Senior Software Engineer

Open Source has taken over the world of software development; however, the largest trade-off still persists: security. Companies spend an enormous amount of time and resources patching and fortifying open source software in order to ship with confidence & compliance.

Founded by the industry's leading experts on open source software, security and cloud native development, Chainguard has built the largest library of open source software that is secure by default. Customers including Snowflake, Canva, and HPE rely on Chainguard to build securely with open source software across the organization.

Chainguard is the safe source for open source.

About Us

We live and breathe our company values:

We are customer obsessed - Our true advantage is the strength of our relationships with customers through collaboration, empathy, and responsiveness. We establish trust as we educate, advocate, and listen to their needs. Our focus is on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.

We have a bias for intentional action - We're a start-up and we need to move fast. However we need to move fast through intentional action to make sure we're able to deliver quickly and efficiently on what is most impactful to our collective success. We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast. We think about how what we do impacts other teams and communicate our progress - owning the whole solution from start to finish. If we move fast enough, we can make two or three mistakes, learn, and correct them before competitors even make their first decision.

We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) - Though we are solving an important problem which takes focus and a degree of seriousness, we don't take ourselves too seriously while we do. We laugh, have fun, embrace uniqueness, and enjoy the journey. Together.

We trust each other and assume good intentions - We hire great team members and trust them to do their work. We're transparent with data, news, and decisions - positive or negative - to empower team members to make well informed decisions. Showing up for each other fully means we celebrate each other's accomplishments as well as give compassionate direct feedback when needed. We always default to assuming good intentions.

The role, in a nutshell:

The successful candidate will be part of our image delivery team. You'll spearhead the development of Wolfi (Linux) Packages and Chainguard container images. You'll mentor team members, guide technical decisions, promote a culture of excellence, and uphold our commitment to high-quality standards in the creation of container images.

What you'll do:

• Package Building: Develop melange packages within Wolfi and private repositories, adhering to technical specifications and integration requirements.
• Image Creation: Produce Chainguard container images for both public and private use, balancing the need for speed with uncompromised quality.
• Backlog Management: Efficiently work through a prioritized queue of images, ensuring each is processed according to project timelines and quality expectations.
• Mentorship: Provide technical support and guidance to other members of the team.
• Quality Assurance: Consistently apply established standards and protocols for image production and execute detailed quality checks prior to release.
• Reporting: Provide consistent updates to the project manager, celebrating progress and identifying any obstacles to maintaining project momentum.

What we're looking for:

• Experience: Minimum of 4 years in a DevOps or Software Development role. At least 2 years in a senior-level position.
• Linux: Strong expertise in Linux environments. Experience with distro package management (e.g apt, apk, rpm)
• Build Tools: Hands-on experience with tools such as Maven, Gradle, NPM, Go build
• Containerization: Experience in building, debugging and optimizing container images.
• Kubernetes: Comfortable using plain manifests, Helm charts, and Kustomize to manage deployments. Can debug operators, pods, services etc. using a variety of tools and approaches.
• Terraform: Proficient in creating modules and organizing resources logically for reuse.
• Programming Skills: Competence in scripting and automation, with languages such as Python, Go, Bash, or similar.
• Communication: Strong communication skills, proficiency in English, ability to work autonomously, take initiative, and seek help proactively when necessary.

Nice to haves:

• Active in the Open-source community: Author and/or contributor to open-source projects.
• Vulnerability Management: Skilled at identifying, evaluating, and mitigating software vulnerabilities.
• FedRAMP Knowledge: An understanding of the FedRAMP framework and its compliance requirements.

A few of the benefits we offer (for our full time employees):

• Equity/stock options
• Unlimited PTO
• Remote work with flexible coworking and team meetup opportunities
• Home office and internet stipend
• 100% health/dental/vision insurance coverage for you and your family

If your experience is close but doesn't fulfill all requirements, please apply. Chainguard is on a mission to build the best team. To achieve our goal, we are focused on hiring "Guardians'' 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.

For US based roles - Chainguard participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with employee Form I-9 Information to confirm authorization to work in the U.S. Chainguard, Inc. only uses E-Verify once a candidate has accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9. If E-Verify cannot confirm that an employee is authorized to work, Chainguard, Inc. will give the employee written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so the employee can begin to resolve the issue before any adverse employment action is taken. For more information about your right to work, please see the Notice of Right to Work.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard's Privacy Policy.