you will establish strategic technical plans that span multiple engineering organizations, make critical architectural decisions that affect Docker's entire product portfolio, and drive execution of cross-company programs that directly enable revenue generation. You'll work at the intersection of Accounts, Billing, Data, Platform Infrastructure, Developer Tools and Enterprise Governance, ensuring these foundational systems work together seamlessly to support Docker's business model evolution from seat-based to usage-based pricing, our expansion into AI and security products, and our growth from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of enterprise customers.This role requires someone who combines deep technical expertise across multiple domains with the business acumen to translate Docker's commercial strategy into platform capabilities. You'll be recognized across Docker as the definitive expert on platform architecture, consulted by executives on strategic technical decisions, and responsible for ensuring that every product team can launch enterprise-ready features rapidly because the platform handles the complexity underneath.ResponsibilitiesTechnical Vision & Strategic PlanningDefine and own the multi-year technical vision for Docker's foundational platform, encompassing accounts, billing, data, enterprise governance, and infrastructureEstablish strategic plans and objectives for major platform initiatives, making architectural decisions that ensure effective achievement of Docker's business objectivesContribute to and drive the strategic vision in collaboration with the VP of Engineering, translating organizational strategy into technical roadmaps that span multiple teams and yearsIdentify and prioritize platform investments that provide maximum leverage—capabilities built once that enable rapid iteration across all Docker productsDevelop architectural principles and standards that guide technical decisions across the Bridge organization and influence product engineering teamsAnticipate future business needs and ensure platform architecture provides the flexibility to support Docker's evolving commercial modelsCross-Company Technical LeadershipLead large cross-company programs that require coordination across Desktop, Hub, AI, Security, Cloud, and Platform teamsArchitect the unified platform interfaces ("Control Planes") that enable product teams to answer canonical questions like "Can this user access this feature?" or "How much has this organization consumed?" without understanding underlying complexityDrive convergence of fragmented systems across Docker—replacing product-specific implementations with shared platform capabilities for authentication, authorization, billing, and observabilityEstablish technical contracts between platform and product teams that enable independent velocity while ensuring consistency and reliabilityLead architectural reviews for major initiatives across Docker, ensuring alignment with platform strategy and long-term maintainabilityProactively identify and solve problems that impact critical areas of the business before they become blockersBilling & Monetization Platform ArchitectureArchitect the Billing Control Plane that enables Docker to launch new product SKUs in weeks instead of monthsDesign the Usage-Based Billing platform that supports sophisticated pricing models combining base fees, per-seat charges, consumption pricing, and volume discountsEnsure billing architecture supports Docker's commercial flexibility—enabling bundle pricing, enterprise contract structures, and rapid pricing experimentationDefine the metering infrastructure where products simply report usage events and the platform handles aggregation, rating, invoicing, and revenue recognitionArchitect billing systems that scale to support Docker's growth while maintaining the accuracy and audibility that enterprise customers and finance requireAccounts & Identity Platform ArchitectureDesign the metadata-driven identity platform that serves as the single source of truth for authentication, authorization, and access control across all Docker productsArchitect account infrastructure that supports Docker's enterprise requirements—domain-based account ownership, organization lifecycle management, and namespace separationDefine the Centralized Access Control Service that becomes the standard authorization point for all Docker products, replacing fragmented team-specific solutionsEnsure identity architecture supports both consumer simplicity and enterprise complexity—from individual developers to organizations with thousands of managed accountsDesign migration paths that transition millions of existing users seamlessly while introducing new capabilities progressivelyEnterprise Governance Platform ArchitectureArchitect the Unified Internal Access Control Endpoint that abstracts entitlements, permissions, settings, policies, and feature flags into a single source of truth for all product teamsDesign the Enterprise Command Center architecture that provides consolidated administrative experience across all Docker productsDefine group management and RBAC architecture that supports global, group, and user-level policy scoping with IdP synchronizationArchitect high-volume audit logging infrastructure and observability platform that meets enterprise compliance requirements (SOC 2, ISO and integrates with enterprise SIEM toolsEnsure governance architecture enables Docker to launch any new product "enterprise-ready" from day one with baseline governance controlsData Platform ArchitectureDefine canonical data models that serve as the foundation for analytics, reporting, and machine learning across DockerArchitect real-time streaming infrastructure that enables immediate reactions to customer behavior—usage spikes, security anomalies, expansion opportunitiesDesign self-service data capabilities that democratize access while maintaining governance and accuracyEnsure data architecture supports both operational needs (real-time dashboards, alerts) and analytical needs (business intelligence, forecasting)Drive convergence to eliminate conflicting metrics that undermine trust in business decisionsInfrastructure & Developer Experience ArchitectureDefine the infrastructure platform vision that removes infrastructure as a bottleneck to innovation—enabling teams to deploy experimental services in minutes, not weeksArchitect standardized deployment patterns that encode best practices for security, scaling, monitoring, and reliabilityDesign infrastructure that specifically supports AI and agent initiatives—rapid deployment, programmatic environment creation, consistent APIsEstablish observability standards that provide distributed tracing, metrics, log aggregation, and error tracking out of the box for every serviceDrive cost optimization across platform infrastructure while maintaining performance and reliability standardsTechnical Excellence & InfluenceWork with senior managers and directors across the Bridge organization to drive operations and strategyMentor and develop Staff and Principal engineers, raising the technical bar across the organizationRepresent Docker's platform architecture externally through blog posts, conference talks, and technical community engagementParticipate in executive-level discussions on technical strategy, providing architectural perspective on business decisionsDrive build-vs-buy decisions for critical platform components, evaluating vendor solutions against Docker's specific requirementsQualificationsRequiredTechnical Expertise15+ years of software engineering experience with demonstrated expertise across multiple platform domains (identity, billing, data, infrastructure)Proven track record architecting and delivering large-scale distributed systems serving millions of users and thousands of enterprise customersDeep expertise in at least two of: identity/access management systems, billing/monetization platforms, data platforms, or cloud infrastructureBroad working knowledge across all platform domains with ability to make sound architectural decisions spanning multiple areasExpert-level understanding of API design, service architecture, and system integration patterns at scaleExperience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and modern infrastructure patterns (Kubernetes, service mesh, infrastructure-as-code)Strategic & Business ImpactTrack record of establishing strategic technical plans that directly enabled business outcomes (revenue growth, cost reduction, market expansion)Experience translating business strategy into technical architecture and roadmapsDemonstrated ability to identify and prioritize investments that provide maximum platform leverageUnderstanding of SaaS business models, enterprise sales cycles, and how platform capabilities influence commercial successExperience making build-vs-buy decisions for critical platform componentsLeadership & InfluenceProven ability to drive large cross-company technical programs requiring coordination across multiple engineering organizationsExperience working with VPs and executives to set and execute technical strategyTrack record of influencing technical direction without direct authority—building consensus across teams with different prioritiesStrong communication skills with ability to present to executives, influence leadership, and drive alignment at all levelsExperience mentoring senior engineers and developing technical leadershipEnterprise Platform ExperienceExperience building platforms that serve enterprise customers with complex governance and compliance requirementsKnowledge of enterprise security requirements, compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001), and their architectural implicationsExperience with identity federation (OIDC, SAML, SCIM) and enterprise SSO integration at scaleUnderstanding of enterprise billing complexity—contract management, usage-based pricing, revenue recognitionPreferredExperience at developer tools, infrastructure software, or B2B SaaS companies at significant scaleBackground with container technologies, Docker, Kubernetes, or developer productivity platformsExperience building billing platforms that support multiple pricing models (seat-based, consumption, hybrid)Track record of successfully migrating legacy systems while maintaining business continuityExperience with data platform architecture including real-time streaming, data warehousing, and analyticsKnowledge of FinOps and infrastructure cost optimization at scaleAdvanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical fieldExternal recognition as a technical leader (conference speaking, publications, open source contributions)Key Success MetricsPlatform Leverage & VelocityProduct teams can launch enterprise-ready features in